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About this blog

THE SWEET SPOT My journal on my expedition to Bandlandia and my adventures there. I plan to stay forever (been to Onederland many times, but I never stayed long). Join me!:see

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3/31/09 UPDATES: Track, Pipes, LB

OK, some updates for anyone who cares… TRACK: From my whinefest yesterday: Just as I was pulling on my long-johns yesterday for the 4 hour freezefest I got a call from DS2 saying it was cancelled as the other track team felt it was too cold (OK, someone agreed with me). Apparently it was NOT too cold for our team. Our coaches made the kids practice outside for 2 hours anyway and then they scheduled an impromptu away meet today. OK, I had already rescheduled Monday’s guitar lesson to Tuesday (and paid for it)…you know, from the day OF the meet to the day of NO meet. He’s not going to the meet (and he’s fine with it…half the kids won’t be there as they have a chorus event)…apparently I wasn’t done whining yet. PIPES: Cover your ears NOW if you don’t want to hear about my pipes/dia-pee issues. I’m living on the edge over here. I ‘borrowed’ some of DD’s thin little girlie almost-thong-sized mini-pads. I feel like a man who’s been surgically castrated…there’s something missing between my legs. I’m thinking my new trial pack of drugs might be working pretty well. If this keeps up I’m going back downtown to my dealer for a refill. These pads are so thin you can see through them, but I’m a risk taker (and I have nowhere to go today…oh yeah, the guitar lesson). I’ve just started measuring my water intake and pushing fluids for post-op (I’m the queen of good timing). We may have a repeat of the ‘big flood’ of ’05. That’s when I had to call (from the bathroom) for DS2 (he was the only one home) to run and bring me some towels and a pad…that’s when I scheduled my bladder surgery and took out stock in Poise…and when DS2 dubbed pads ‘dia-pees’. Yes, I continue to scar my kids for life…and what was I saying yesterday about parents embarrassing their teens? Actually we were both laughing hysterically at the time, and every once in awhile he still loves to tease me about it and laughingly whisper to me that he’s going to tell everyone (so don’t tell him I’ve already told the world…shh, it’s our little secret). That’s when I pull out my tube top threat or bribe him with treats…we have a wonderful relationship…it’s all based on secrets, threats and bribery…I’m a good mom that way. So far, so good, LAP-BAND: I still can’t get the ‘Insurance Specialist’ at my surgeon’s office to call me back. Love the woman when I talk to her, but if she's that busy (which I'm guessing is true) they need to get her an assistant. I started calling her last Monday (8 days ago) and every day since then. I left a fourth message on her voicemail today asking for a 5 min. meeting with her on Wednesday morning so I can bring my last papers in and GET A TENTATIVE DATE (and I told her I was going to call the surgeon’s Admin. Asst., Susan). I just called Susan and nicely asked if Patti’s been out…nope, so I told her my issues and asked if I could just come down tomorrow, nope, no welcome-mat, I have to talk to the ins. gal. OK, HOW can I do that? She apologized and took a message for me. I’ve now risked pissing off the ONLY person who can help me get approved or not, which I certainly didn’t want to do, but that shows you how much pressure I’m getting to set a date (I'm sure my ears will be burning/ringing soon). I think the world will probably implode if I don’t get this done on Wednesday…so if you hear the BIG BANG, run for cover. Here comes the ‘yadda-yadda-yadda’ *just keep saying this in your mind as you scan the rest of this as quickly as possible until you get to WHEW while I release a quick (well, that depends on how fast you can scan) bit of pressure off the cooker*…I’m not telling anyone but DH, so I don’t want to be on the pre-op diet and traveling to my family for Easter. I’ve been avoiding calling my Mom (who had foot surgery last week and I haven’t talked to since…it’s killing me) because she’s been bugging me to come there (Ohio) for Easter and she needs to get the house ready, Easter baskets ready (yes, I always tell her I’ll do them, she won’t have that) and did I mention she just had surgery? DD calls me daily to see if we’re going for Easter because she wants to bring the BF and he needs to plan and she needs to ask off work and talk to his Mom about leaving…I’m all out of excuses. DH is getting big pressure from work (in the throes of layoffs there) to schedule several more work trips in April (he just called me a min. ago to ask AGAIN "Do you think you'll get a date tomorrow?", and DS1 still hasn’t taken Easter weekend off work yet, so who knows if he’ll be able to at this point. We’ve also got several kid doctors’ appts. scheduled that Friday that will need to be rescheduled, but within a few days as they’re time sensitive visits…the closer we get the less likely I’ll be able to do this. I’m being pressured from EVERYONE! *WHEW* So, I’ll either be back here ranting or doing the happy dance tomorrow…coin toss now! I’m really not impatient to get surgery ASAP...I really don't care if it's in May at this point; I just need to know WHEN it might be!
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3/30/09 Out Like A Lion

