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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

Entries in this blog

 

4/8/09 On The Road Again!

Well, we finally got everything straightened around, work schedules covered, and we're off Friday morning to Ohio (to see my family) for Easter and for the boys Spring Break (they don’t ever have a whole week here, it’s just a long weekend…where days disappear if we have snow days…crazy). I’ve decided since I’m not on a Dr’s. pre-op diet (just my own self imposed one) that I can swing being around the family without telling them about my surgery. I’m taking some of my shakes and I’ll just tell them I’m doing Atkins again…2 of them have been on Atkins before with me, and several of them are doing Weight Watchers now, again. I’m probably either the ‘lighter’ one/same as my 4 siblings, so it’s going to be hard not talking about something that has to do with weight loss, but like I've said, I don't want to have to defend my decision now or talk about it all the time, and the timing is bad with the graduations. I just realized I need to get my act together because, other than candy, I don’t have a thing for the baskets yet. If you weren’t around for my Christmas festivities, let me explain that holidays are a huge deal in my family…and Easter for my Catholic family is a biggie. There will be several trips to church, eating of fish, caravans to people’s homes for lots of meals including Easter brunch and Easter dinner. Then there are the Easter bunny things. Not only does everyone (my Mom still insists on doing these for the adults too...yes, even my 43 yr. old bachelor brother still comes over for his basket hunt...you're still a kid when you go home) have to hunt in the grandparent’s house for their basket, but then there are several egg hunts. As the teens have gotten older we’ve increased the number of eggs (but not the total amount of candy) they have to find (or it would be all over in minutes). We’re up to 60-80 eggs for each and they each get their own room…they still love doing it. Then a little while later we do an easier hunt for the little ones. The Easter baskets are filled with goodies and little gifts and I’ve just realized I’ve forgotten to start collecting things for these…yikes!! All that shopping for LB stuff got me sidetracked from life…how dare I think about myself first (I have the Catholic guilt too). DD’s BF is coming with us, so I’ll have an extra basket to make for him now…my Mom has set the standard and turned this into a monster LOL…I’ll be making up baskets when I’m 90 for my kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. At least with the LB I will have a chance to live that long! I’m off to stuff several hundred plastic eggs, finish the laundry and start packing. Tomorrow is a busy one, routine blood work for DS1 and drive him to school (1/2 hr. away), my abdominal ultrasound (for the incontinence Dr., not LB), afternoon at the pre-op class (3 hrs.), and then pick up DD over at college (4 hrs.). I’ll try to let you know about the pre-op class before we leave town (and I’ll take the laptop, but my parents don’t have wireless, so who knows) so if I’m not back…have a great weekend all!
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12/3/08 Stiff Underwear

