Resolutions

I read on a friend's blog today that New Year's Resolutions are made to be broken.. Come on, how many have you kept? Instead, she is going to start making monthly resolutions. You can keep anything up for a month, right? Then there will be a day of reflection at the end of each month, in which you establish your resolutions for the following month. I really like this idea!

First, I'd like to think out loud.. er, digitally.. whatever you want to call it.. and reflect on my past year's accomplishments. There is nothing like tooting your own horn to start positivity into the new year, right?

Now, these aren't all necessarily goal driven accomplishments, but it's still significant to me, or I wouldn't bother listing!

• Maintained my weight loss for the entire year. I have bounced up and down within the same 3-5 pound range since March. I think I started 2009 at around 168 or so, and I've been staying between 157-162 since March.
• Keeping my sanity (for the most part). My job has been intensely stressful this year. And I'm still alive and relatively sane. And, a little better off financially because of the OT!
• Reduced my debt by about $4,000
• Moved in with my boyfriend in July. He's awesome! :)
• Established a savings account that actually has a little bit of $ in it!
• Broadened my horizons in the kitchen.. I've been experimenting with lots of new recipes and so far, so good! It's been a lot of fun for me!
• Read all 7 Harry Potter books (and enjoyed them all!).. This is an accomplishment for me because I haven't read too many books in the past few years.. and since reading the HP series, I've read another 7-10 books! Yay, me!!
• Purged lots of clutter... When I moved in with John, I gave away, sold and trashed a lot of things. As I've let go of the pounds, I've learned to let go of possessions too.

I'm sure there is more... but, my brain hurts from thinking too much, and I'm itching to share my JANUARY resolutions, not my New Year ones! :)

On with it...

For January, I resolve to:

• Get back on track with vitamins. I've been a slackerface lately, and I know that needs to be corrected. I had glorious labs all of 2009, and I don't want to ruin 2010 lacking in vitamins!
• Get back on track with water... or should I say, get ON track with water.. I've always been terrible with it. I resolve to drink at least 40 oz of water a day in January... and then hopefully in Feb, I can up it to the proper 64. I'm not trying to be an underachiever, just realistic!
• No More Diet Cokes! As Chris H's blog is titled Diet Coke Rocks, oh, it truly does. But, it's my downfall, and I'm not even supposed to be drinking it. So, bye bye Diet Cokes. It's on to tea, Crystal Lite, and oh yeah, WATER!
• Get back on track with protein, go off track with the carbs! Are you sensing a pattern here? Why yes, Laurie has been a terrible post-op patient as of late! I resolve to focus on protein as my main source of nutrition again. The carb monster needs to be tamed.. bigtime!
• Be more active! I don't want to put a number of workouts per week or number of minutes, because if I don't make it the first week, I know I'd quit!!
• Blog more. It keeps me accountable, and I miss it!

Yeah, my list is fairly simplistic, and should be easy. But, I know it won't be. Pre-oppers, post-oppers, and everyone in between... if you haven't yet tried something post op that you shouldn't.. Don't! You won't miss it. It's when you try it again that it's hard to stop. You don't need that diet coke, and you don't need those carbs or that sugar. The worst thing for me is that I don't get dumping syndrome easily enough. I think it's a curse. Thankfully, though, I seem to control myself since I'm staying in the same weight range. The sad thing though? I'd probably be completely at goal if I had just said NO! when offered my first diet coke or my first piece of non-sugar free candy!

Ahhh!!

Well, there you have it.. What are your January Resolutions? We can help each other with them all!

Happy New Year to you all!

Back to the Grind!

Well, the work holidays are almost over... I have Friday off, and then who knows when I'll have another day off! LOL I wish I could say that the week off that I had from work left me renewed and refreshed, but coming back to the massive pile of paperwork made me want to run home and hide under a blanket!!

How was everyone's Christmas? I hope wonderful.. I'm sure all of you were very good boys and girls! :-) My Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were very nice. My sister's family came over on the Eve, and we made homemade pizzas and exchanged gifts. On Christmas Day, John's family came over and we had the whole traditional fare with all of the trimmings. It was nice getting to visit with everyone!

Bad news about our puppy. We had to put Emma down the day after Christmas. She just kept feeling worse and worse, and we couldn't keep any weight on her. The emergency clinic said that she had some combination of distemper, parvovirus and/or pneumonia. Poor little baby! She was such a sweet dog, and I wish she could have lived a happy, healthy life. I hate sounding like a broken record with puppies.. we aren't having much luck! When/if it is time to try to get another puppy, we will make sure we get an older one that has had several rounds of shots, as neither of us can handle the heartbreak anymore that comes with the young pups. The sad thing is that you rarely know where the puppies come from, and we tried two different avenues - an individual and the SPCA, both with bad results. :(

Anyway... I must change the topic now!
John and I went to see Avatar on Sunday. I didn't think I would like it, as it's not really my kind of thing... but I LOVED it. It was a great movie. I'm sure we'll see Sherlock Holmes one day this week, as that's another we'd both like to see.

I'll blog again later in the week about my New Year's Resolutions... and I'll give you a teaser that blogging more often is one of them! ;-)

Hope you all are doing well!

xoxo
Laurie

Checking In

Whew, these holidays sure have come up quickly... It's only 1 week until Christmas Eve! Have you all gotten your shopping done? Happy Hannukah to all of my Jewish readers! :)

Life has been really busy for me lately. I was sick over Thanksgiving and still have the remnants of a cough.. ugh! At least I have tomorrow off from work, and I only work next Monday. The rest of the week is FREE TIME! Wahhoo!!!!

I need all of you to cross your fingers and toes for me, and if you are a praying person, that would be appreciated too. You all know how we lost Mojo to distemper in November. We bought a new puppy last weekend on craigslist, as we wanted to go through a person instead of through a shelter again to try to protect ourselves. Well, Emma, our little puppy, is sick as well. It is possible she could have distemper, but we can't be certain of anything. She is infested with worms, and she has an upper respiratory infection, but distemper is still a possibility as well. It's so sad! I really hope she gets better. I feel terrible for John, as these are his first two experiences with puppies, and they obviously haven't been very good so far. She appeared to be healthy when we got her, or we wouldn't have gotten her. AHH! Anyway, I would appreciate any positive thoughts in our direction!

One of my goals is to start blogging much more often. It really is therapeutic for me, and it helps keep me focused. No blogging, no focus! NOT GOOD!!

Well, I will check in soon! I have to get back to work and finish things up before my day off tomorow!

Ciao!

It's Snowing! In HOUSTON!

What a lovely little surprise for us.. We get snow maybe once every 3 or 4 years, and we hare getting some now! Hurray! :) I hope it sticks to the ground, but as of now, it still isn't. Hopefully it will snow all day so I can play later! :-)

I hope everyone is doing well.. This is my crazy week at work, but after Monday, things will be pretty mellow for the rest of the year, at least at work!

Tomorrow, I'm going to meet Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. I can't wait! I love her blog, and her recipes, and am looking forward to meeting her! If you haven't checked out her site, you're missing out! Yes, the recipes aren't exactly WLS friendly, but you can modify practically anything, right? :)

Well, I better get back to work, but wanted to share the snow with you all! :)

xoxo

Holidays

Good morning to you all! It's officially the holiday season, and it's my favorite time of year! It's also the hardest time of the year, both on the wallet and the waistline. What are you going to do to keep your wallet fat and your waistline trim?

Also - what are a few of your favorite Christmas songs? My absolute favorite is Wham!'s Last Christmas. I am in love with that song and I've already listed to it 2 times today.. A sickness, I know.. But it's a great song! Hopefully I'll get a few new favorites from you all! :)

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?
I am thankful for so many things. My health, the health of my family and friends, having a job during these rough times, our new home, having a wonderful support system, and so much more!

Thank you!

Thanks to all of you for the kind words.. It is truly appreciated! Every day is getting a little easier unless I think about him too much. He was the sweetest puppy and I know he's in a much better place now.

It's been a very rough week!

R.I.P. Mojo

It is with great sadness that I write this. We've only had Mojo for a few short weeks, but today we had to put him down. He had been sick, and we were hoping it was only kennel cough, or something of the like, but it was distemper. In those few short weeks, he had the ability to make everyone around him fall completely in love with him. I know he's not suffering anymore, and that he's in little doggie heaven, but the humans he left behind are mourning him.

:0(

Cuteness!

November, already? Seriously?

Wow, once you hit November 1, the rest of the year just seems to fly by.. Where did this year go? It's been one of the best years of my life, and it's just flying by! LOL I also believe in that theory that the older you get, the faster time goes by.. hehe

I had a great weekend! The week ahead is going to be a struggle, as it's deadline week, but I have another great weekend to look forward to.. Huzzah!!