OK, I realize it’s not quite the end of March but come on!!! Snow??!!! I’m in Pittsburgh, not flippin’ Fargo!!! (Ooops, sorry Fargo, I just heard on the news you’re having flooding, best wishes to Fargo). There’s snow flurries coming down and the wind is howling so fast that the wind chill is Frickincoldashell. I’m officially on strike until Spring shows up…I’m hibernating inside until it gets warmer…I’m so DONE with you Winter! Winter has forced me into being a bad mother. Let me preface this by saying we’re good parents, we go to everything the kids want us to. I was even Homeroom Mom (and full-time bulletin board/teacher’s helper) every year for all three of my kids until it ended at Middle School. Hey I was an Art Teacher and we did awesome fun stuff…the teachers were fighting over getting my kids into their class the next year…my kids were proud…until they became teens, at which point parents are embarrassing. We even go to most of the things the kids don’t want us to…that’s when we get.. ‘But nobody else’s parents are coming!’…OK, I listened when it came to the Middle School Dance chaperones…I let some other mom (who wants to be ‘friends’ with her teen) embarrass their teen (bet she hit the dance floor!). My standard response now when they say I’ve embarrassed them over something little is ‘Embarrassed?!! You’d better watch it or I’m going to show up at one of your dances in my sequin tube top!...that always gets them. There’s a point in High School though where you become less embarrassing again, either that or they learn to tolerate the embarrassment…DS1, age 18, now doesn’t whine when I chat with his friends as long as I don’t hang out long, don’t show naked baby photos, and I’m feeding them well as they’re over playing poker, Guitar Hero, or video games…they actually started playing the board game Risk lately (how old school!). DS2 has another (weekly) Track Meet tonight and I asked him if he cared if I just came to pick him up at the end…he grumbled OK, but I think he cared. I really think he was picturing that he might be the last kid picked up…no kid likes that, I was one of 5 kids with a busy Mom, so I remember the feeling and I try really hard to avoid that. The problem is it’s hard to predict when athletic events like this are going to end…I might as well be predicting the stock market…yes, I loaned him my cell phone, but will he call me in time to get there (the school is a ½ hour away)….no chance! There’s always ‘We can’t take a phone on the field so it was up in the bleachers and the coach wanted me to stay down there between events to warm up, so I couldn’t call you, but WHY were you late?!!!” Who does he think I am, Carmac the Magician? I don’t think he’s ever been the last kid picked up. And doesn’t he remember that I’m the same Mom who got one of two speeding tickets in my life because both boys were playing soccer games in two different locations and his soccer game ran overtime? Heck, he was in the car as the lights were flashing behind us and I didn’t pull right over, but made the police car follow me the extra thousand feet into the park where I pulled up right in front of the coach and DS1’s soccer team…TEAM you hear me?!...I was still one of the first Mom’s there! OK, so it turned out to be the school DARE officer (nice lady who wrote down less mph than I really was going, thank you) so all the kids knew her and DS1 will never let me forget how badly I embarrassed him…but if you’re a Mom who’s ever been late and you get that panicked/heart in your throat feeling as you’re driving and don't know if your kid is safe, then you know what I mean (you younger moms probably buy your tots cell phones so you’ll never have this problem). Now I wonder why teens say parents are embarrassing? Why is it that teens sometimes don’t want you to show up at anything, sometimes want you not even to exist if they're with friends? I swear there’s moments they’d like me to be invisible when I’m driving them and their friends places….and God help me if I talk too much in the car to their friends…I’ll hear about it later!...Mom! Why do you always have to laugh and talk to my friends so much?!...and yet if it involves sitting in the cold to watch them run for 1, 2, and 5 min. (events) out of a THREE-FOUR HOUR Track Meet, yes, then they want you there. I may go to the last hour since two of his events (they can only be in three) are always at the end…I’ll see how cold it is then. I’m a bad Mother, I know! Sitting in those elevated bleachers so the wind smacks you in the face as it whips across the field while your fat butt, that you thought was oh-so-very-insulated goes numb from sitting on those cold metal benches, for any longer than I have to does not sound fun today. And hey, I may be going to my pre-op class this week (toes crossed) and these weak asthmatic lungs don’t need bronchitis or pneumonia for the seventh time right before surgery…….you’re not buying my plea for sympathy are you? But it’s SO COLD! I'm sounding like a whining teen aren't I? Nuff said.
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3/3/10 Blog Updates

Sorry, I'm a little behind with all of you as I've been having some issues (gallbladder, etc.). I'll get caught up today!   Here are my blogs about what's been going on, another nutrition blog on sweets, and my gift for reaching goal. Enjoy! Oh, and don't forget ANYONE can leave comments (just chose the anonymous and write your name so I'll know it was you, and just keep pushing that post/publish button, it's stubborn and takes several times and a word recognition). -BG   I'm Stoned: 3/2/10 I'm Stoned ~ THE SWEET SPOT Sweets and Sugar-Free: 3/1/10 Sweets & Sugar-Free ~ THE SWEET SPOT Dizzy Blonde: 3/1/10 Dizzy Blonde *Update* ~ THE SWEET SPOT My Sexy New IRS Friends: http://bandgroupiethesweetspot.blogspot.com/2010/02/22810-my-sexy-new-irs-friends.html
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3/3/09 Better Late than Never

As you know, I've only had to lose a little weight on my 6 month diet (OK, stop cursing at my ‘plight’, pity-party going on here). This weekend I started thinking about how I’m now close to the end, and I’m terrified of going straight from barely a diet to a pre-op diet with no preparation. I’ve done my research, but I haven’t been able to put much into practice.   So here’s what I decided yesterday at my 5th Monthly weigh-in…I’m going to start a more strict diet…Woot! OK, it’s the ONLY time I’ve ever been happy to diet…ever! I’ve never been one of those dieters that goes into a new diet feeling happy about it. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t enthusiastic and optimistic, and I wouldn’t say miserable, just not ‘happy’. You know those people…they’re at their 50th WW meeting still happy to be on the diet, even if they’ve only lost 1/8 of their excess weight. Not me…I’m enthusiastic, but I’m the one who by the first WW meeting has already plugged into my calendar how many pounds I’ll lose each week and when I’ll be at goal so I can stop the diet (and I do just that). Yeah, I get that’s probably why I’ve never kept the weight off. I did GREAT at a few diets I’ve been on and have lost major weight, and did fair at all the others, so I can follow a diet, but not for one moment was it a happy experience. You’d think in all the hundreds of pounds I’ve lost over the years would have created a few happy diet moments…nope…even when I’d lost a ton…I felt like I was starving the whole time, so happy about dieting…nope.   My ‘body dysmorphic disorder’ (found that one on the internet) doesn’t help either. For some reason even with major weight loss I’ve never felt great about it. Eight years ago I was on Atkins and lost down to 160 for my youngest sister’s wedding I was in…I HATE my photos from her wedding…I think I look fat. Here I am about 90 pounds heavier than that, and I feel exactly the same...I don’t ‘see’ any difference, and I don’t feel any fatter than I did then, so actually, I guess you’d say I see myself as thinner than I am now. I’ve got plans to work on this…it’s called a camera…if I can see the changes, I’ll embrace the changes.   So yesterday I started the LB rules/diet. By the time I get to my pre-op diet, in about 6 weeks, I’ve made the decision NOT to call this a diet. Diet’s have an ‘end point’ for me, and the Lap Band doesn’t, so I’ll officially be starting a lifestyle change. I started using my tracking site yesterday and I had trouble even setting a date for my goal weight, because I was back to ‘end point’, so I gave myself 2 whole years from my surgery to lose the excess weight. My plan is to set more aggressive short term goals, so when I lose faster than that graph I can always feel good about it. I’ve also made the decision to eventually eat as ‘normally’ as possible so I don’t feel deprived. Oh, I’ll follow all the rules (remember I’m a good dieter), but I’m hoping at this point not to be one of those Lap Banders whose still drinking daily protein shakes and counting every calorie a year out. How in the world does that get you away from a food obsession? That’s not a way I can live, and I need a lifestyle change…something I can live the rest of my life with. I get that I’ll be doing whatever works at the time, so for now, while I need to learn all the rules, I am counting everything; my measurements, calories, carbs, fiber, protein, fluid intake, timing of fluids before/after meals, exercise, and I’m measuring the food amounts so I’ll know what ‘a cup of food’ looks like for post-band. I’m just happy to be starting these changes now…FINALLY!  
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3/29/09 New Weight Loss Trials