It’s not what you think…although I’m not sure what you’re thinking:glare:…the dryer:washing: broke yesterday. Doesn’t it know I have mounds of laundry to do? Doesn’t it know we, five "we’s" actually, just returned from not one, but two Thanksgiving week trips; :car:Ohio and Philly:car:…I have suitcases full of laundry! Doesn’t it remember putting all my laundry on hold so my DD, home from college could do all her mounds of laundry before we left? My poor dryer…it’s old:closedeyes:…it’s moved houses with us…it no longer remembers anything…it has, as my children say to me when I forget something, it has “old-timers”. I put in a white load this morning…all was well with Ms. Washer…after all, she was repaired (yet again, after another flood) recently. But when I went to close Mr., Dryer, the tiny piece of metal that sticks out (maybe that’s why it’s a Mr.) to tell it the door is shut broke off (ouch, sorry Mr.). Of course the dryer won’t run without knowing the door is shut…I tried to tell it, yes the door is shut…I even tried to push a paper clip in the hole where the metal came from…no luck…but maybe I WAS lucky…I didn’t think to unplug Mr. Dryer before I shoved a paper clip into that hole…HEY, it’s 220V, I could have been electrocuted!!:scared2:   I called DH-Mr.SA, and he called his new best friend Art-the-repair-man. Let me go back…A few years back when the appliances started to fail, we called the company for a repair person…we got a $295 bill for a $12 fuse and <10 min. repair.:biggrin: So the next time one failed Mr.SA decided he was going to try his hand at appliance repair. Do you know there are online sites where you “diagnose” the problem and then buy their parts and follow the online instructions. Sounds like those medical sites doesn’t it…Oh, how my Dr. loves when I go there…diagnose yourself…very scary business….you end up thinking your have all kinds of horrible things…but I’ve digressed…anyhoooo…Mr.SA confidently tried his hand at the diagnosis and the repair…twice, actually…he admitted defeat only when he had no clean underwear left. In marches the local repair man, Art (no expensive company men for us anymore). Nice old guy…and he loves my old washer and dryer “don’t makem’ like that anymore! Those new ones have a computer board…$500 for the smallest problem…can’t fix just a part on those!” Don’t tell Mr.SA, but I ratted him out to Art, just in case he’d done more damage…after Art was done laughing he replaced my $12 fuse, charged me $50 for the house-call and gave me his card with strict instructions not to let my DH touch the machines. He’s been back every 3-6 months since then and Mr.SA usually hurries home to meet him…yep, I’m at home, but Mr.SA, who fancies himself the ultimate handyman (actually he’s very handy…most of the time) loves to chat it up with anyone who touches anything on our house.   So today he called his best bud Art. I get a frantic call back from Mr.SA saying I have to meet Art at a local gas station in just a few minutes…he’s booked solid today…so he’s giving us the part…no time to explain. :driving:I rush to the gas station where Art meets me with a smile… “No charge for the little part!”…tell me there aren’t honest repairmen in the world anymore! I smile and wish him a happy holidays and tell him I’m sure we’ll be seeing him soon (unfortunately)…he rushes off shouting out the truck window “It’s an easy repair, but tell your DH to call me tomorrow if he has any problems!” Problems? What problems…of course…why else would we be getting the part…why wasn’t I thinking…he’s put Mr.SA in charge of the repair!!!! I’m thinking as I drive home…doesn’t Art remember how he met us…doesn’t he remember my story of the two failed repairs…has Mr.SA schmoosed him into thinking he can handle this? :unsure:Now I’m getting nervous…after all, I have MOUNDS of laundry…the natives are getting restless…last pairs of clean underwear! Mr.SA gets home tonight beaming in anticipation… “Where’s the part?”… “On top of the dryer.”:thumbup:…I’m trying to be supportive… “Whoops!” I hear from the laundry room…my heart beats faster…whoops?.:car:..he busted something else already??… “I guess I didn’t explain the problem/part very well…he gave me the actual latch for the door…the wrong part!” :party: I guess we’ll be seeing old Art soon (maybe he’ll learn his lesson this time). My wet whites load is now out of the dryer hanging all over the house…at least we have clean underwear this time…even if it’s stiff!:biggrin3:
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2/12/09 Writer's Muse

I’m back from my Physical Therapy. I was still so sore from my little ‘incident’ last night that I walked into PT and asked if I could start with the heat and electrical stimulation. I gave my PT a wink as she was working on someone and told her I had a little problem with my neck/shoulder and that I’d tell her later. Got off the heat and after an arm warm up she said she wanted to start (instead of end) with the massage/stretching she does.   She comes running over when I’m back on the table and whispers like a school girl “So what happened?” (must have been something in my face)…I started whispering my sports bra injury story and she was hysterical with laughter. Now, you have to get that all the massage tables are right next to each other along one wall…I certainly don’t mind sharing…not much embarrasses me (yes, you knew that), but I didn’t want to embarrass the dozen or so guys around me…TMI and all that. Well, we were laughing so hard everyone was staring as I whispered my way through the horror of the dressing room.   When I was done I asked “So what’s the weirdest thing someone was injured doing that came to you for PT?” I’m thinking there’s got to be some pretty crazy stuff…I’ve got doctors and nurses for family and friends and they’ve always got the wildest stories about patients, I thought they HAD to see some pretty whacky stuff in PT too, right? Apparently not…or some patients are lying (you know who you are...fess up!). She said “Oh, I could probably write a book, but your sports bra injury would be on page 1- Chapter One!” The guys next to us heard the first part about writing the book and another PT asked “Writing a book on what?” She says “Strange ways people injure themselves.” Here it comes… “Like what?” I turn to him (now the whole area is listening) and (I figure it’s all over at this point anyway) with a really load whisper “Sports Bra Injury!” All the men look confused, but the few women there all start nodding their heads and I get immediate feedback all at once from the gals “Oh, yea!” “ I’ve had that happen!” “Those things are terrible to get off!” “I’ve always wondered why they don’t put hooks on those too!” “Oh, I have to buy them 2 sizes larger just to get them off!” I’m thinking…OK, if this is so common, why didn’t someone warn me ahead of time. Where were you gals when I was walking into the dressing room with two smaller sizes? The guys at this point are all laughing hysterically. Then the women go for after the guys “Yea, you wouldn’t understand!” “You should just try getting one of those things off!” “Yea, buy one for your wife for Valentine’s Day and see how easy it is for her to take it off!” “Better yet, you should try one of hers on and see how hard it is!” At this point I’m picturing that tightly twisted rubber band bra and men’s chest hair…probably the ONLY thing that could make that more painful.   I’m being really careful the next few weeks….don’t want to be Chapter Two.
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12/4/08 Fa la-la-la-la...