We had our Halloween party on Saturday, and it was great fun. Everyone had awesome costumes and it was great seeing everyone all dressed up. Jil did my makeup and I looked ultra creepy in my strange costume. I was told I looked like Morticia from Addam's Family, a vampiress, and at one point I was wearing a Viking hat, so I was a Viking gone totally wrong! LOL I will put up some pictures soon, promise! :-)

Once I get over my hell week at work, I fully attend to try to thwart the season of expanding by getting back to the gym on a somewhat regular basis. I admit, I have been to the gym maybe 3 times since I've moved.. that's pathetic! It's time to get those last few pounds off and not gain over the holiday season!

Although this next question will in no way help me with the holiday season, what is your favorite dish for Thanksgiving? And if it is a recipe you'd like to share, please do! :-)

It's almost time!

John and I are having our first Halloween party on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it! It's a costume party, although I'm sure several people will show up without costumes, but that's cool! The more, the merrier, right? :)
This week is quite busy for me with work as well as extracurricular activities.. My mom came back into town on Monday, so I spent some time at the airport.. Last night, I took a few things over to her that I forgot at my house. Tonight I am going dress shopping for Jil's wedding. We're looking at bridal gowns as well as bridesmaid gowns.. woo hoo!
Tomorrow is Michelle's boyfriend David's birthday.. We're going to a restaurant called Taste of Texas and then heading over to their house for a bit to help them move a few things.
Friday, we'll be preparing for the Halloween party. We've already started decorating, but I need to go to the store and get refreshements, a few last minute things for my costume, etc.
It'll be fun! :-)
I hope everyone is doing well.. I'm looking forward to the holiday season and the lovely fall weather. It's so refreshing to me!

Mojo Pics

It's hard getting pictures of the two dogs together, because when they are close, they are playing nonstop :)

But here are a few more of Mojo. :)

Ready for the Weekend!!

I'm having trouble coming up with cute or clever blog titles lately... so, you just get what's on my mind.. and that would be - CAN THIS WEEKEND GET HERE SOON ENOUGH!??
I have nothing planned really.. but that's what I'm looking forward to most, especially after today. We had lots of rain this morning, and that translates into NASTY TRAFFIC! It took me 2 hours to get to work this morning. That totally sucks, and it puts me at work much later than I want to be.
Tomorrow I get a 1/2 day, and can leave 4 hours after I get in... so hopefully tomorrow's commute is nothing like todays!

John is grilling steak tonight... DELISH! I'm stopping off at the store to get some side items as well as a few extras that we are needing. Then, I'm home to relax with my boyfriend, some beef, and some cute puppies! LOL

Oh yeah, wine is on my grocery list... Delish! :)

Hope you all have a great night! :)

Reunion.... I went!

Yes.. I know.. It's a little late for a weekend update, but that's me... late! LOL A lot has happened in the past week of my little old life, and I have to share it with my bloggy friends.

First - The puppy. He's so freakin adorable! We took him to the vet on Friday, and he had a little bit of a runny nose. They gave him antibiotics, but come Friday evening, he was coughing a lot, and having a general rough time. Saturday morning, I took him back to the vet, and he was running a slight fever, but they said to let the antibiotics run their course. Thankfully, he's feeling better now. I almost cried at the vet because they injected him with fluids to prevent dehydration. Wow, the yelp was painful for me even! :( He's shown dramatic improvements though. It was scary for me because he's so young and not fully vaccinated yet. He gets round of shots in two weeks when he goes back. I will have pictures up soon, but my mom has my camera charger, and she's up in New York right now.

Ok, regular weekend stuff. I took a vacation day last Friday, because I still have roughly a week left, and we don't have any travel plans for the holidays as of yet. The day ended up being a day of errands and not so fun stuff though. I had to take my car in to the body shop, because I got into a small fender bender two weekends ago (not my fault!) lol! Then, we had the vet visit.. and then my head decided to start aching really bad, and I had a nasty sinus headache. We went to the Aeros game that evening and it was not so fun, just because with the cold of the arena and my head hurting, I was just feeling a little miserable. While there, though, I ran into my ex husband's first ex wife (I'm #2, and he's currently on wife #3!LOL). She came down to sit with us for the third period along with her husband. I like them both a lot! :) Super nice! I also got to get updates on Emili, my step daughter. I know she's not OFFICIALLY my stepdaughter anymore, but she always will be in my eyes, and thankfully in her eyes too! :)

Saturday, Mojo and I went to visit the vet again.. and I ended up with another long nap because of that dreaded headache still being around. Then, that evening John and I went to my 15 year makeshift high school reunion. It was just at a little dive bar, and it was really nice getting to see a lot of people that I hadn't seen in 15 years. It was still quite clique-ish, but I got to visit with the people that I still consider friends all of these years later. I got lots of compliments, so that felt great! : -) The picture above is John and me at the reunion. Isn't he handsome? :-) And no, he refuses to smile in pictures... he's crazy like that!LOL

Sunday was a lovely day... one of those days where you just stay in pajamas all day! I played cafe world on facebook.. that stupid game that I love! I got some laundry done... and in general just relaxed!

Fast forward to hump day this week, and the week is almost over.. hurray! I have a half day on Friday this week, so it'll be nice to get an early start to my weekend. No hockey games this weekend, but I am looking forward to getting some more relaxing time in, and playing with the dogs!

Work is still really busy, but I am finding that I am able to breathe a little easier, and I'm not so overwhelmed... Whew!!!

Selling My Domain - Check your Bookmarks!

Hi all,
I am selling my www.gastricgirl.com domain name soon, so please adjust your bookmarks.. I think most of you use blogspot anyways, so you go through my http://gastric-girl.blogspot.com address, but if you use my non-blogspot to get to me, please update your bookmarks. :)

Two Year Anniversary!

Wow, where has the time flown? Today marks my two year anniversary of my surgery. In these two years, I have learned more about myself than I have ever known in the 31 years prior to that.
Let's compare... it's always fun!
Two Years Ago: 312 lbs
Today: 158 lbs (teeter between 155-160)

Two Years ago: Size 30/4X
Today: Size 8-10/M

Two Years Ago: Size 8 1/2-9 shoes
Today: Size 8 shoes, sometimes 7 1/2

Two Years Ago: Worried if I could fit in some chairs
Today: Have lots of wiggle room

Two Years Ago: Zero Confidence
Today: Working on Being Thrilled With Myself.. My brain is trying to catch up with my body!

Two Years Ago: High Blood Pressure, Sleep Apnea, Elevated Blood Sugar, Eczema
Today: Wonderful Blood Pressure, No Sleep Apnea, Excellent Blood Sugar, Clear Skin


There are so many small changes that have happened in my life that turn into a great change.. Has it been easy? Are you freakin kidding me? NO! Having surgery is far from the easy way out. I have had complications. I have had to get my gallbladder removed, a hernia repaired, and am currently working on getting rid of ulcers. Was it worth it? HECK YEAH!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

What's in store for me for the next two years?
Maintenance. I'd like to lose a few more pounds, and I'm sure it will happen. I also want to continue to work on debt, so eventually I can afford to get rid of my extra skin, and get some boobies! LOL

Hope all is well with you... Today is my Friday, so life is good! :)

Mojo

So... our new puppy IS named Mojo.. And, let me tell you, Mojo is a handful and a half! He shares the spot of the cutest thing on 4 legs with my other dog Roxcee.. but wow, he's something else! LOL
We survived night #1 with Mojo. He has already gotten into the utility room closet as well as finding any little scrap of anything on the floor. I forgot puppies will find just about anything and shove it in their mouth! Including toes.. Ouch!
lol

Roxcee and Mojo had an interesting night. They took turns chasing each other and sniffing each other's tooshies. The joys of being a puppy, right? LOL

We keep Roxcee crated during the day, and we're keeping Mojo in the bathroom with a baby gate. They can see each other, so hopefully they'll be friends when we get home. They were already singing a little whiny song of "Get me outta here!" when we were trying to get out of the house this morning.. so we shall see!!

...to be continued...

New Family Member

Meet our new puppy! We haven't decided on a name yet, but isn't he just precious? We got him at the SPCA and he's a lab/golden retriever mix. I met him on Saturday and he's a sweet little thing. Right now, he's a little bit smaller than Roxcee (my chihuahua), but his paws are about 3 times the size of her paws. It will be interesting when they meet tomorrow! LOL
We get to pick him up tomorrow after work! I'm excited!!!!

Victory!!!

I'm excited today.. I have a Non Scale Victory.....It's a Financial Victory! I have completed my emergency fund... Wooo hoo!!!
Now, to get to that pesky debt! I'm inching my way towards becoming debt free! :-)

Anyways... The weekend is finally here! I'm super excited about it! John has the day off today, and I have a feeling that when I get home, I'm going to have a new family member. He has had puppy fever for quite some time, so we may have a new dog. I'm excited, and a little nervous at the same time. My dog is so tiny, and he wants a big dog.. I don't want Roxcee to be a snack! LOL He is getting a puppy though, so at least while it's small, they can get to know each other and become friends. :)

Tonight starts hockey season.. John and I are HUGE Aeros fans, so we're going to the opening night game tonight. We have a partial season (15 games) and I'm excited for it to get started..