Searching through WLS information I've run across several procedures I'd never heard of (VSG, DS). I'm sure you've heard that they are already doing single incision LB procedures (in through the belly button). Recently, I've heard of some new trials and have run in to people online who are participating in them; like TOGA. The procedure is incisionless and is done by going down the throat with a tool that opens like a book (that has staples sticking out of the pages), vacuums stomach tissue into the crease of the book and then closes, this is repeated several times to create several 'folds' that make a pouch near the entrance to the stomach. See article and video HERE.     Just this week on the news there were two stories on WL trials. The first is taking place at the hospital I'm going to in Pittsburgh, Allegheny General. The first woman in the trial previously had RNY surgery and it didn't work for her. The new procedure that she had is deep brain stimulation. They use a similar procedure already approved for controlling Parkinson's disease, turrets, seizure disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and Dystonia.   The procedure is safer than the RNY surgery she already had. They insert electrode wires into the brain, which stimulates metabolism and decreases appetite. Small stimulators (similar to pacemakers) are placed under the skin and the doctor can continue to adjust it with a remote. She's now losing 2 pounds a week. You can watch the short news clip HERE.   This week the Today Show had a piece on three new prescription weight loss drugs that are in the final phases of FDA approval. The FDA has tightened their requirements since Phen-fen was taken off the market, and these three drugs have been in prolonged human clinical trials. All three new drugs work on the brain to decrease appetite and increase metabolism, and all show good promise. They are combinations of drugs that are already on the market to treat other things; Wellbutrin (anti-depressant), Topomax (seizures), and part of the Phen-fen drug that is still on the market. If you want to view the Today Show piece click HERE. I'm certainly not waiting for these to come on the market, but I find these stories interesting. There's another good thing about the LB; it can be unfilled or removed if a miracle cure comes along. Keep dreaming!
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3/27/09 Do you measure up?

Does the sight of this lovelly belt send shivers down your spine? But it says 'You can add extra holes.' And look, I think it goes ALL the way out to 15"! Thinspiration? And for my metric friends, they have your size too... Hey, why stop there...let's place it around the hips! Quiz: What's the scariest part of this picture? A. The tape measure belt? B. The fact that this person has no belly button? (I'm guessing tummy tuck and they didn't want to pay the extra moohla for a new button?) The "Anna Rexia" costume with a tape measure belt...that's just so wrong! Now MAYBE once my pants are this baggy and if I don't have a buckle... And for my friends in our Bunny Bandsters April group... OK, I could totally wear this bracelet. My wrists are tiny...but that's the only thing on me that is! What's next...shoes with digital scale displays ontop?!!
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3/26/09 Pipe Dreams

WARNING- If you don’t want to hear more about my incontinence problems…STOP READING…NO, REALLY…I’m going to pee on you!!…Alright, you’ve been warned. If you haven’t heard about my past issues I’ll sum it up by saying having three kids did my body in…I didn’t have migraines or osteoarthritis and I certainly wasn’t obese or incontinent until I had children. It’s all their fault…not buying it are you? Well, the incontinence IS probably from childbirth…that and genetics, Mom has had two incontinence surgeries (she’s had 5 kids), one of my sisters is on “urgency/bladder” pills (she’s had 4 kids), and DD, yes my 21 year old DD just started the same medication this year (no kids yet…she’s doomed…but that’s our secret…k? I want to be a Grammy someday!). Three and a half years ago I got fed up…it was just before I got diagnosed with adult-onset asthma…extreme coughing and incontinence together…it’s not a pretty thing.   So I swallowed my pride and brought it up at my annual OBGYN exam. Before I knew it I was tested, retested, scheduled, and in for surgeries…not one, but two…a hysterectomy and a bladder sling (both solely for incontinence) back to back with two different surgery crews. The surgeries worked!...I was even contemplating buying some cute underwear, maybe even a thong, now that I was sans mega-pad! Fail! Yep, starting just a few weeks out and before the next year I was back in my mega pads…DS2 calls them ‘dia-pees’…lovely…and no, I’m not in diapers, yet…groan. My coughing/sneezing/laughing pee problem stayed cured, but getting to the potty in time…I’m like a 2 year old starting potty training (lots of running with clothes flying off...good thing I'm now at home and 10 steps from a bathroom at all times)! After another 2 years I got up the courage to go back to my Urologist for more fun testing (read Urodynamics- HERE and Glamour Shots... HERE if you haven’t had enough already), let’s just say he was baffled as I’m the only patient he’s had that the surgery has failed…don’t I feel special…yep, I’m a mystery. So he sent me to another Urology Specialist. I had to wait four months to get in (I took that as a good sign that she must be magical), but today was finally my day! Whoo-hoo…I was expecting more Urodynamics and maybe some new fun testing. The nurse brought me in and asked me about a million questions…some that got me thinking about what testing might be in store for me; things like… ‘Have you ever had your Urethra dilated?’ I have no clue what that means but it sure sounds painful and visuals of balloons up my hoo-ha were forming!! I, of course, divulged that I would be having LB surgery next month (just in case they couldn’t get all their testing in by then). (*Side note here: After exclaiming ‘You don’t look like you would need WLS!’, she spent the next 5 min. asking me all about it). I gave my usual lemonade sample and waited on the table…in came the doc and I told her the same story/issues I’ve been having…she gives me a puzzled look…I’m thinking, here we go again…but then…wait for it… ‘Did your Urologist put you on medicines?’ Me ‘Nope. I know there’s stress and urgency incontinence, but he always said I only have the stress kind and meds wouldn’t help me.’ More frowning…I’m thinking the testing list is getting longer… ‘You DO realize the surgery doesn’t cure any of the urgency problems you’re still having?’ Say WHAT?!!! After that I believe there was some diagram drawing and discussion of the different causes of incontinence, but my head was spinning. Stirrups up and a quick exam and I was given some pills to try out…ARE YOU TELLING ME THE LAST THREE YEARS I COULD HAVE BEEN TAKING A SIMPLE PILL FOR THIS??!! I’m on VESIcare (Yep, I'm now one of those annoying pipe people with leaky pipes, faulty internal plumbing, and drippy spigot- genitalia until I get my pill...maybe I need a gauge) and I ‘should notice results immediately, or there’s about 5 other pills we can try!’ (so I might be one of those 'gotta go, gotta go, gotta go RIGHT NOW peeps). She wants me to go in for a bladder and kidney ultrasound, just because I’ve never had one, but that’s it….NO MORE TESTING! WOOT! Thongs may be in my future yet…maybe when I get a skinny ass.   If this works I'm so buying my new Fairy Godmother one of these lovely note holders...hey, I'm appreciative...and look...oooo shiny!   The rest of our time was spent chatting about the Lap Band, obesity, my family history…yadda yadda…we got along famously. I got the obligatory “You don’t look like you need WLS!” about 3 times out of the doc…another nurse came in for my exam and the first thing the doc said was “She’s having LB surgery!” Nurse “You don’t look like you need WLS!!” Other than DH the only people I’ve told (besides all the WLS docs and pre-op docs) are 4 other doctors and 5 nurses now…and I get the same initial words every time (I must be an expert fat camouflager). They went on and on and I had to justify why I was doing it, my years of yo-yoing, my BMI, and my family history of terrible comorbidities I’m facing. The nurse even asked me how much I wanted to lose…I said I’d be really happy with 80-100 pounds, but I would be happy if I could lose 60-80 and KEEP IT OFF. Her reaction… ‘Well, you could diet and try to lose that!!’ Hadn’t she just heard my history?... ‘Well, I HAVE lost that much before, many times…I need something to help me KEEP it off and help me not feel like I’m starving.’ They just couldn’t get over that I would need WLS…it was a very friendly conversation but it got to the point after about 10 min. of this (as I was sitting with ‘the sheet’ over my lap) that I finally laughed and yelled ‘OK, I’m a lot skinnier on my top half than the bottom half…just take a look at my fat ass when I walk out!’…I was NOT getting my naked butt off the table to prove my point…interesting that they were gathered in the hall as I changed and walked out. My follow-up is in August…I’ll show them! I’ve got to say every time this happens, I’m not embarrassed, or upset, it’s just exhausting to try and justify why I need this and I don’t think I’ve convinced one person yet that I need this…and they’re all doctors and nurses who have heard my health issues and the family ones I’m facing…HOLY C*@P, if I can’t convince someone in the medical profession I need this, I’m SO glad I’m not telling my friends and family!!!
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3/25/09 Get Your Head In The Game