The tree is up…it smells like Christmas in the house! We have a tradition of buying our tree every Sunday after Thanksgiving. We got a fresh 11’ one from a Zeilenople tree farm lot this year. No, it's not bent over..it sits in our 2 story foyer at the corner of the staircase and we have a glass paned front door (unusual I know-that’s me, but it fits our farmhouse style/porch house). My neighbors always comment they love watching our tree get decorated a little more each day as they drive by (maybe I'll make them come help next year). It’s my favorite holiday. I’m kind of a Christmas nut:blink:…holiday nut actually…rusty antiques nut…Disney nut…OK, I’ll save my many obsessions for another blog. Let me just say I’ve got 5 large shelving units and about 40 something:blush: (don't tell DH-Mr.SA) BIG bins (was boxes, now plastic… remember the floods I mentioned with the washing machine yesterday…let’s just say the laundry room is above the Christmas shelves...yes, I cried...Oh, BTW, Art came yesterday and with a laugh, 5 min. and a $25 check I'm back in the laundry business)…I just can't throw anything away-did you know you can keep popcorn strings for at least 10 years...yep, I'm on my second set now-strung with wooden cranberry beads every now and then. I store them in old coffee cans...they smell a tiny bit funny when you first get them out every year, but no mold...they just yellow a little, but they're a perfect buttered popcorn color:crazy:...I know, only I would think to even try saving popcorn (hey, they're a lot of work and my kids bloody finger tips)!! So many bins of Christmas stuff now waiting to go up (an infliction that was passed down from my Mother). I swear I didn't buy much of it...more than half of it is all the kids things (they have as much Christmas stuff as all their other stuff), so it’s not as bad as it sounds…it will be going with them one day…but for now we display it all! Our families (they’re the spoilers) have been building up their displays since they were born so it’s all their fault…the boys huge double-layer train board…one has a Disney train, rides and monorail, the other Ertl farm sets and models he built and painted w/western train…my DD’s Christmas dollhouse that one of my sisters and my brother (still can’t believe my brother did this) sanded and glued together for 4 solid weekends before one Christmas…I so enjoy watching my kids put their own displays up each year as they remember who gave them what:regular_smile:…they always turn out a little different and they still get new little things each year. I have a whole bins of Christmas plush animals, toys, and books they got from Grandparents and of course every handmade ornament they’ve ever made…and not just the ones from school…being an ex Art teacher, I’ve made a LOT with them over the years…we still exchange ornaments with both sides of the family every year, so the kids already have ornaments aplenty for their future tree. We've got the outside lighted garlands and wreaths on every window up already. Today I’m putting away the fall decorations…tonight we put the lights on the tree…tomorrow I pile the ornaments by person on the dining room table and then each person starts putting their own on the tree…I can hardly wait for the memories… “remember this one…who/when…”:thumbup: Fa la-la-la-la
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5/28/09 Weather Lady