Next weekend - it's my 15 year high school reunion. I don't know how I feel about this yet. It's a very casual one at a bar, and it was arranged on Facebook. It'll be interesting to see some people, that's for sure. John doesn't care to go, but I'm sure he would if I really, really want to go! :-)

Where is the time going? I can't belive we're almost halfway through October already.. I need to start Christmas shopping - SOON!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!!

I SURVIVED!

Whew... I survived another month end at work. I already have 34 hours, and I still have to work all day today and tomorrow. At least I get paid overtime right? RIGHT! WOO HOO!

Update on my Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Addiction.. I am CURED! Thanks to Donna for sending a few recipes my way! :) Also, at World Market, I found some Torani Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie Syrup.. It's the nectar of the gods! Yum! :)

John and I decided to have a Halloween party... I'm excited. I love hosting get togethers, and I have a cute costume that will double for Renaissance Festival too! :) Hurray!

For my mom's birthday and mother's day, I got her a round trip ticket to visit her family in upstate NY. I bought it back in April, and now it's time for her to head there this weekend! I'm so excited for her, but so jealous that I couldn't go too! I have such a great, fun family... I know she'll have a blast! :)

Anyways.. I wanted to check in. Work will settle down a bit for the next couple of weeks before it starts getting crazy again!

Hope all is well with everyone... :-) In one week, it will be my 2 year anniversary of Weight Loss Surgery! WOW!!!!

Doctor Appointment Update

Happy October, one and all! :)
I went to see my doctor yesterday for a follow up appointment. I go see him every 4-6 months and make sure everything is going ok with me. I requested that he run full labs on me since I've met my deductible for the year, and I'd rather pay $10 for full labs instead of $300.. that's a no brainer, right? LOL

I was completely honest with him and told him I was bad with taking my ulcer medication.. he gave me a refill so I can take it for 8 solid weeks and get rid of it finally.. :)

My weight was 162 on his scale, fully clothed. I figured it'd be right about there, so I wasn't bothered by it. I weighed myself at home and I was 158. I've been hitting the gym more than I had been recently, so hopefully that will start working in my favor. I always gain a few pounds when I start up again, and then it drops.

My blood pressure was high.. which I fully expected as well. I left work a little late to head to the appointment and I found every red light and ever slow person on the way there.. and, I had about 4 school zones.. SIGH! I don't like dealing with traffic. :) I'll take my bp at home when I'm calm and make sure it's ok. :)

Other than that, all was well. He said I was at a good weight for my frame, and just to work on building lean muscle mass, since that's what will keep the weight from coming back. I knew this already, and that's what I've been working on. :)

Hope everyone is doing well. It's getting to be my super busy week at work, so my posts may be more sporadic until after the 7th of Oct.

CANKLES! :-(

Ok people.. I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again.. I hate my legs.
HATE them! I despise dresses for that reason.. And I finally realized why! Besides being pasty white.. I still have chunky ankles - or cankles as the term is coined lately! I don't know if it's that I retain water, or just that my ankles are fat..

How do I fix this?! LOL

Happy Monday!

Good morning to all.. I'm highly caffeinated this morning, so hopefully this post doesn't go all over the place.. but then again, it wouldn't be me if it wasn't, right? LOL

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. Mine was really nice. I took Friday off because I felt sick on Thursday.. thankfully it was just allergies, and I woke up feeling fine on Friday. I picked my mom up from her place, and brought her over to mine so she could do laundry. Later we went to Wallyworld so she could do her grocery shopping and all of that fun stuff. Later, I went to the Asian supermarket and bought some chinese sausage for some fried rice that I'll be making this week. While there I went next door to a teahouse and has some Thai tapioca tea.. OMG if you've never had tapioca tea.. it's so good.. Sometimes it's called bubble tea as well. Basically, it's tea with tapioca balls in it. Sounds weird, but it's fun, and actually quite filling for very few calories (depending on the type of tea you get!)

Saturday, John and I went to the Astros game. One of his friends turned 40, and her husband got a suite at the game. We got our butts handed to us.. I lost track, but I think the score was 10-4. OUCH! We still had a lot of fun.

Sunday, John grilled redfish for us. We had a few friends over - Jil and Jason, and Michelle and David. I love hanging out with my friends.. it's awesome! :)
Jil taught me how to make a yummy pasta dish. She's so creative in the kitchen.. and elsewhere too. I'm not creative at all! I'm trying to absorb her aura though! :)

My mom turns 65 this week. I got her a ticket to go to New York for a few weeks so she can visit the family next month. On Wednesday (her birthday), we're going to grill some fish and then take her shopping for some clothes for her trip! :)

Hope all is well with everyone... Have a great day!!!

Super Duper Fantastic Giveaway from Fight Fat Phobia

I sooo wanted to spell phobia with an f.. sighh... one of those days.

Check out Tricia's blog at Fight Fat Phobia (almost used an F again... DAMN!) She has a great giveaway, so read her post and do what she says.. and you may also want to follow her.. she's great! :)

xoxo

Confession Time

Here is my bank record information since I discovered that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back:
POS DEBIT SBUX HOUSTON #13671 HOUSTON TX $4.33
POS DEBIT SBUX HOUSTON #13671 HOUSTON TX $4.33
STARBUCKS USA 00136 09/18C A* STAR $4.33
09/22/2009 Debit Card Transaction C A* STARBUCKS USA 00136 09/19C A* STAR $5.69
09/21/2009 Debit Card Transaction C A* STARBUCKS USA 00136 09/16C A* STAR $4.04
09/21/2009 Debit Card Transaction C A* STARBUCKS USA 00064 09/17C A* STAR $9.19
09/18/2009 Debit Card Transaction C A* STARBUCKS USA 00136 09/15C A* STAR $4.04

Then, I discovered that there are 60 grams of sugar and 330 calories in a Venti...

So.. I... Must... Quit!!!!

I brewed my own Pumpkin Spice coffee from HEB and added 8 oz of fat free milk to my 32 oz cup... it is not the same.. but it must improve!!

Anyone interested in starting a support group for Starbucks addicts?

The Week is Starting Out Right... huzzah!

Wow, things are coming together.. I'm starting to blog more often.. I'm going to the gym (went on Friday AND last night).. I'm cooking more often (not just opening boxes and preparing things).. it's great!
OH! I forgot to post about my weekend.. If you're in the Houston area and like comedy shows, you should go to the Improv's website and join their mailing list. You'll get emails about once a week, but often you can get 4 free tickets to shows. We got to see Greg Behrendt this weekend.. If you haven't heard of him, he's the co-author of the book that later turned into a movie He's Just Not That Into You. OMFG!! He was freakin hilarious. I laughed so hard that I cried, and was concerned that I'd pee on myself.. thankfully, I have good bladder control! haha Anyways.. if you EVER have a chance to catch him live, I HIGHLY recommend him. Quite hilarious! :)

Friday when I went to the gym, I did the elliptical (which I'm getting incredibly sick of!) for 20 minutes and then did weights for a few.. Then I went home and rode my bike for 150 calories. haha I wanted to make sure I burned 350 calories, and I did it!

Last night.. John and I went to the gym and I did the elliptical again (sigh!) because I got home too late to join in on a class. After the elliptical, I did arm weights and 100 crunches, then went to the sauna. I doubt I'll be going to the gym today because with the weather we're getting here, it's going to take me wayyy too long to get home. I was in traffic for over an hour and a half this morning, and evening traffic is always worse... UGH!!! So, I might as well put in my time here today for my half day on Friday instead of sitting in traffic.

Hope all is well in everyone's world! I'm still in my quest to achieve balance in life between work, home, gym, etc... HA! I've never had that balance, but it sure sounds dandy! :)

Transfer Addictions

In the WLS world, there is a lot of talk about transfer addictions. Once the honeymoon stage of WLS is over, what's next? I think the first year is a piece of cake - it was for me at least. You're losing weight at a rapid pace, and that in itself is reward enough to "behave" yourself, eat properly and make sure you're following all the rules. Once you get your goal within your sights, you realize that you have to deal with what made you fat in the first place, so you don't get back to that place again. Food made me fat. It was my best friend and my worst enemy. I wasn't abused, I wasn't treated badly, I just liked food. Sure, I had lots of unhappy moments in my life, but rather than deal with what made me unhappy, I ate.. and ate... and ate! My typical day would be stopping at Chick-fil-a and getting THREE four packs of chicken minis and a large sweet tea.. it'd all be gone by the time I got to work. Now, I still indulge in foods that I shouldn't, but that meal for example - I eat 2 chicken minis and that's it. (for those of you without the pleasure of a chick-fil-a in your area, a chicken mini is basically a chicken nugget on a mini bun.) I know I shouldn't eat this.. and I usually regret it the minute I eat one, but it is what it is.
Am I still addicted to food? Yes and no. I still love food. But I control it now, it does not control me.
In the past, shopping was an addiction for me. MAJORLY. As much as food possibly. Is it still? No.. Purging things is actually more of an addiction that buying things. I actually NEED to buy clothes, but I don't want to. I am actually a little nervous to, because I remember the high I used to get off of swiping a card and bringing home lots of goodies. I'm cash (debit card) only now, and if I can't afford it, I can't buy it. WOW... who am I? LOL
My addictions now? Coffee... trying to save money.. coffee.. lol
What is the point of this post? I have no idea besides the fact that I need to learn how to deal with all of my emotional issues.. I really don't think I have a ton, but I never want to turn to food or shopping or alcohol as a means of dealing with a problem. I'll be two years out in less than a month, and I still haven't gotten to the core of dealing with what got me to this point in the first place.
I hope this post doesn't sound negative.. it really isn't. I'm just venting. I'm actually in a really good place in life right now, but I'm also in a rambling mood.. lol

What are your transfer addictions, if any? Are there any that are danger zones for you?