You can play this music video as you're reading (not exactly soothing background music, but that's kinda the point)... (Oops, sorry it's just a link. It won't let me embed music anymore...I'm-tech challenged.)   Well I WAS a mere 3 pounds from being able to cut off another one of my Ten Pound Heads (on my WL ticker). I ate stuff I shouldn’t have on my long-weekend…I guess I was going through that ‘Last Supper Syndrome’. I know (at least this one was a conscious thought) I was saying goodbye to beer and all it’s foamy carbonated goodness (I appreciate a good hoppy ale). Thank goodness I don’t drink pop (soda for you non-Midwest natives) so there was nothing there to give up forever…coffee has been hard enough. I gained back 2 pounds. You’re thinking now that I’m going to get out my cat o’ nine tales (with my name engraved in the leather) and whip myself here in my usual self deprecating way? NOPE!   Here’s the interesting part to me. Yesterday I was thinking through what I’d eaten, and I was shocked that I didn’t have any sweets, not even chocolate (in the past any binge would have included heaps of sweets and definitely chocolate). Most of the stuff I ate was generally pretty healthy, just too much of it (OK, there was one bowl of pasta in there). Monday night it was that old feeling of I can’t get enough food…at one point I even stopped and thought I’m full, why they heck am I standing in front of the fridge again looking for something else…it was like I couldn’t get satisfied. But guess what, on my ‘big binge’ I was pulling vegetables, peel cheese, and meat from the fridge…but then DH came home with half a sub and after all that, yep, I ate it too. I remember getting scared at one moment in front of the fridge…I was thinking what the heck am I going to do with the band?? I can’t do this! I’d stretch my pouch or OMG slippage! How am I going to handle this head hunger monster? Why can’t I stop this! It truly scared me.   So here’s the good part and why I’m not going to beat myself up about it. Let me stop and remind anyone here who doesn’t know me that I’m a professional dieter so I’m not nearly as worried about losing (at least the initial 50 pounds I know I can do). I’m way more worried about keeping it off and dealing with my un-banded head hunger (this really needs to become a double surgery). I found that even on my Last Supper Binge the choices I made were mainly so different than what I’ve done the rest of my fat life so something is starting to change in my head. Even better, during the binge I was questioning my fullness, my actions, and how scared I was. Do you think I would have ever done that before…nope! I’d feel super bad about breaking my diet, absolutely, but then I’d feel like a failure and give up and go grab more chocolate and chips and…and…and... This ‘incident’ was a good thing for me. I’m seeing that my head is changing…yep, I’ve got LOTS more work to do with the head hunger beastie, but in the thousands of diets I’ve been on I’ve never even had the courage or insight to face that beast. I’ve only actually been dieting this month, so I know this is going to take some time. That’s the good thing with the LB...it’s for life…little bumps along the way are just short-term glitches because this lifestyle change goes on forever…and I can do this…with the help of my soon-to-be-band. I’ve just got to…Get My Head In The Game!
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3/24/09 Long Weekend