We've had 3 days of rain and it looks like we're going to have 3 more...good for my new plants and all that mulch! We call my Mom the Weather Lady. It’s become an obsession of hers. In fairness, she’s an avid gardener and still volunteers at a local park with beautiful gardens at least once a week (big-wig there), so weather is important to her. If you want to know what the weather will be like today, or even a week out, call her. When we lived in Columbus we got updates all the time when the weather was turning bad and I always knew when it was time to grab the kids and head for the basement (she was appalled our community didn’t have tornado sirens). We live about 3 ½ hours due East of her now, but if the weather is coming from her direction, trust me, she knows when the storm will be reaching us here in Pittsburgh. She has a fancy electronic weather machine outside that gives her digital readouts indoors, but her favorite forecaster is the 24/7 local radar cable TV channel with the electronic/computer generated voice giving you updates. Here we only get ‘The Weather Channel’ and it drives her nuts when she visits that she had to wait until the local on the 8’s.   When we moved here my parents gave me a Weather Alert system (they have one of these too…or maybe ‘two’…gotta have one upstairs and down). My Dad programmed it for me (I still haven’t programmed my VHS). You put it in your bedroom and can input different counties around you and program it to blast an alarm and details for any kind of weather (it’s only woken me up twice as I don’t care about the severe thunderstorms or floods up on my hill…just tornado’s, volcano eruptions, and glaciers coming my way, thank you very much). There’s a button you can push to get the NationalWeatherCenter weather (24/7 of course) for your county too…I just look outside. I’m getting her one of these for her birthday and I'm going to have it personalized with her name…just trying to decide between the wall hung version or the stand-alone for her garden...tough decision. My DH is a weather nut too, but for different reasons…when we moved here one of the local channel’s had a cute little locally grown weather gal on it in the mornings and I soon noticed he had a preference for that channel (midlife-crushes are so cute don't you think?). Well a year or so back the gal left for a station in Texas…DH was in mourning for a year…this year she came back to the Pittsburgh station as Chief Meteorologist…they had countdown commercials advertising her coming back…I’m telling you, you would have thought she was reporting pigs were flying or it was really raining cats and dogs he was so attentive (can’t remember what I said a minute ago, but ask him when the weather is on…she’s now on 3 times every evening)! No one can report the 4 months of ‘Snow’, ‘Snow’, and more ‘Snow’ like that gal! I swear she’ll make it to ‘The Weather Channel’ one day and then DH (and most of the men in Pittsburgh) will be in heaven…..hours and hours of Julie Bologna…LOL. I found out she wrote a book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Extreme Weather." I might get it for DH (fitting title), but it better have pics...he’ll be looking for the centerfold (too bad it's of cloud formations).
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12/7/08 Thanks...for the Memories

NOTE ***Read the last paragraph at least for my favorite kid story this year…it still makes me laugh!   “Thanks for the Memories” gifts. My Dad started this tradition way back. He would wrap up little crazy things:crazy: that were funny or embarrassing. They are always preceded by a funny story that makes everyone wonder what’s in the box and you never know who’s going to get one. My favorite one was the year I’ve received a box of run-over mangled gas caps. Back when I was a teen, long before they had locking ones or gas doors with handy cap holders on them I lost 3 of Dad’s at the gas station by leaving them on top of the car where you’d put them while you pumped the gas (where else would you put them?). So one year Dad went to our local gas station where they had a whole box of them that other people had left (see, I wasn’t the only one) and yep, I gotem’ all!:wink: We’ve all started this now…   This year I’ve got some good ones ready for my kids. My oldest, my daughter, will be getting a lovely mug we found with Betrix Potter’s “Mrs. Tiggy Winkle” on it. When she was just one we lived for a few months with my in-laws when we were looking for a home after our move. We all loved reading her stories. One day out from the boxed book series came “Mrs. Tiggy Winkle” and she freaked out! :scared2: I have to admit, she’s one scary looking beady-eyed hedgehog (Google her if you want a scare).:scared: For many years, we’d say “Mrs. Tiggy Winkle” and she would imitate Mrs. TW and wrinkle up her nose and make a scary face. She wouldn’t go near the bookshelf at the Grandparents house until we showed her the book and put it up high. Her Grandparents love reminding her of that story. So now she’ll be getting a little reminder (we’re cruel parents, I know)! :blushing:   My oldest son will be getting what’s left of our old OSU front car plate as he had to buy a new one, along with a new front-end on our car (actually just the deductable). Yep, he got in his first fender bender:car::car: this year (no one hurt, low speed, bumped the SUV in front of him and the SUV won big time-hardly a scratch on theirs…:rant:RANT-I ask you why oh why can’t all bumpers line up at the same level?:mad2: What’s the point if they don’t?:cursing:). Yep, we’re really cruel parents!:sneaky: It’s a good lesson when your first accident is a little one though…I hope it’s made him much more cautious; I think so.   My youngest boy-13 will be getting music, specifically Guns and Roses “Sweet Child ‘O Mine”. He got his first guitar (electric) for his birthday in July (Santa is bringing him a bigger practice amp…are we crazy or what? The one it came with was really bad though.). We were so busy:willy_nilly: this summer that we couldn’t start lessons until September. Well, he was so anxious to start that he got on YouTube one day and by watching, tried to teach himself the long intro to the song above. After a month of listening to him trying to pluck it out…before we knew it he had it down and at the right tempo even.:thumbup: Google the music video on YouTube…it’s fast…and he’s never played a guitar…brass in the school band for a few years (band concert at school last Fri. night-very nice), but no strings. September comes and I take him for his first lesson at the music store (he’s nervous, but excited) and we meet the teacher…nice young guy who graduated from Berkeley and they go into one of the lesson rooms while I wait. Half-hour is up and they come out…huge smiles:biggrin::biggrin:…I asked his teacher how it went and he starts laughing:laugh:…OK, I’m thinking what happened?...my son is shy, but super funny…uh oh, what did he do?....the teacher tells me “We began with how to hold the guitar, then we started the beginner book…and it was great that he’s played an instrument at school because I could skip some of the real basics like timing, notes, etc.”...then he starts laughing again:lol2:….he says “We had a few minutes left of our lesson time so I played a little for your son to inspire him and showed him that soon he’ll be strumming and then I played him part of a great picking song.”…:smilielol5:hysterical laughter now… “Well, I finished and your son looks up at me and just gives me a grin” :ihih:(he’s got an INFAMOUS sneaky grin) “Then he looks down at his guitar and without a word plays the same thing I just played perfectly!” :wink2:….what song did the teacher pick…you got it…fate steps in….what are the odds…the ONLY song my son knows…intro to “Sweet Child ‘O Mine”!! The teacher says… “Boy was I amazed!:eek6:...now, if he could have done that with 2 songs…ha-ha!” (I’ll bet he thought he had a prodigy) :lol:We were in tears laughing (guess you had to be there). Ten lessons later and he’s perfectly playing “Stairway to Heaven” (except the big wild solo part). Looks like I’ll soon be a “Band_Groupie” in more than one way…hold those lighters up!!!:thumbup:
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1/29/09 I've Got Curves!