It's Party Time!

Hello and Happy Friday to all of my friends in Blogland!
I've been talking about my kitchen lately and I have decided to host a Pampered Chef party in an effort to get some new goodies for my kitchen since I've been purging the baddies! haha
If any of you need some kitchen gadgets or are in love with Pampered Chef stuff like I am, please take a look! My good friend is the consultant, and if you have any questions about the products, she'll take great care of you!
The specials this month are 20% off stoneware and 20% off metal bakeware.. That's a great deal, and just in time for the holiday baking season!
Thank you so much for taking a look and helping me become the domestic goddess that I'm longing to be! :-)


Link to the website: Pampered Chef
Search for Hostess: Laurie Sawyer
Then you're good to go!

Have a wonderful weekend... I hope you're enjoying the weather as much as I am! :)

Autumn is Near

Oh, how I love the weather lately.. I know I've said that recently but I am just in love with it! Every morning I take my dog out (there's a picture of the little crazy thing!), and I don't want to go back inside because I am loving the cool breeze in the a.m.!

Last night I went grocery shopping and worked on unpacking my kitchen.. John and I combined our stuff, so I want to get rid of some of the things and declutter. That'll be nice! :) Some of the stuff we both have is crap, so I want to buy some new things soon too! haha

My ulcer has been bugging me lately so i need to get back to my medicine and taking it on regular basis. I'm bad about starting to feel better and then forgetting to take my meds.. ugh!

Hope all is well and you are enjoying the weather near you! :)

Product Review: Pom Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice

I'm getting back into the blogging spirit.... maybe it's fall coming on the horizon? I love the fall through spring weather that Houston has.. the summer is almost unbearable, though!
One treat that you can enjoy year round anywhere though is Pom Wonderful's 100% Pomegranate juice! It's a delicious juice that is pure juice with no added sugars, colors or cheap filler juices.
A few fun facts about the juice and pomegranates:
- It's the only juice whose health benefits are backed by $25 million in research. Participants in clinical studies experienced significant improvement in heart, prostate & erectile health after drinking eight oz of Pom Wonderful 100% Pomegranate juice daily!
- Throughout history, pomegranates have been revered as a symbol of health, fertility and rebirth.
- Many scholars suggest that it was the pomegranate, not an apple, depicted in the biblical Garden of Eden.
- Pomegranate juice has more and better antioxidants then red wine, grape juice, blueberry juice, cranberry juice, vitamin C, Vitamin E and Green Tea... even acai juice, which is getting all the media buzz right now!

If you haven't tried it before, I highly recommend it. I love the fruit itself as well, but the juice is a lot cleaner and usually a lot more affordable! For us gastric bypass patients, I'd water it down a little.. you still get the sweetness, but it may be a little bit of an overload.. there is no added sugar, but if you don't tolerate sugar much at all, definitely water it down a tad. I handle it full strength just fine, but I always water down any juices that I drink.

Pom Wonderful also makes iced coffees, pomegranate teas, and even has an antioxidant super pill.
Enjoy!

Another Thrifty Thing! Check it out!

Ok, you know how I've been on a quest to save money in every aspect of my life... well, I found another cool site online. It's Aisle by Aisle, and it helps you configure your grocery list by aisle, and the program grows with you as you customize it. It's really easy to use, and you can even enter coupons in there to remind you to use your coupons.
Here are a few tidbits from the site:
The online aisle-by-aisle shopping system features:

► Zip through the store in half the time.

► Print list on paper, or view list with iPhone or Blackberry, your choice.

► Get a handle on impulse spending.

► Track sales, coupons, and prices to save money.

► Use it online from any computer anywhere. Nothing to download

I got the one year trial for $5, but they also have a one time purchase which never expires, and with my promo code, 8051, you save $5 and it's only $19! I've been setting up my store, and I really enjoy it. I also like that you can access from any computer, and multiple people can access your account, so you can create the list, and your significant other can go to the store.. ha!!

Check it out and let me know what you think! :)
http://www.aislebyaisle.com Promo code in upper right corner is 8051 to get a discount.

Weekend Update

Good afternoon, one and all! I know this has been one of my first weekend updates in quite some time, and I am truly sorry for that. The weekends of the past few months have been basically packing, having a garage sale, moving, being in a wedding, unpacking, BBQing with friends, etc..
Last Friday, I left work at 11 am because I had so many extra hours. I took my mom on a lunch date (and dinner with leftovers) to Olive Garden, and then took her grocery shopping. I actually took a snooze in the car while she shopped because I was in a Benadryl haze.. my sinus headache was gone when I woke up, though. Woo hoo!
Friday evening was quiet and relaxing.. we didn't do much of anything. I actually went back to bed when I got home from my mom's, and slept until 8pm. Amazing how the body knows precisely when to shut down on you! LOL At least I am well rested for the moment!
Saturday morning, I woke up early and went to the grocery store. I picked up several things for breakfast and made bacon, eggs and hash browns for breakfast... John had some orange juice, and I had some Pomegranate tea.. Yum!
Saturday evening, John and I went to Jil's house.. She made some enchiladas that were tasty! I made a banana creme pie that was pretty tasty, but too sugary and made me dumpish! lol
Sunday, I started a project with my coupon clipping (organizing them! ha!), got bored with that, and started laundry and working on unpacking those last few pesky boxes. My kitchen needs help, as I have a lot of stuff, but am wanting to get rid of some more things too.. With kitchens, it's hard telling what you're going to need.. and you will likely never need it unless you get rid of it! ahh! lol
Anyways, I'm back at work... I survived my crazy weeks at work, and have roughly a week or so before life gets crazy again at work. At least I have job security, I suppose!

Hope you're all doing well!

Checking In

Hi everyone! Yes, I've been a bad bad blogger lately, and I apologize. Life just gets so busy sometimes, and time slips away so fast!
Last weekend, one of my dear friends got married, and I was in her wedding. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding, and the reception was tons of fun! Now, we have another wedding coming up in March... our very own cut n paste girl, JustJil! Congratulations, Jil! You deserve every drop of happiness in the world, and I love you dearly!!

Work has been the same... Terribly, terribly busy, and I'm exhausted most of the time. I had applied for a part time job at Target, but now I'm terribly thankful that I didn't get an interview yet... My full time job has also been my part time job, and thanks to overtime, it pays a helluva lot more than Target would! LOL In all honesty though, I just would like to make it a week of getting home at a decent time and being able to finish unpacking my kitchen. I want to feel settled!

We're going to have a Halloween party this year! I'm excited.. and at the same time I am stressing ALREADY of what to dress up as! I've never dressed up as a "normal" sized person, so it's going to be interesting. When I was looking on ebay last night, every thing I looked for was only available in a plus size.. when I was super duper plus sized, it was almost impossible to find a costume to fit on my body! Any ideas for costumes? I don't want any short dresses or low cut tops.. I'm a very modest girl! lol

Anyways, just wanted to check in and once again, I apologize for not keeping in touch more as well as being so behind on everyone's blogs. I feel cut off from all of you lately, and I hate it! :(

hugs to all of you!!!!

Freebie for your Birthday!

Join Aveda's Birthday Program today and get a free, full-size product on your birthday!

Frozen Lunches

Happy Monday, one and all! In an effort to further saving money and to make sure I don't waste money over and over again on frozen lunches that I don't like, I've started a spreadsheet reviewing frozen dinners. There are so many different varieties out there, when I go to the grocery store, I'm so damn confused! Several times I've ended up buying one that I previously tried and disliked immensely just because it sounded halfway decent on the box.

Is anyone interested in participating, or want a copy of once I've reviewed once I've gotten a good list going? Basically, I'm listing the brand, the name, whether I'd buy it again or not, and a short review (also listing the # of points and grams of protein). I'm not doing Weight Watchers, but I'm so familiar with their point system that it gives me a general idea of calories just by looking at it! :)

On another note, I finally dragged my ass back to the gym this weekend! It was nice... I was worn out, but I felt good!!!

The Grocery Game

My sister told me about a really cool site - The Grocery Game. Basically, it's a site where you pick your grocery store(s), and then you are provided with a weekly list of great buys based on advertised and unadvertised specials as well as coupons. They claim that you can save over 60% on your groceries!! WOW!