I had a busy long weekend...I remember when 'long weekend' meant I was taking a day or two off of work and relaxing or going somewhere fun...preferably somewhere with a cabana boy to bring me a drink...ahhh, no-longer. DH was out traveling again the end of last week. I picked up DD from college late on Thursday night for her job interview here on Monday, and we loaded some of her things to come home, so we got home really late. Friday we (DD and I- DH plane didn’t get back until really late) attended DS1’s first track meet and then I took the kids + DD’s BF out to dinner for a treat…I ordered the filet/salad and brought ½ of it home…don’t applaud yet…it came with a rich blue cheese crust topping on the meat and I ordered a margarita…sigh…that was just the beginning of my 'feast', but more about that tomorrow. We ran the kids around to all their stuff/lessons (guitar, work, CCD, etc.) over the weekend and spent a lot of time with DD working on filling out her interview information sheets (what year did I start work at...) and interview skills. DS1 started to get sick on Sunday, high fever/throat…into the doc on Monday and he does have Strep Throat (I’ve been washing my hands a million times…I’m hopefully about a week out from my pre-op class so I don’t want to get sick now!). DD had her interview Monday morning and we got her back to school late last night. The good news is she just got a voice mail from the interviewer while she was in class saying she had some ‘good news’ for her…here’s hoping! It’s far from her dream job (sales for the admissions dept. of a group of colleges, so she’d be answering phone inquires/sales quotas...she could get a potato to talk), it’s not a lot of money, but it has good benefits, free tuition if you want to take classes (online ones too, so she could gain some extra skills for her resume), it’s mainly recent college grads working the same job, so it’s a great atmosphere for her, and it’s a job…in this economy that’s certainly something! She interviewed with five other people (their business is growing with the economy and people trying to get degrees for the tight job market so they’re hiring several people over the next month or two). Two of the five were ‘grey haired men’ (she said...I'm sure they were younger than me), the rest were recent graduates like her. She couldn’t get over why men their age would even want a starter job like this and how she felt sensitive talking about how she/others were just starting out when these men had probably (guessing) just lost other jobs (She said if the company is smart they’ll hire them, as I’m sure a huge segment of those looking to go back to school part-time even are their age…very true). I know it made her appreciate the interview and the possibility of having any job even more. She was in a senior level class last week at college and the professor asked them to raise their hand if they had found a job yet…not one hand went up…almost all her friends are staying for graduate school as they can’t find work.   I just got the call back…she got the job! Hooray!!! She’s so excited!!! She'll continue looking for a better job, but is totally thrilled that she’ll have this one to go to in June (if I find nothing better...keep the optimism). I’m thrilled it’s in this city, so we can help her get herself started as she’ll be living at home for a little while and she can save up that way (she was talking about the possibility of continuing part-time work as a waitress somewhere here too). She’s been looking all over the country (wants to work in a major city, dream job would be marketing in advertising), so I was a little worried it would be hard to start out in a new city, new job, try to find roommates somewhere new, find apartments and all that. I’m pretty sure she’ll still be moving away in the future to a bigger city/better job, and I want her to follow her dreams, but I’m thankful that I’ll have her around a little while longer..a nice ending to my 'long weekend'!   Now…add ‘help her find a car she can afford’ quick while she’s away finishing school/big projects to my ‘April list of things to do’…oh…AND that LB thing!
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3/21/10 Blog Updates

3/15/10 Funky Chicken 3/15/10 Porthole 3/16/10 Celebrities in WL Denial 3/17/10 Sugar Doll Award 3/18/10 Weekday Dish 3/19/20 Enquiring Minds Want to Know 3/20/10 7 Fun Questions 3/20/10 Welcome Spring! 3/21/10 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants   All here: http://bandgroupieth...t.blogspot.com/
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3/21/09 Weight Loss 'Tools'

Our great-grandmothers, grandmothers, and mothers were on to something...they were using 'tools' for weight loss long before the era of 10,000 diets became popular. Too bad their 'tools' weren't as successful as the LB!   GOT CANKLES? Newspaper clipping from 1924. I'll bet these were comfortable, and gee 'there's nothing to rub in or massage'. I wonder if blue feet were popular then? A DAY AT THE SPA SOUND GOOD? This photo from the 1960s shows French women sitting in "slim-down coveralls" while being served low-calorie meals.   The attached text reads: "10 May 1961, Paris, France --- Weighting Game. Paris: Shedding pounds while getting new hairdos, Parisian girls relax in slim-down coveralls underneath the hair driers at a local beauty parlor. In addition to the coveralls, customers get low-calorie meals to help with their slenderizing. Idea was originated by Parisian hairdressers Roger Pasquier". NEED TO GET RID OF FAT AND CELLULITE? This just looks painful! The device was made by Battle Creek Equipment in Michigan, US. You sit front, back or side and the rollers 'break down' fat. LIKE YOUR MARTINI SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED? Now THIS looks like a fun 'banding' experience! I hope my support group meetings are this fun! WANT A 15" WAIST? Frankly Rhett, I don't give a d#*n! ...Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) being laced into her corset by her Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) in Gone with the Wind, 1939.
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3/20/09 Spring Has Sprung!

7:44am EST…it’s official…Spring is HERE! Spring officially starts when the Sun strikes the Vernal Equinox, i.e., the time when the Sun strikes the Celestial Equator at 0º 0' 0"S declination for the Northern Hemisphere. Yes, I did the countdown…and it was more fun than New Year’s! We’re having record low’s today (of course); 26° right now and light snow flurries are coming down, but it’s all good. Even Mother Nature can’t keep Spring from arriving.   Yesterday we noticed our first crocuses blooming out front. They're in the flower beds at this house, but at my last house I planted them all through the front lawn (they die off before the first mowing). Yes, my neighbors thought I was nuts...I've wondered what the family that bought that house thought their first Spring there. I'll encourage you all to start a veggie garden this year, especially with the recession going on. Even if you have no 'plot' you can plant a tomato in a pot. Tomato Tips: -The tomato is a vine...give it a stick, deck rail, or something else you can attach the main stems to as it grows, and fertilize every month. -Buy a plant then bury 1/4-1/3 of the stem when you plant it (pinch the leaves off the buried part)...the stem will grow more roots and you'll have a really healthy plant. -Tomatoes get 'sucker shoots'. As the plant grows look where the branches attach to the main stem. In that 'crook' you'll see a baby stem starting to grow...pinch it off and you'll get healthier branches and more tomatoes. -Tomatoes like even, deep watering. ie. it's better to do one long heavy watering every other day and let it dry between than to water lightly 'willy-nilly' or flood it all the time (the roots will grow deeper looking for water=healthier plant, and you won't get tomato rot-black spots on the bottom). Add some lettuce seeds (easy from seed, fast growing, pick leaves from the outside of the plant as you need them, replant a new batch as you use them up or they start to send up a flower shoot-leaves get bitter then) and onion starts (look for them in the veggie plant section- they look like a bundle of almost dead green onions-below) in the pot around the base and you've got salad all summer!   WELCOME Spring!
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3/2/09 Another Month Bites the Dust!