Sure, we’ve all heard people here who, through the course of their pre-op testing, have gotten new diagnosis’ for ailments they didn’t even know they had. Sometimes it’s even helpful with insurance approval :cheatfree:(yep, me). I’ve even counseled others to have their doctor order at least basic blood test as they might have high cholesterol, or indicators of diabetes. Remember I got a new diagnosis of hypertension at the beginning of my journey.   At my last PCP monthly check we discussed my comorbidities (that word sounds like we’re all dying doesn’t it...OK so maybe it's appropriate:huh2:). One of my minor ones that has gotten worse with weight is my osteoarthritis in my lower back. Adding to that is the fact that I was put on preventative medication last fall for my migraines. Suddenly I was no longer needing to take the usually daily pain medications, often strong migraine ones. So although my migraines have virtually disappeared my back pain is worse without the pain relievers. The PCP suggested I try Physical Therapy, which I’ve never done before. She ordered a new set of x-rays of my lower back/lumbar to be sure I didn’t have any disc problems and because my last set was 10 years ago, in another state.   I got a call from the nurse at the PCP’s office… “We have your x-ray results. They did find the osteoarthritis in several places, but no disc problems.” Pause “And I’m sure you already know about the scoliosis.” Pause…….:Banane37: me trying to process this…thinking…isn’t that the thing we always got tested for as kids…yep, the thing where your spine bends to one side….pause….(me) “No, I didn’t know. What is scoliosis?” (nurse) “It’s where your spine is curved.”…still trying to process… (me) “So is this obesity related or age?”…now grasping at straws… “And is there something I need to do about it?” (nurse) “Yeah you can get this as you age and you just need to do more of those weight bearing exercises.”:iagree: (she said like it was no big deal) …I’ve got nothing:out:…(me) “OK.”   So I somehow decided in my mind that I probably just have swayback from my weight and huge ass (Sounds plausible, right? I don’t need a diagnosis to tell me I could serve cocktails on my bum). Well, with all the stuff going on with the kids and doctors this month I’ve put off scheduling the Physical Therapy. So today, after the snow delay I took some time ask some questions online and start researching this.:Banane37: Apparently I do not have swayback, which is called lordosis, or even a hunchback, well it wasn’t my upper back anyway, which is called kyphosis (although it was Notre Dame where I had my 'moment' that brought me to the LB, but that's another story). Nope, and I’m sure it’s no biggie, but I now have a curve to the side, which is called scoliosis. Yep, I’ve got curves! Tell a fat girl something she didn’t already know!:cheatfree:
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2/13/11 My Valentine & Post Fill Day 5