I am just starting, and although I haven't saved 60% yet, I've gotten some great deals. Each list is color coded (and different fonts, so it's b&w printer firendly). Green (bold) is an item you can get FREE, Blue (italics) is an item you can get at significant savings, and stockpiling is recommended if it is an item you use often, and black (plain text) is something that will go on sale for a better price soon.

Want to try it out? Go to http://thegrocerygame.com and sign up for the free 4 week trial. After the trial (which is really easy to cancel if you don't like), it is only $10 for the first store list every 8 weeks, and $5 for each additional if you would like more than one grocery store. Please use me as the referral! My email address is laurie9797@yahoo.com

Hope you enjoy!

Craziness!

Life has just been going by sooo fast lately! I am trying to keep up! lol It's hard to believe I've been living with John for almost a month already. We haven't gotten to see a whole lot of each other because work has us both so busy! :( I have not made any plans this weekend besides a haircut, so my weekend will hopefully consist of going to the gym, possibly for an early morning bike ride, and to finish unpacking the kitchen.. I had set aside unpacking the kitchen because we were going to pain the cabinets, but I think I'd be fine just getting new hardware. I'm ready to feel settled and get unpacked so I have a good sense of accomplishment. The kitchen and a few random boxes are all I have left! Woo hoo! :)

As far as my last post goes, I've slightly curbed the stress snacking.. I've turned back to my old friend, coffee. Yes, it has caffeine, but it's better than my high calorie alternatives. Plus, I'm so exhausted lately, it sounds damn good! LOL I am back under 160, and hope to be back down to 155 or lower the next time I weigh in. We shall see!

My downtime at home has been spent playing those cheesy games on facebook.. I love the Mafia Wars, Pirates, Special Forces, Bejeweled and Farkle games.. OMG they're addicting! haha

Anyways, wanted to touch base with you all... I really miss blogging and reading everyone's blogs.. I'll get back to where I was soon! :)

Time to Get Serious

I've been in denial. I've been avoiding the scale on purpose. Why? Because I've been so busy and stressed. What do I still do, after this period of almost 2 years post op? I stress eat. I can eat marshmallows and not dump. I know exactly how much sugar, fat, etc I can ingest before I hit the dreaded dumping syndrome. It's not failsafe, sometimes I do dump. But I truly wish I dumped EVERY time. That way I would have an issue with eating something I know I shouldn't!
I stepped on the scale this morning, and although I knew I'd probably be teetering around 160, I was at 164. My lowest weight was 151 I think.. but I haven't been above 157 in quite some time.. until now! I know my problem is snacking at work. I frequently chew on a variety of snack foods that are provided free by the company I work for. The temptation is ALWAYS there. In the kitchen, we have the packs of chips, cookies, granola bars, etc.. In payroll, we have every sort of chocolate you can imagine. We have free sodas - everything from Diet Dr Pepper to Ginger Ale. No wonder I gained 30 pounds working here BEFORE WLS.
I'm going to become conscious of what I put in my mouth like I should have been all along. I will not let the food win, and I refuse to become a WLS statistic by regaining what I lost!

They Just Keep Rolling In!!!

Wow, I've been cleaning up my computer and finally organizing my pictures and stuff.. and I keep coming across some quite flattering (cough, choke!) pictures of me! Here's the best angle ever for a pear shaped girl! LOL

This picture was actually a little over a month post op, so I was already down about 30-40 pounds... I remember I was losing rapidly, but not sure where I was at that point..
And, just for reference, here's another seated shot.. I still hate my legs, but wow, when comparing, maybe they're not so terrible after all! haha


Anyways... after that little trip, here's my update on life.
Work - still absolutely crazy.. nothing new there!
Non-work - John closed on his house on Friday the 24th.. We stayed there on Saturday for the first time. My commute is about 45 minutes now, which isn't as bad as I thought it would be. We're still both moving out, still both cleaning, etc. The house is really nice, but it's older, so it has more work to be done than a brand new "fresh" house! haha I'm working on the kitchen.. he's working on stuff outside, changing locks, getting the TV and computers set up.. you know, guy priorities! hehe I can't believe how much shelf paper is! WOW!!! I have spent probably $500 in cleaning products, shelf paper, new home supplies, etc in the past few days. I'm ready for that to stop and be able to get back to my debt snowball! :)
I'll update more soon and post some pictures as well! ;)

Hugs to you all!! As soon as life calms down a bit and/or I have DSL at the house, I'll be able to post and read more. I haven't had a computer at home for about 3 weeks now, so I'm limited to work.. and as I said, work is crazy! :(

Miss you all!!!

Before...

I can't believe I'm actually posting this picture, but it's Me... OLD me.. I will NEVER let myself get even remotely close to this again..
And obviously by the look on my face, I was miserable! lol

Bonus! 2 blogs in a day

Busy Bee!

Life has been swallowing me up lately. Work is busy... Home is busier.. I'm ready for a break! Yes, I had vacation last week, but that was just a blatant teaser on how relaxing life could be. Now I'm paying the price by being behind at work and even more behind at home.
Today is July 16 - in ONE WEEK, John will be a homeowner and I can move in with him. I am SOOOO behind on my packing. Jil and Michelle have been helping me with the packing, and a whole lot has been completed. But, there is still a lot to do! We haven't touched the garage, and while most of that stuff can be sold, I still have to go through in regards to kitchen stuff, etc. I was planning on having a garage sale on Saturday, but I'm waiting until August 1 so I can sell a lot more, and hopefully make some decent $. I'd like make enough to buy some plates and new pots and pans. When I was going through my divorce, I cheaped out on everything.. Ugh!!
I brought my portable hard drive to work, so once I update my Blackberry, I can listen to some fun music.. YAY LOL
Anyways, just wanted to check in. I'm trying to be a better blogger.. and a better blog reader.. We shall see!

Hugs to all! :)

Back from Vacation

Hi everyone! Sorry I never updated last week after my endoscopy, but my vacation started a day early since I was unable to go back to work after the scope.
It turns out I do have a few small ulcers in my pouch, just as I had figured. The treatment is just the Prevacid and the Carafate, which I started taking when I thought I may have an ulcer. The doctor said they will heal up within a month or so, and they may or may not come back. Some people never get them again, and some have issues with them all the time. So hopefully I will be the former, not the latter!

My cousin Casey flew down from New York last Monday, but I didn't get to see him until Wednesday because he went to visit my sister for the first 2 days. We all had a fabulous time. Wednesday we went to the Astros game, then the Aquarium and the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Thursday, we went to Space Center Houston and then to BJ's Brewhouse for dinner. Lots of eating on my vacation! LOL Friday, we spent the day in San Antonio and then BBQ'd with some friends on Friday evening.. Saturday, we went to lunch with my mom, then bowling in the evening. Sunday was brunch at Baba Yega and then we had to take Casey to the airport. I cried. I love my family so much, and miss them all! It was great to see him though, and hopefully we can go up to NY to see everyone soon enough.. I'd LOVE that. :)

This week, I'm catching up on work and in the evenings I'm packing and purging stuff. I'm having a quickie garage sale on Saturday morning to get rid of a bunch of things, and then donating/freecycling the rest. It'll be great to get rid of things! WOO HOO!

I have a doctor's appt with a new OB/GYN that Jil recommended to me. Fun stuff! haha

Anyways, I'll try to post more regularly again, but it probably won't get to be daily until August or so, with all the packing I have planned. FUN! :)

Hope all is well with everyone.. will be catching up on blogs as soon as I can! I feel sooo out of the loop with everyone! :(

I <3 Prevacid

This medicine has already made me feel quite normal again.. Hurray!
I'm still going to get my endoscopy done on Tuesday, but wow, it's nice to feel halfway decent again. Now, I just need to get a good night's sleep and get some energy so I can start my gargantuan packing project done!

Local ladies: I'll be purging a lot of things.. home decor, some furniture, shoes, purses, etc. Anything you may be interested in, let me know.

Health Update

On the plus side, I'm 151.4! LOL

I met with Dr. A (yes, that's the one, Kim H!), and he had me describe my pain. That coupled with the fact that I feel a lot better today after taking a single dose of Prevacid almost completely confirmed to him that it is indeed an ulcer. He does want to make certain, as well as to find out how big, and where it is located, so I have an endoscopy scheduled for Tuesday morning. I was already taking Weds-Friday off of work because my cousin will be in town, so now I have to take another day off... wow, all this vacation time just wittling away! LOL That's ok though, health first!

I left work early yesterday at noon b/c I was hurting so bad, and now it is today at 8:30 almost and I'm making up my hours and trying to get a ton of stuff done so I'm not causing my ulcer to grow gargantuan out of stress!

Anyways, just wanted to throw a quick update out there. I'll update again Tuesday after I get out of my post anesthesia loopiness fest!

Hugs to all!

Piece of Me - Britney Spears

RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, mp3 player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME/BAND NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
Technique - Linkin Park

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Walk on the Ocean - Toad the Wet Sprocket

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Window in the Skies - U2

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Falling - Roy Orbison

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Man on the Moon - R.E.M.