So this morning we were out and at PT by 7:30am; upper body is doing great, lower back is…fair. I skipped out early on my last PT exercise so I could come home to weigh-in at home before the actual weigh-in…always such an ordeal. This outfit's the perfect weight! Month 5 weigh in...Nurse was there “On the scale”…and up I went…242 ...no loss, no gain. A different CRNP came in and I gave her my sample ‘Letter of Medical Clearance and Medical Necessity’ with my information on it so they’ll have the next month to type their own up/change it and have it ready for me at my final visit. That’s the plan anyway…the only thing between me and submitting for approval now is the last monthly weigh-in and the letter from my PCP. If these are done the first few days in April, the surgeon’s office will set a tentative surgery date and I’ll get to go to my pre-op class (held twice a month). As my Dad would say ‘There’s a snowballs chance in Hell’ that I’ll get my band in April, but I haven’t given up hope yet (eternal optimist, remember). I’ve got a ton of company coming May 1st for DD’s college graduation (hers will be a weekend with our huge extended family, but no enormous party) and in a perfect world I’d have my band and be at least a week out by then. If not, I’ll have to sandwich it in between the two graduations…DS’s HS graduation is the beginning of June…HUGE party for that one with TONS of work prior, so I’d rather be well healed before that one, but we don’t always get what we want…and NO, that isn’t a complaint…just a wish…a girl can dream...   I’ll take my band….in a box, with a fox, in a house, with a mouse, here and there, ANYWHERE!
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3/19/09 Party Hopping, shopping, mopping...never stopping...finally popping!

Yep, April will be my month this year. I’m sure it will all be a blurrrr.r.r.r.r..r..r..r. I’m party planning today. I’ve got to get moving on this as we’re all graduating soon…Me, to a new life with the LB hopefully near the middle of April; DD from college May 3, and DS1 from H.S. June 5. In between all these is DS1's 19th birthday May 15, and DH and my 27th Anniversary on April 24, and did I mention my 50th birthday is April 27 and DH’s 50th birthday is on April 28th; but we were actually born on the SAME day….HOW’s that? Glad you asked! …I’m letting you ponder it a minute…… TIME’s UP! DH was born on an U.S. Army base in Japan…so his Mom actually gave birth on the other side of the world 2 hours earlier than mine (time zones and all that)…cool huh? DH loves to say that he married an older woman…I just smile and nod…yep, I’m a…what’aya call it…cougar…I’m not about to explain that he’s actually 2 hours older. I’m thinking we’ll be keeping the Anniversary and the Birthday’s low key this year as, according to some on LBT, I may be sipping broth and sleeping in a recliner still post-surgery. If so, it will still be the best birthday ever! So mainly I’m planning the older 2 kids graduations. I’m sending out emails today and making lots of lists (being my usual anal OCD-tendency self) about all the things that I need to do. Lordy, the outside work alone will take me several weeks…I hope it warms up soon! Time to fly.
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3/18/09 The Perfect Storm

DD is now down to her last 6 weeks of college and the stress is reaching an all time high. I’m getting calls from her several times a day…usually just to ‘unload’. She’s getting a double major and taking her hardest classes ever, she waitresses most evenings until late at night (and they have a new, mean, manager) and she’s been sending her resume out to everyone (and their brother) and is getting mostly rejections (like everyone graduating this Spring) but a few replies (but not anything close to what she’d like to be doing), and she’s trying to set up a few interviews and she doesn’t know yet if she’ll be moving or living at home until she’s settled on a job…so I get the stress, and we're both emotional women. Short pause… I’m kidding…Actually, I do love that she still calls me when she needs support. I’m learning that you’re a Mom forever. My Mom is certainly a person I still call for advice and support all the time. I’m glad DD still needs me. Just one thing…I’m less than 6 weeks from surgery (which she has no clue about, since I'm only telling DH) and I’m at an all time stress level too…just ask DH…Short pause…   Actually I no longer use tampons…hysterectomy, but the visual is fitting for what follows. Yesterday DH had been bugging me (nicely, but I know things are already bad at his work/new job duties and he doesn’t need this) because I can’t get a date yet for my surgery (can’t schedule until my 6 mo. is done April 1) and he had to make excuses twice yesterday for trips they wanted him to schedule the end of April (he already has 2 trips planned the beginning of April, so I asked him not to schedule anything the last 2 weeks until we get my date)…then family members were calling me about the two graduation parties...then DD called me for the third time that day to unload that no one will work for her Friday night...you would have thought it was the end of the world…she has an interview in Pittsburgh Monday morning, so I’ll pick her up Sat. instead, but apparently that’s not what DD was freaking about…she’s worked extra hours for everyone else several times over and…yada-yada-yada, you get the picture….DS1 came home and unloaded about his big Senior Project that is due for his HS graduation...then we were eating dinner and DH realized he forgot to go to DS2’s mandatory track parent meeting last night…DS2 freaked out on me because he instantly thought he wouldn’t be able to be on track…well, you can guess…DH unloaded on me and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back/the perfect storm…I blew...WHY IS EVERYTHING MY PROBLEM/FAULT...oh, yeah, I'm the Mom (didn’t even see it coming, but I suddenly became aware that I'm more stressed out than I thought I was)…even DS1 came in to see what I was yelling about…yikes, apologies all around…I hate yelling…there’s a make-up track parent meeting tonight, crisis avoided…everyone is happy...good thing poor DH is traveling the rest of this week, he needs a break from all this...I need a chill pill. Short pause... If you've made it this far, thanks, and I apologize for the vent...I'm sure you have enough stress in your own life..who needs to read about anyone elses. It just pointed out to me that although I'm so sure about this LB decision, I'm unconciously more stressed about all this (and everything else coming together all at once) than I thought. Today's mantra...
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3/17/09 Irish Eyes Are Smiling

The Irish say Everyone has a wee bit of Irish in them on St. Patrick’s Day. So being a wee bit Irish today I set off to find out about everything Irish.   Even the Obama’s are Irish today. Michelle and her leprechauns dyed the White House fountains green today. Pittsburgh's own Dan Rooney (owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers) was named Ambassador to Ireland today. It’s all about this guy… If you don’t wear green you’ll get pinched by everyone but your boss (sexual harassment and all that). I sent both of my boys off to school without reminding them…no green….BWhaahaahaahaaha (evil laugh). Hey, teenage boys getting pinched by the girls…I think I did them a favor. If you tell people you're Irish they have to kiss you...keep breathmints on hand. Of course, they eat potatoes and corned beef, but they also eat some of this today…I don’t even want to know…haggis… They drink a LOT of this today. This pic is of Guiness beer, but it looks the same as Irish coffee with clotted cream on top…to the Irish, it really doesn’t matter as long as it has alcohol in it…and after awhile the pub bartenders can serve either and no one knows the difference…it’s all good… After a few drinks they run around looking for their Pot-O-Gold… …or if the line at the Port-O-Pot-O-Gold is too long they use this one… Then they dance the Irish jig…and apparently if done fast enough you'll eventually levitate through the air…   Then they fall down into the grass and look for these… And if they're really lucky, they'll catch one of these guys...probably passed out right next to them... A toast to you on St. Patty's Day....   For each petal on the shamrock This brings a wish your way. Good health, good luck, and happiness For each and every day.   Slainté! (health)
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3/16/09 Carbs a la mode!