*Portion of Post Deleted for LB Book   On another note...we went to a Valentine's Day couples party at one of my GF's houses (old neighbor's of ours that now live about 30 min. away). She had about 75 people and a spread of food everywhere (and a chef's station with made to order crab cakes and different pasta dishes). We had a blast and I did fine with tiny amounts of food during the evening (tortellini, cheese hunks, chicken dish, and even meatballs).   She asked each couple to send pics of themselves during their dating years (fun idea), which she printed up and had on display boards. As expected when anyone sees old pics of my DH, his got the most reaction from everyone who knows him...here's why (enjoy!)...   Here we are in 1978 shortly after meeting... A few years later... The giant glasses were in...and barely a moustache now (No, not on me!...I was busy moving toward the 'big hair')... And here's how he came back from Geology field camp one summer in college...I didn't recognize him when he got back (all the Geology majors had beards...well, except the women). And OMG what was I thinking with the perm?! And here's our engagement picture as we were finishing college (and why my kids say 'You married Sasquatch!'). Our friends last night were calling him 'Mountain Man' (and asking me who my 'first husband' was LOL). Here I am ready to go last night in my Valentine pink. Here I am with my Valentine (and I had to leave Tucker in...looks like ghost cat!)...DH needs to get better at lining up timer pics and remembering he's a lot taller than me LOL. And here I am at the party...with some friends...that have obviously had too much to drink, as you can see by their fuzzy faces. And why do I always pick short friends? I'm an amazon compared to my petite friends and the 4" heels didn't help. </H3>
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11/11/08 Why can?t the Holidays Just be Jolly?

OK- good news for the day:smile:. My oldest (daughter) was home from college for the night/day and we had a great, short visit. I felt badly that I had 3 lengthy phone calls with my family members (drama) while I should have been visitng with her though. My middle one (son), Senior in HS, is getting inducted into the National Honor Society tonight. I'm really proud of him...!:angry_smile:
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5/31/09 Practical Jokers

We’re still working outside. My neighbor and good friend’s daughter came around selling plants for cheerleading. I was done planting, but I bought 2 more flats of plants. Yesterday we went to pick them up along with a few bags of mulch (yeah, those 8 yards weren’t quite enough) and a few more items we needed. Deja vu …another planting and mulching weekend…groan.   I married my DH for his sense of humor…he still makes me laugh. My youngest-13, DS2 is his Dad in the making with jokes (he can always get me laughing), but unfortunately he also picked up on the practical joke trait…I hate practical jokes, so of course they torment me with them. All day long yesterday DS2 was ‘getting me’ with practical jokes. I’m turning on the hose and a trickle comes out…it happens now if there’s a lot of water running elsewhere (had to have our water pressure turned down after it blew out our first water heater). I’m yelling to DH to see if someone’s in the shower and the dishwasher is running. You guessed it, DS2 around the corner snickering while he holds a fold in the hose! I’m setting up the sprinkler, you guessed it…on comes the sprinkler in my face! Practical jokes are a family specialty. The first time I drove down for the weekend to meet DH’s parents his dad he tormented me with them. I poured my cereal and went to get the milk…came back and my bowl was gone…the snickering soon began as I was puzzling out where I left it…that was just the beginning…one shoe missing, etc. His dad is now 80 and he’s still pulling them on me…there’s no hope that DS2 will ever outgrow this. DH has been doing these to me for years…he sees an opportunity and he’s all over it…he’s very quick witted…that and sneaky. Luckily when others are around I’m not the only mark. We were all driving in one of my sister’s vans and she stopped to get gas. We had the same make of van and DH was sitting in the way back…he knew there was a wire back there that is a backup in case your lever that opens the gas door breaks. She finished filling up and closed the gas door…you guessed it ‘POP’ the door opens up…her windows were tinted so she couldn’t see that we were in all hysterics watching her close it over and over as DH was quietly pulling that wire ‘POP’!   He’s done almost the same scenario on his sister as we all watched from the window in the house…POP the trunk keeps opening on his car as she’s putting something in it (electronic opener).   My Mom, the gardener is always bringing me plants. When we first moved here she proudly brought us a May Apple plant. I'm thanking her and DH makes this huge deal out of how nice it is and that we need some cool shade plants for the woods behind us and sends her back into the woods to plant it. We soon hear "VERY FUNNY!' (I didn't know it, but he did, the woods was full of May Apple plants).   Once my sis and I went into the bathroom while DH was getting gas. We came out and got back into the car only to realize it wasn't our car! DH saw the same car waiting in line behind him and quickly got gas and moved around the corner to watch it all unfold...pure evil! The only thing worse than a practical joke is scaring me…I HATE being scared! He’s gotten me really badly many times, but I put the kibosh on that after one particular incident (I don't think I shared this yet). We were newlyweds and living in our first apartment and both working day jobs. I’d forgotten something I needed at home and went home during my lunch to get it. Well, I had to go so I went into our one bathroom and had a seat. I’m doing my thing and I suddenly hear a loud moan and two arms come around from either side of the shower curtain right next to me reaching for me …so NOT FUNNNY…I could have had a heart attack! He had forgotten his lunch that day and came home to eat it and heard me coming in…sneaky, the man is sneaky…and now I have two of them at home.
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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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11/13/08 Supercalafragolisticexpia lidocious!