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Dirt - Alice in Chains

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Forever Young - Interpol

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Burning Down the House - Talking Heads (hahaha)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Sometimes - Erasure

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Throw Me Away - Korn

YOUR MAKING LOVE SONG:
Feels So Good (Show Me Your Love) - Lina Santiago

BREAK UP TO MAKE UP SONG:
Wave of Mutilation - The Pixies (haha)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
A Bad Dream - Keane (Geezz)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Champaigne Supernova - Oasis

YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE:
I'm Impressed - They Might Be Giants

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Telling Them - Social Distortion

YOUR DANCE ON THE TABLE SONG:
Love Song - Sara Bareilles

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Build Me Up Buttercup - NOFX

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Bring Me to Life - Evanescence

WHAT BEST SUITS YOUR PERSONALITY?
Total Eclipse of the Heart - Nikki French

YOUR FEEL GOOD SONG:
Promiscuous Girl - Nelly Furtado (LOL)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
1234 - Feist (nope, not into math lol)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Sexy Love - Neyo (um, no)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Fade into You - Mazzy Star

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
6 Underground - Sneaker Pimps

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
You Spin Me Round - Dead Or Alive

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Piece of Me - Britney Spears

TUESDAY!

I'm glad that I have Friday off this week.. it's been a helluva week already, and it's only Tuesday.

Yesterday, I left work at noon because I'm still having bad stomach pains. I saw Dr. W yesterday, and he seems to think it's an ulcer as well. He referred me to a gastroenterologist that I'll be seeing today at 2:15. I'm guessing that I'll have to have a scope done to confirm or rule out an ulcer, and we'll go from there. I'm actually not feeling too terrible today. I've been eating graham crackers and saltines.. and having lunch meat/tuna/cottage cheese for my protein. I'm just trying to stick to things that don't make me feel like crap. I did a liquid diet for a day last week, and that day I felt fine, but the next day I felt like poo again.. SIGH

Poor John even got to see me cry for the first time this weekend.. I'm just so sick of feeling bad. I wasn't even feeling terrible at that moment, but it's just a lot of discomfort and it got the better of me.

Anyways, that's about it for now. I'll post another update soon when I know more.

Feeling like Poo!

Well, I think I may possibly have an ulcer or something going on with my gut again. I had some sharp, shooting gas-like pains last night that lasted for HOURS, and one night last week. It obviously isn't a gallbladder attack, since I no longer have a gallbladder. It's quite unlikely that it's an intestinal hernia, since I just had that repaired in February, and it's not the normal type of hernia that recurs normally. So, what's that leave? An ulcer, or really bad gas pains. So, I'm treating both. I have some carafate from my hospital stint in feb, so I'm taking that, and I'm also taking gas x. If I have another bad attack in the next week or so, I'll call my doctor.

Beyond that, my world seems to be changing quite rapidly. John put an offer in on a house over the weekend. They countered, he countered back, and they accepted. So now goes the inspection, the financial stuff, and the preliminary closing date is July 23, a month from today! WOW! I have a lot of stuff to do before then.. lol

At home, the A/C was out last night.. they came to repair it today, and a new one is needed. They did a quick fix with a new part, but he couldn't guarantee how long it would last.. SIGH!! I wish I could help my mom out more financially, but I surely can't afford $5-6K! EEK!

Anyways, I have a lot going on at work too.. just wanted to put in a post as I know it's been awhile!
Hugs to all!

100 Things About Me

I saw this on one of my favorite blogger's sites, and I figured since I don't have a whole lot to say, this would help! It's simply 100 things about me. The more I think about it, if I don't have a lot to say, why in the heck am I doing a post that has ONE HUNDRED things about me? I'm into the self torture thing, I suppose! LOL

Anyway, here goes...



1) I am very happily divorced.

2) My favorite colors are red, black, grey and pink. I'm kind of digging orange a lot right now too.

3) Now that I am no longer super morbidly obese, my obsession with shoes and purses has gone down the totem pole a little bit.. maybe because I can actually find cute clothes?

4) I am a recovering shopaholic.

5) My boyfriend is one of the most fiscally responsible people I know. And he still likes me! lol

6) I recently confessed to my mom that I used to sneak out of the house all the time as a teenager. It felt good. lol

7) I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends, both local and through the blogosphere. Is that a word?

8) For the first time in my life, I really like where my life is heading.

9) I want to go back to school. Not for an accounting degree, but to become a personal trainer, dietitian, or gym teacher. I want my profession to keep me accountable with my life.

10) I LOVE music. I love Indie Rock, Pop, Alternative, etc... I go through phases where I like very off the wall things. I cannot work if I don't have music in the background.

11) I've never seen Titanic, nor do I have any desire to. I know what happens. Why waste my time? LOL

12) I have been extremely frustrated with my job for about 6 months now.

13) I get a massage once a month, and it is one of my vices.

14) I'm debating whether I should dump my blackberry and have a normal phone so I can save $30 a month. It's sad that I want to keep it b/c I can get Facebook on my phone. lol

15) I am 5'6". Yeah, I'm reaching here, and I'm only on #15!

16) I have a lead foot. I hate driving slow.

17) If I could go anywhere in the world, I would pick Greece. I would love to see all of the ancient ruins/architecture. I would be awestruck, I know!

18) I'm very tempted to rename this 20 things about me..

19) I am a pen klepto. If I use a pen to sign a receipt, I often walk off with the pen, not even realizing.

20) I'm smaller now than I was at any point in high school, maybe even middle school.

21) At one point, I owned over 60 pairs of jeans, in a range of sizes from 20-32. I couldn't get rid of anything b/c I wanted to get back in the smaller sizes, and I didn't have enough faith in myself to get rid of the bigger sizes if I shrunk out of them.

22) I hate yardwork.

23) I still have a relationship with my ex-husband's daughter who is 12 now. I adore her.

24) I really like my ex-husband's first ex wife. We understand each other. lol

25) I wish there was a Trader Joe's in Texas. I've heard so many good things about that store!

26) I love Target. It's one of my favorite stores.

27) I am in the process of collecting Continental One Pass miles. I don't ever want to have to pay for travel again. lol

28) I read the Twilight series over the course of a week. I loved it!

29) I read the Harry Potter series over the course of 5 months. I also loved it! I've also seen all of the movies that have been released so far.

30) My favorite types of movies are cheesy comedies. I love the 80's brat pack movies, The Wedding Singer, etc. I love to keep it light hearted.

31) I have been at the same job for almost 7 years. That's a long time!!

32) I worked for the Houston Rockets NBA team for almost 3 years. I had a good time working there, and sometimes still miss it.
33) I love ice hockey. I have season tickets to the Houston Aeros AHL team.

34) I am not athletically inclined at all. I once got a concussion from a basketball hitting my head.

35) I have a chihuahua named Roxcee. She was my gift to myself when I was going through my divorce. My ex husband was allergic to animals.

36) I was born in upstate New York. Most of my family still lives up there.

37) I've reunited with many of my cousins, aunts and uncles through Facebook. I <3>

38) I love Shark Week!

39) I have one sister and three half brothers. My sister lives 4.5 hours away, so I rarely get to see her. One of my brothers lives in Houston, one in Virginia, and one in New York, and it's been ages since I've seen any of them.

40) I love home improvement shows. I wish Andrew Dan-Jumbo would remodel my mom's house for her!

41) My favorite food is fondue. A close runner up would be hibachi style food.. Yum!

42) I think it would be really fun to be a house flipper, but this is the wrong economy to think about that!

43) I can't wait for July.. I have a mini-vacation planned when my cousin comes down to visit! :)

44) I'm having a lot of fun house hunting with my boyfriend.

45) I like playing World of Warcraft. My friend tried to get me to play it for over a year and I finally caved. I'm not very good at it though.

46) I'm over 6 months late for my annual ladies check up.. I finally made an appointment today! lol

47) People tell me I look like Renee Zellwegger. I do not see it. Except for the small eyes.. lol

48) I have realized that I'm very similar to my mom, and I don't mind one bit!

49) My dad, on the other hand, is not involved in my life one bit, and I think I bare no resemblance to him personality-wise.

50) I hope to have children one day.. just one or two.

51) I check my email way too often.

52) I have too many email addresses.

53) My wallet got stolen in Nov 2008, and I found the wallet at TJ Maxx a few months later, and I was so excited. I was more sad about losing the cutest wallet I ever had vs. losing its contents. lol

54) I have seen more movies in the last 6 months than I have in the last 6 years.

55) I have ADD in a major way. I kind of like it.. it makes me quirky and I can't imagine how I'd be if I were medicated.

56) I drink about 1-2 Diet Cokes a week.. With lots of ice... and now I want one right now!

57) Beef is my favorite meat. I could eat it every meal.

58) I don't care for chicken. I think it's from all of my years of dieting. I am chickened out. I like dark meat chicken b/c it's more moist, but it's still far from my favorite.

59) I love cooking, especially for groups of people.

60) I can't wait to help decorate when John buys his house.