One thing about tracking your calories and nutrition...you find out what you're really eating...in my case, carbs. My little daily nutrition pie charts that pop up on FitDay have been showing one huge pink piece of carb pie! Now, I wish that pie chart would carve a huge hunk off for complex carbohydrates...not all carbs are bad after all. What about that apple I snacked on this afternoon? How about that steamed asparagus I ate at dinner? I can't help it though, I see that giant pink pie piece and I see STARCH! It's all those times I did so well on the Atkin's diet. I'm a professional carb counter (wish I could win at food poker with this skill). OK, carbs...I'm a few weeks from a pre-op diet and there will be no fatty liver for this girl...you're goin' down!
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3/14/09 Cheap Motivation

Santa brought me an electronic Pedometer for Christmas…he’s good to me, that Santa. I haven’t really had a reason to use it until now (remember, the non weight loss issue). I got it out to start using it last week with the start of my actual dieting. DH helped me measure my stride and set it up (10-15 min.). It’s got a software component so we loaded that (you just put the CD in and push install). It was inexpensive, easy to set up and it is easy to use. It tracks your steps (and separates steps that are done aerobically) if it’s on you vertically or horizontally even. It comes with a clip and a lanyard, but you can also just drop it in your pocket or purse (way smaller than a cell phone...shaped like an egg). Well I got to the end of the week and guess what? I couldn’t find the cord to hook it up to the computer so I could download my information...nice. I’d about come to the conclusion that it went out with the Christmas wrapping paper when it turned up yesterday when I was cleaning out my desk (who says Friday the 13th is bad luck). I took a look at the download and it’s going to be easy to use. It’s on all the time and once you set up the date and time I never have to push a button even...well, I do have to attach it to the computer and push 'download' on the computer once a week (but I love how I don't have to even think about it all week if I don't want to...I have more important things to think about...like where I stashed the computer cord!) It shows your information any way you want it; steps, aerobic steps (so I won’t have to track the treadmill separately), aerobic walking time, distance, calories, fat burned and your progress against any goals you’ve set up. It will be simple for me to take my calories burned and enter them into my FitDay food & exercise account.   It’s actually fun to see how you’re doing…I’m easily entertained ($30 bucks...cheap entertainment). So I’m back to tracking steps…now MARCH 2, 3, 4...... If anyone is interested: Omron HJ-720ITC $29.75 Amazon (with free shipping)...way less than what I paid in Dec., and you know OCD me, I researched them all, this one was rated #1 by Money Mag. and had great reviews. Link to Amazon [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HJ-720ITC-Pedometer-Advanced-Management/dp/B000MN92WM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1236994498&sr=8-1]HERE[/ame]
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3/13/10 This Week's Blogs

- Telling - Wednesday Words (Misc.) - The Incredible Shrinking Woman - Endoscopy Schmendoscopy   Enjoy!   All here: http://bandgroupieth...t.blogspot.com/
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3/13/09 Spring Fever

I'm the grumpy one in front.   I’m feeling blah today. I’m not sure what it is…the ‘Spring Ahead’ clock change this week, the lack of enough coffee (I’m sipping my last cup right now to make it last…it’s cold now), or maybe that it’s Friday the 13th. I do know I’m sick of Winter. Mother Nature was teasing me last weekend with that 70° high (mean woman!). It’s 23° right now and we might hit 50° this weekend…weeee. I feel like a hibernating bear right now. I’m a person who is affected by the weather…I think I was meant to live in the South, although I do enjoy watching the season’s change. I enjoy sunlight. I put 32 windows and four glass doors in our house, and no it’s not that big…I just love natural light. Spring is my favorite season, but the past few years here in Pittsburgh we really haven’t had one. Last year ‘Spring’ was cold and raining everyday, then it went straight to a blazing hot Summer (so no Spring) and unfortunately my Asthma doesn’t enjoy extreme heat of summer. OK, winter is on it’s way out…whinefest over. I think all of us getting bands this time of year are extremely lucky. I’ve said before that I felt sorry for those getting their bands right before the holidays; especially those in my climate. They must be extremely dedicated…make it through the holidays with no restriction yet and then sit there in the snow all winter. There will be no excuses for me not to be getting enough exercise…I’ll be banded right as Spring begins and will have the nice weather and all the outside activities it brings to look forward to. One more week until the Equinox/first day of Spring (March 20) and I'm hoping it actually arrives and is on time this year. I can’t wait!  
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3/12/09 The Buzz about Coffee

I love my morning cuppa (and it loves me…see?)…so much so that I drink it up until 2pm (my cutoff for being able to function, yet also sleep at night). This week I started to cut back my caffeine consumption in preparation for surgery. I don’t drink any pop (or in other parts of the country, soda), so that’s not an issue. Coffee is the first of my ‘food friends’ (translation ‘evil food addictions’) I will be saying goodbye to, probably not permanently (I’ll confirm that at my pre-op class), but at least for now and a while to come.   I’ve seen ‘facts’ about caffeine effecting the LB here on LBT including; causing band slippage, causing ulcers, changing the lining of your stomach, appetite stimulant, appetite suppressant (it’s in many diet pills), and diuretic. I don't know what's true, the only one I believe right now is the diuretic (and some here on LBT say that’s not true), so I'll follow my docs orders. Post-band until I can get all my water in daily (and some say you have to drink extra water if you drink coffee), I’ll be forgoing coffee. I’ve had to give this friend up several times before; once as a test to see if my migraines improved (nope), and once before another double surgery as I was afraid going off ‘cold turkey’ at the hospital would give me migraines. So I’m being smart and stepping this down gradually (and I’m on Migraine meds now). Week 1 and I’m surviving on less. Are you aware of this, or perhaps you haven’t had your coffee yet? March is…drumroll please…National Caffeine Awareness Month (sponsored by the Caffeine Awareness Alliance…yes, there is such a thing…who knew?!). They want you to know that…with as little as 200 mg of caffeine, you can experience typical addictive symptoms such as irritability, restlessness, tension, insomnia, excitement, and gastrointestinal disturbance. So pretty much they want you to JUST SAY NO!   Now where’s the closest Coffee Rehab Center, because I’m going to be in withdrawl and pretty irritable by next week?! Hello, my name is BG, and I'm a coffee addict.
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3/11/09 I?m a Graduate