What a great day! I’m on cloud nine…or at least 8.75!!! I went to the third hospital's seminar this morning and it was great! I turned my first big corner in this process! It was a great seminar; whole section devoted to INSURANCE, with an actual INSURANCE EXPERT- can you believe they exist?…I thought it was an urban legend! It was like finding the holy grail! I talked to the insurance gal and she assured me I’ll get approved. Whoo Hoo!! She said my insurer is the best insurance to have for this here…and she said they have “Actual LIVE people on the other end of the phone.” I wonder what the other ones have “DEAD people”??…serves them right…insurance people…putting me through all this…oh, that’s right, my insurance peeps are still alive…good thing…they need to live long enough to give me that elusive final approval!!! Then we’ll getm’!   My surgeon had a great presentation and was wonderful (even gave us a copy of the whole presentation, now there’s an idea!)! OK, now tell me if I’m going to die in surgery? Let me explain; he came with his little ducklings (4 interns) following. Poor guy couldn’t get his PowerPoint presentation to work at the beginning, so after about 5 min. of trying he turned working on it over to an intern while he talked to us. Two min. later Duckling no. 3 had it working….I couldn’t help myself…I blurted… “I want that guy for my surgery!” I’m hoping the Dr. didn’t hear me…but the sniggers around me didn’t help. If I die you’ll know why, and Doc, let me clarify my statement…I meant as an intern, not as my Dr.! My Doc rocks!   My only regret today was my husband was traveling for business. He just got home and I was telling him about my day---he was so happy for me. We kept talking and I mentioned the diet/exercise plan...he said "6 months?!!! I thought it was 6 weeks??!!!" LOL...didn’t he just sit (or sleep) through the other two seminars with me?!!…he means well!   So its been a (sing it with me........you know you want to) Supercalafragolisticexpialidocious Day!!
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12/14/08 To "Diet" or not to "Diet"...

Well, I’ve been thinking about starting to track my calories on one of those food tracking sites. I’ve been reading that so many here do this…heck some of them even track their food and every calorie they burn exercising and just walking around. So I’m thinking, I’m committed…I can do WHATEVER it takes to make sure I’ll be successful with the Lap Band…I’m not afraid of working hard…heck, I just bought a fancy pedometer. They want me to track every calorie…I can do that, I’ve done it before…I’ve done WW, Atkins, and Alli among others. I’ve tracked calories before. I was pretty successful at some of those diet plans…I’m the expert dieter…I can stick to a diet like nobody’s business…I can even up to 50 pounds on a diet, it’s just the keeping it off that I have trouble with. I’m as anal as they come…I love lists and spreadsheets. I never much enjoyed the time it takes to track every calorie, but if that’s going to help me then I’m all for it! Except, the thing is I’m not sure I want to go down that path again. I guess it smells too much like a “diet” to me. And aren’t the mottos here “Diets don’t work” and “If you do the same thing you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten”. When I first started looking into the Lap Band it looked like the miracle I’d been searching for forever…Eat healthy, but mostly regular foods, just a lot less of them and the best part…you won’t be starving all the time. But after perusing this site more, I’ve found there’s a LOT of talk about dieting after the LB…even some of the diets I’ve been on before. I’m not saying that doesn’t or won’t work; different things work for different people…I’m just not sure it’s right for me yet. It just seems counterintuitive to me. The reasons I’ve always gained weight back is because yes, I felt like I was starving, but also because I got tired of not being able to eat normally. I hated thinking about food 24/7, planning and cooking special meals separate from my family, and tracking everything…it’s just not a normal relationship with food and isn’t that what I’m trying to change? OK, before you say Well, it doesn’t sound like you’re willing to do the work it’s going to take to make the Lap Band work, maybe you’re not ready for it”. I’ve seen those posts where someone thinks the LB is going to do the work for them…I get it, I know it’s going to be hard work. I get that I’ll be on a very strict pre-op and post-op diet, and I get that I’ll be giving up some foods forever, drinking protein shakes when needed, and yes even cooking some different meals from my family on occasion. I see the benefit in tracking my calories at the beginning year of having the Lap Band or later when I’m not getting the results I want or when the Dr. needs me to track them. I’m willing to work hard to change my eating habits, and choose healthy things-high protein. Maybe it’s a matter of semantics, but I don’t call that a diet, I’d rather think of it as a lifestyle change…and somehow counting every calorie for the rest of my life doesn’t sound like anything but a diet. I also remember that when tracking calories it made me think about food more…obsessing over it in a different way. Maybe I’m overly optimistic about this, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to eventually work past the head hunger and that I’ll get to the point where I have a normal relationship with food…not obsessing over it with stuffing my face or with a “diet”. Or…maybe I’ll need the accountability that tracking food helps with...I don't know. Honestly, I’m not certain where I stand on this yet, I may be tracking every calorie in a few weeks. I guess it will be one of those things I’ll have to figure out as I go along. I'm sure the answer is different for everyone.
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8/20/10 Funny Pages