61) I wish I had a steady hand so I could do my own manicures and pedicures. But I don't.

62) I have no artistic talent whatsoever.

63) My favorite subject in school was psychology. In high school, geography/history.

64) I have an associate's degree, and would love to get my bachelor's degree.

65) I probably own over 300 books, and have only read about 100. (not counting cookbooks)

66) I probably own over 100 cookbooks, and maybe have used about 20-30 recipes total.

67) I miss beer. I can handle diet coke with lots of ice now and again, but can't handle the carbonation of beer. I loved Shiner Bock and Samuel Adams.

68) I play DJ at work a lot and blast my little iPod... sometimes embarassing myself with my music collection.

69) I used to love horror movies, but now they freak me out.

70) Smurfs and Oompa Loompas scare me.

71) I cannot tell a joke to save my life. I ruin the punchline, or if it's really funny, I laugh so hard as I try to tell it that I can't even get it out!

72) Next time I buy a computer, it will probably be a Mac.

73) I am ready for the weather to cool down again so I can ride my bike more often and not feel like I'm dying.

74) I don't really share my blog with a lot of people I know, just those I am really close to, and those who have found me through similar life experiences.

75) I have a fear of falling.. This effects me when I ride a bike, skate, etc. I'm barely able to walk on two feet without tripping! lol

76) I'm highly neurotic.

77) I think too much, too often, and think far too into the most basic things.. Wait, is this repeating #76?

78) I love bargain shopping. It's fun, and it's great knowing you got a good deal!

79) My favorite TV show is Big Brother. I love it. I also love So You Think You Can Dance and the Office. Other than that, I don't watch a lot of television.

80) I like Britney Spears. I feel bad for her with all the problems she's had in the past.

81) I like Conan O'Brian over Jay Leno or David Letterman. The guy is really funny!

82) I'm a sucker for Broadway Shows. I've seen Phantom of the Opera, Spring Awakening, Grease, Spamalot and Avenue Q. I'd love unlimited funds to just hang out in NYC and go to every show out there!

83) If I was wealthy, I would probably still work. Granted, it would be something I love, but I'd have to do something.

84) I used to be a mentor at an inner city elementary school. It was very rewarding and very frustrating at the same time.

85) I love snorkeling, but the idea of scuba diving scares the bejeezus out of me!

86) Swimming is different not being morbidly obese. I'm not nearly as buoyant, and now I see that treading water truly IS exercise... before, it was a piece of cake!

87) My favorite feature is my smile.

88) My least favorite features are too numerous to list.

89) I would love to be a patient on Dr. 90210. They'd have fun with me!

90) I have a very soft spot in my heart for puppies.

91) I'm starting to like cats as well. John has 2 cats and I adore them.

92) I can't dance. Not even a little.

93) I almost always have a pair of sunglasses on my head.

94) I can never find my sunglasses.

95) I have no dressy clothes anymore. My wardrobe consists of jeans, khakis, and casual tops.

96) My feet have shrunk since surgery. I used to be a size 8.5 with all shoes being stretched out. I now wear a size 8, and they're not stretched. YAY!

97) I wear very little makeup. Eyeliner, Mascara, and powder.. that's it

98) My face is almost always pink. I blush easily, and it is in my genes... I always look embarassed.

99) When I'm angry, I cry. It makes me feel weak, which makes me more angry, and makes me cry more.

100) I'm a sympathy cryer too. If someone around me is crying, I almost always start crying too.

There you have it... It was tough for awhile there, but I did it!!! Hope you're all still awake! LOL

Self Sabotage... WHY?! WTF?!

I had a lovely conversation with one of my dearest friends in the world last night, Jil. We discussed lots of things, but the thing that stuck with me is that we as C&P girls are insanely talented at sabotaging ourselves from having complete success. Why do we do this? I have been stuck in the 150s since February, and I could have EASILY lost my last 10 pounds if I didn't do the things I do.
What do I do, you ask? I eat. Things I shouldn't. Granted, I don't eat like Pre C&P Laurie, but damn, I don't eat like I should. It's work. I think about food CONSTANTLY at work. I snack constantly. Yesterday snacks consisted of hearts of palm with a few sprays of Ceasar dressing, some sour patch kids, Cheerios snack mix, etc. Yeah, hearts of palm are a great snack at only 20 calories for a whole freakin jar. But SOUR PATCH KIDS? Um.. no! There is NOTHING healthy about these.. sure, they're fat free, but honestly, I think fat is better than sugar in our case. I've also taken a newfound liking to frappuccino lights at Starbucks. I don't give a flip if they're light.. they're still laden with sugar and there are a million other things that would be a healthier solution. I'm trying to quit the Starbucks.. I really think they put something in there to make you addicted, why else would we pay $3 for a drink? It's freakin ridiculous.

Some theories on why we do what we do... thank you so much to Jil for helping provide these theories!

• if we don't completely succeed (ie. reach our ultimate goal), we can justify not being happy with ourselves, or have the "what now" syndrome. If we are not at goal, we still have something to blame besides ourselves.
• what if things are still not what we thought they would be. Our fat was a crutch.. still is actually. What if we do not find our happiness that we didn't have b/c we were fat once we aren't fat anymore?
• If we reach goal, we have to figure out how to DEAL with issues, vs. just silencing ourselves with our former best friend, food.

This crap needs to stop. I have lost close to 160 pounds. I can lose another 10. I have a pouch, not a football sized stomach like I used to. Sure, it may have stretched a bit, but it is still nowhere near what it used to be. I need to stop finding comfort in my old things, and learn to deal with life. I have so many wonderful things happening in my life, and although work is driving me mad lately, I can't let my thoughts win. I'm better than that.. we all are!!

Weekend Update.... New Attitude!

Wow, what a crazy weekend!
Friday night, we went over to my friend Michelle's house and had dinner and watched a movie.. well, everyone but me watched a movie. I fell asleep! LOL I woke up after about 45 minutes and stood up to go to the restroom, and I almost blacked out. I got dizzy and my world turned black.. but within a minute I was fine again! Not sure if I overheated since someone covered me up with a blanket and I was hot.. or my blood sugar may have bottomed out.. or who knows what else!! It's crazy though!!
Saturday, we went over to Jil's and swam and had a lovely time. I only got a little bit of sun on my shoulders.. the rest of me is just so pale and pasty that I reflected the sunshine! LOL
John is house hunting right now, so after we left Jil's, we went to a place called the Great Indoors (very cool store, but absolutely unaffordable!), and then we went to Lowe's so he could price appliances that he'll need.
Sunday, we went to go look at a few houses.. One was a definite no, one was a possibility, and the last one there is definitely some interest there, so we'll see what happens! Also, John asked me if I'd move in with him when he moves! YAY! LOL I am really excited about that. He's such a wonderful person, and I'm truly lucky that I met him.
So.... in just a few months time, I will be living with John. And in just a few months time, I have a LOT to do. I have a lot of stuff I want to go through and get rid of.. it's overwhelming but exciting at the same time. It's amazing how in the blink of an eye, everything in your life changes instantly!
As far as my funk goes... I can tell I'm coming out of it. I ate better this weekend... got lots of walking in. I can't wait to go back to the gym though, and make it part of my routine again!
Now I need to work on catching up with my blog friends! :) Miss you all!!!!
xoxo

Bitchfest!!

Thanks to you all for the encouraging words.. I appreciate it all!!

I really am sick of being a bitchy, grumpy mess! This weekend, I'm going to focus on regaining control of things. I'm going to step back into the gym, try to forge a loving relationship with water, and just try to relax and de-stress. I will yank my friend's copy of Don't Sweat the Small Things and see if I can get some words of wisdom from there as well. Ha!

Kim J, YES, when you get back from England, we're going to have to kick each other's rears into shape.
Kim H, while the 30 day challenge sounds amazing, I am not going to do it. I think instead my focus should be 3 - 5 gym days a week, and walking the rest. I know I'm way too hard on myself and will just set myself up for failure. Once I'm back on track, I'll be gung ho to go! lol

I've been thinking a lot lately (well, my brain never stops grinding) about life in general. I just feel kind of lost right now. My work consumes me (not by choice), and I am just overloaded. When I leave here, I'm just so drained and rarely do too much after work the past few weeks. I think my EBV (chronic fatigue) is super active right now too, b/c I have absolutely ZERO energy. A vacation sounds divine... my cousin is flying down from New York in a few weeks, so I'll have 3 days off of work, but before that is my deadline so I'll probably be exhausted the whole time he's here! ugh!