Today I graduated from PT. I’m feeling really good about it. Not just because I’m not in as much pain anymore, but even more so because I’ve completed something successfully and it worked. I needed that right now, more than you know. As you know I haven’t been having very good luck with health things being successful (respiratory problem for 12 weeks with many, many failed treatments; then hysterectomy/bladder sling surgeries failure, etc.) and I was beginning to wonder a little if the LB would be a failure too. My cup is half full attitude was beginning to buckle slightly when it came to medical issues.   So this was ‘just what the doctor ordered’/I needed right now. I had two long standing pain issues and they were both greatly helped by PT; way better than my expectations even. I’m no fool though, I now know where/how severe my osteoarthritis is and there’s no ‘cure’. I’ll be doing my follow-up exercises at home, and try to watch the wear and tear on my body with all the home improvement projects I do (yea right, who else is going to do it?).   And then, there’s always ‘Plan B’ (another one of my evil plans). I took a ton of assorted muffins and juices into the staff at the PT office this morning for their breakfast on my last day, much to their delight. I told them if I come back bent in half this spring after shoveling mulch and resurfacing my patio before the big graduation parties, they’d better be kind and not scold me.
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3/10/09 My Story and My ?Moment?

I have NO doubts about the LB, but some days I'm still amazed that I'm doing this. I think back to almost a year ago and where my head was at that point...I would never have even considered WLS (WAY too drastic…only people that are dying from obesity do that!). So here’s my story and my ‘moment’ of what brought me to the LB.   I don’t have any fat child stories to tell, because I wasn’t…fat. I did have two of my sisters who struggled with weight in childhood, and I saw their pain and sometimes felt it when I defended them against other kids teasing. I was rail thin up until the time I stopped growing in high school. I gained about 25 pounds one year, but by living on TAB and lettuce I lost it all before college. After college, I worked and also taught Aerobics classes, at one point I was teaching 8 classes a week. I tell you that because I want you to know that I really understood the importance of health, diet, and exercise. I knew what it felt like to be thin and fit.   I started gaining weight after my first child was born. We moved 10 days after she was born, I was away from my extended family for the first time and I suddenly wasn’t exercising. There wasn’t time or money to join a gym. DH worked shift work then so I didn't have a sitter at night. I soon started the cycle of gain and loss, even lost 50 pounds at a time several times, but I never lost as much as I’d gained each time…I was always either gaining or losing. Sure I, like most of you, have plenty of embarrassing weight-related stories I can tell and plenty of specific depressing moments...those moments usually spurred me into yet another diet. I gained a lot more with two more children and about 7 years ago I found myself over that dreaded number of 200. My age started making it harder to take off weight as easily and my weight started making it harder to exercise. I was circling the drain. I have 4 siblings and they are all obese, some morbidly obese. I watched as they started to have health problems…my younger sister had 2 strokes and was diagnosed with diabetes. My father has had 2 heart attacks and 3 stents. It scared me, but I’d pretty much given up.   That takes me to last year. With kids heading to college we don’t have a lot of extra cash flow, but it’s important to us that we do a family vacation each year, even if it was camping, and we save for a bigger vacation every 5 years, the kids always picked Disney. Last year was one of those 5 year vacation years. Our DD was a junior in college and suddenly we were helping her to plan a semester abroad studying in France. We decided that this was our last chance to take a really great trip before the kids get old enough to go off and have their own lives, so we changed our travel plans to take our family to France for a week. DH and I had been lucky enough get to go to Paris on one of DH's business trips years before and we knew it was the perfect trip. We scrimped and saved and I spent lots of time figuring out the best deals, and we were set to take our “Trip of a Lifetime”.   I was worried about my weight, since I knew how much walking we’d have to do. It spurred me to diet and I used the treadmill every day in preparation. I lost 20 pounds, and I was lighter than now- but still 208# then. Our first day in Paris was May 12, 2008; we climbed the very steep staircase up the hill to Montmarte-village (235 steps) as the funicular was broken. It was a killer, but I made it after a few rests. Then we climbed the narrow spiral staircase to the top dome of Sacre-Coeur-church which sits at the top of the hill (about 300 more steps). There's no turning around (you come down a different staircase)...my legs were shaking and I rested in the few tiny alcoves on the way up and flattened myself (yeah, right) to let people pass...I seriously thought I was going to lose a lung or have a heart attack. My family was waiting and wondering what happened to me at the top. My feet which never swell at home, looked like someone had pumped them up with a bicycle pump…luckily, I was afraid enough of blisters that I had splurged on some expensive stylish walking shoes that had an adjustable strap in the back or I would have been buying shoes.   These don't look so bad...from the top. Sacre Coure and the Dome   The next morning we visited Notre Dame cathedral (402 spiral steps to the very top)...I was sitting on the plaza while the rest of my family waved to me from the bell tower...my "Moment". I was on our ‘Trip of a Lifetime’ and I was missing a major moment with my family...it wasn't the view, because I'd seen that before...it was missing the view with my family. I was so upset and angry with myself at that moment. That week I also didn’t climb the steps with my family to the top of the Arch de Triomphe or to the next level of the Eiffel Tower (luckily that one has an elevator). I have plenty of wonderful memories from our trip, but I came home and started ‘just looking’ into the Lap Band. I find it fitting that I’ll probably be getting my LB within a week or so of my one year anniversary of my ‘Moment’.   Notre Dame from the Plaza View from the Bell Tower
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3/1/09 Cake Anyone?

In preparation for my Big 5-0 birthday this year in April, I thought I'd take a look at some possibilities for birthday cakes...so many choices...what do you think?   I could pretend I'm 5 again... or 12... "][/url] I'm not quite sure what this is an homage to...It looks like an Austin Powers jacket (I guess I was a child of the 60's), a Crazy OLD Cat Lady, and maybe two of me at different stages in childhood so I can get depressed about getting old...but I DO garden... "][/url] Or...since I'll be really missing my carbs post-band... "][/url] Or maybe the real thing... "]"][/url][/url] I am so NOT joining the Red Hat Society...Red SHOES, maybe... "][/url] ...and I could wear my red shoes to Shake my Grove Thing! MMmm...that disco ball looks SO appetizing... "][/url] Well, I certainly will NEED to be doing a lot of this post band... "][/url] I think this is an Over the Hill cake, apparently I'll need a pretzel ladder to get over (that will never hold me)...but it certainly doesn't look too appetizing, does it?   Or maybe this just sums it up... Come to think of it, I've never been much of a cake person...and I'll probably be getting my band the same week, so cake is probably out...maybe this is what I'll do...hmmm...I won't have lost that much by then...I wonder if this comes in a triple layer?
Band_Groupie

Band_Groupie

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