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.