Well, I hope you ALL have a lovely, wonderful weekend. I hope to be back in better spirits come Monday. :-)

Uninspired

Today, my little group at work gets to go to the Astros game at 1:05 as a Thank You for a job well done. It was a very nice surprise, and I'm excited to get out of the office and go to a game! I haven't been to a game this season, so it'll be a treat! Hopefully I'll be a good luck charm for them, b/c lately they need all the luck they can get! lol

Besides that, life as I know it has been the same old, same old. I've been uninspired lately. I don't know what to blog about, and feel like I'm just very uninteresting right now. The only time I have anything to say, it's just a weekend update. Blah! LOL I have not been a very good patient the past few months with all of the stress of work and trying to get things paid off. I eat like crap, drink diet cokes 1-2 times a week, and have a carb fest daily. I really need to kick my bad habits and get back to basics, but OMG it's hard! I only have 10 pounds to go, but for some reason my psyche is not cooperating with me and the devil on my shoulder wins most of my battles. I don't know if it's hormonal, the extra carbs wreaking havoc, or what, but I'm also super emotional lately as well. WTF!?

I know what I need to do to fix my food/carb issues, but it is certainly overwhelming, and it's a lot easier to say screw it than to deal with things and move on. I just need a vacation.. from food, from everything! LOL I eat when I'm at work stressed.. at home and on weekends, I eat only when really hungry, and don't even think about food like I do constantly at work.. UGH!

Ok, the babbling better stop since I have got to get back to work.. if you have any words of wisdom for me, I'm all ears!!

SWAMPED!!!

Hello there, ladies and gentlemen... Sorry my blogs have been sporadic at best, and my blog reading is even worse. I have read a couple but haven't had time to leave comments like I love to do.. SIGH! My deadline at work is this Friday, so after that, things will hopefully be better for a few weeks. I'm still training, trying to get my job done, and just dealing with a general overload of work.

I haven't had time to exercise. Kim H, I am going to do the challenge, but I'm going to have to start it on Monday, as I will likely have 10-12 hour days all week, and I don't want to set myself up for failure! Good luck this week, and I'll be joining you next week!

I also might as well be taking caffeine intraveinously. I have been getting venti skinny drinks at Starbucks the past two mornings, and sadly, I only feel halfway awake still. I think a detox is in order once I make it through this week - but until then, I will have my venti and I will smile about it!! LOL

I am not weighing myself this week either. I have always retained water, and especially since I am on a coffee diet and am at my desk about 50-55 hours this week.... again, I don't want to set myself up for failure. I weighed in on Sunday at 158, and as long as I'm back there by this Sunday, all is good! LOL

I've just been living for the weekends lately, and when the weekend is here, I'm nowhere near a computer! I WILL catch up on everyone's lives soon, and get ready to be bombarded with comments when I do! :)

Miss you all!!!

xoxo

Missing Out!

Wow, I feel like I'm just missing out on everyone's lives lately. I haven't had time to blog, to read blogs, or to do much of anything lately! It's sad, and it's making me moody, damn it!

I'm trying desperately to catch up reading blogs, and I really thought I should post one too.. I was so good for awhile there, posting every weekday! lol But lately, I'm doing craptastic at that too!

Anyways, here's the skinny from my POV... And I'll be catching up on all of you as soon as possible!!!

Weight - holding steady at 156 Still have 9 lbs to go to my ultimate goal, but not trying too hard to lose weight as much as just trying to become a little less jiggly! LOL

Life in General:
Had a lovely weekend.. I didn't nap this weekend at all, so maybe I'm coming out of my exhaustion just a smidge, even though I would just LOVE a nap right now! LOL

Friday night, we went to see the new Terminator movie.. Christian Bale is super easy on the eyes, so that helped make up for the fact that I've only seen Terminator 2.. I didn't care for it too much, but those movies aren't really my type of thing.. 3 of the 4 people that went really wanted to see it, so I just go with the flow! haha Saturday night we went to see Night At the Museum 2.. and that was very funny.. much more my type of film! :) Sunday, Jil's friend had a crawfish boil/bbq/pool party that we went to.. It was nice, but we didn't swim as the weather was kind of cruddy. I ate way too much, and just wanted to sleep later! LOL After that, we went to pick up the "man bowl" that I made for John at the pottery place... i must say, a 3 year old may have done a better job! hehe but he liked it at least! :) On Monday, we grilled at a friend's house and went swimming... I'm still a bright shade of white even though I was in the sun for 2 hours or so.. I must reflect the sun! LOL That was it in a nutshell for me this weekend..

Now it's back to work, being stressed, and living for the next weekend... SIGH!!!

The Amazing Race... at work!

At my job, we have quarterly (more like twice annually) "fun days", which are team building exercises that we participate in. The last one was in November of last year, and was a ROPES course. That was really neat! This one, was an Amazing Race style day. It was lots of fun, but damn, I'm hurting today!

We left the office around 10:45 and headed to Memorial City Mall.. We ate lunch at Beck's Prime and it was delicious!

Then we had about 10 various tasks to do which involved running alll over the mall many, many times:

• go to the "garden of olives" and find a clue.. which lead us to...
• Show your Texas Pride by putting a bumper sticker on your shirt, and take a picture with all team members with their stickers... in which we got another clue..
• One team member had to ride the carousel and get a picture... once we rode, we got another clue.
• I don't watch the show, but apparently there are "detours" where you pick one of two tasks.. one was Round 1-3 of Dance Dance Revolution, with pictures, or 2 team members had to do 5 laps around the ice skating rink (which is what we chose, thankfully I was not one of those members)
• Once we finished that, we had to do a memory game and solve a puzzle, and that gave us our next clue
• Run to Target, and write down prices for about 6 different items around the store. (one of the groups ahead of us played dirty and hid a few of the items and removed the price tags.. grr!!)
• Next, we had to run to the top of the Dillards parking garage, and sing a song while it was videotaped (we got Mickey by Toni Basil!) LOL
• After that, the man in our group had to take a picture wearing a veil from a bridal shop.. that was funny!
• Then we had to find a stranger that would let us paint their nails... I was the lucky painter, and the poor stranger was a good sport! LOL
• Then, we had to wear a hat, and have a stranger wear some funny glasses.... each of us had to find a different stranger to take a picture with.
• Then! one of our team members had to eat a bowl of spaghetti without utensils...
• Then, we had to rent a stroller and run back to the fire place by the skating rink.

If you know Memorial City Mall at all, you know that NONE of this stuff is near each other, so I got plenty of exercise yesterday! OMG! My knee was killing me towards the end and I was limping back to my car! We came in 4th place I think, as we got held up pretty bad with the ice skating event and the missing stuff at Target. It was a lot of fun though, and definitely a good workout! :)

But now... I'm a day further behind at work, and have lots to do!

SIGH!!!

I will post again later today or tomorrow.. hope everyone is doing great! :)

I'm Still Alive

Hi ladies and gentlemen! :-)
I'm still unbelievably busy at work, and I'm wondering when it's going to calm down a bit. Then, I started realizing that it's officially the "busy season" where I work.. so a long explanation short, it'll slow down in December! :( At least soon I will only have MY job, not training others. Hopefully! :)

I'm doing crappily on my challenge. I'm getting lots of movement and exercise in, but it's not all at the gym, so I feel like I'm cheating. Yeah, I know, I'm dumb sometimes.. but that's just how I am! Can't help it! LOL Yesterday my "activity" was trying on every item in my closet so my friend could tell me if it looked ok on me or if it was time for retirement. I was able to pass on a large lawn bag of clothing to someone in need (Kim J, I did look for you, but didn't have anything unfortunately! :( ).. Yeah, it was a pain in the butt, but my closet is already looking so much better now. Huzzah! Next week: Purses, shoes and my dresser purging... What fun will that be!? Anyone need purses or shoes? LOL I'm a size 8 in shoes.. may have some 8.5s.

I know it's Tuesday already, but didn't give my weekend update! haha Friday, John and I went to dinner at a little Vietnamese place... sooo yum and so healthy! Then, we went and had a few drinks with some of his work friends.. lol Spoiled that healthiness, didn't I? I DID go to the gym Friday and got a good elliptical session in though.. :)

Saturday, we slept till NOON! I told you guys I've been super exhausted lately, I wasn't kidding!! Soon after we got moving, we headed to Michelle's house for a Harry Potter marathon. I told you I've been reading the series.. I'm finally on Book 7, just one chapter into it, but still! So, we watched movies 2-4.. 5 I have at my house to watch, and 6 comes out in theaters next week.

Sunday, we went to brunch at Baba Yega. It was delicious.. A total waste, but delicious. They have a bad ass buffet, that I have passed over the other two times I've been there, but this time, I wanted to try it, damn it! I didn't get ill, and didn't overeat, and it was just wonderful! They had all sorts of yummy fruit and salad, a meat bar, eggs benedict and florentine, an omelet station, etc. I tried a tiny bit of almost everything. YUM! After that, I finished my HP book 6 that I was on, and took a nap.. You've got to freakin be kidding me... i feel like an old lady with all my naptimes in lately!!! Geez!

Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell? And how was YOUR weeekend? :-)

My personal projects for the week:

• Step up my challenge and feel good about what I'm doing for activity
• Step up my water drinking (I confess, there hasn't been ONE day where I've gotten 64 oz of water in post op)
• Try to find a little more balance with my activities. I'm running myself into the ground, and I don't like feeling like that!

Till tomorrow... I'm still working on catching up on my blog reading as well!

hugs to all! :)
Happy Tuesday!