I'm behind as usual...went on a vacation, dropped a kid off at college, you know...life. I haven't forgotten about you!! Here are my recent blog links ('Blogger' it's safe, I swear). At least read the 'funny pages' listed first (everyone needs at least one good laugh a day): :thumbup:   The ones that will make you laugh at (with) me: :wink2: My Secret To My BEST Skin after WL This Bites Vacation Prep Two For The Road Nutrition and My Children Animal House You'll need a Tetnus shot after reading   Pics of me: :eek: Happy Feet WL and your feet (and SHOES!) Cape May Pics of Me on Vacation (and in bathing suits)   Just because: :tt2: I'm Like An Old Leather Couch How? Read.
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12/16/08 2nd Christmas Miracle!

My prayers were answered!:biggrin: My youngest, DS has two minor procedures being done tomorrow at Children's Hospital (nothing serious). The prep today involves no eating, laxatives, etc. TMI. It's 11am and he's "starving" already :glare:(13 yr. old going through a growth spurt needs hourly food). The hospital doesn't give you the time of the procedure until the day before. So, I've been saying prayers that he would have a morning procedure...another 1/2 day of no food would not be pretty.:rolleyes2: The OR nurse just called and he's the first one scheduled tomorrow!:rolleyes3: 6:45am check-in...yay! A tiny miracle...but one all the same...he and I were doing the happy dance around the kitchen!   I'm a little nervous:unsure: about the general anesthetic he's getting for the first time, hour and a half under in the OR...sounds like forever to me (he's got asthma and so many allergies)...please send prayers! We're having "jammie day" and playing games...distractions. I'm off to play (Wii)...
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10/13/10 5th Fill...Chasing the Sweet Spot

*Portion of Post Deleted for Lap Band Book     OH, and can I just say...WHAT THE HECK WOMEN??!!! I tried on about 4 outfits before finding one that fit OK this morning...yes, I'm having fat days again. I wore a new top, no coat over it. Do you know how many women I passed today...in the parking lot, in the ladies room, in the stairwell, in the waiting room (where I was called to the window three times), three different nurses during my appointment. I was wondering why I was getting stares and was starting to take it personally that I look like a stuffed sausage in these jeans. COULD ANY OF YOU HAVE TOLD ME THAT I HAD TWO LOVELY *SHINY* TAGS WITH THE SALE STICKER HANGING ON MY BACK?!!! *sigh* ...and I'm guessing some of you were fellow banders...*double-sigh*            
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8/4/09 Grand Canyon

Since recovering from the big party, I've been trip planning...two trips actually.   We've decided to take a summer vacation. DS1 would rather spend time with all his friends before they're all off in different directions for college so we've planned to leave the day after taking him to college; end of Aug., and before DS2 starts 8th grade here. We're meeting DH's parents at their condo (2nd home) at Seabrook Island, SC for a week. It's going to be a scorching hot week to go, but it's the perfect last-minute place and it's not an expensive trip for us (with the second one going to college there's no excess funds). We need a getaway...especially for DS2 as this summer has been all about his siblings, their graduations, and their new endeavours (college, jobs). It's going to be weird just having one kid on a family trip, but DD just started the new job so she can't go either. I told DS2 that it will be his chance to be spoiled rotten as an only child on this trip LOL. It's a beautiful island and they sit right on a marsh with a dock for crabbing and a swimming pool right down the street. In a 5 min. drive to the other side of the island you can get to a beautiful uncrowded beach on the ocean and it's less than 45min. from Charleston (sits right next to Kiawah Island). We can't wait. DH suddenly has lots of trips planned to Phoenix this year so I've decided to take advantage of DD living here and meet up with him after a trip this fall. I'm flying out Oct. 2 for 5 nights and I'm wildly trying to figure out what I need to book. I'm SO EXCITED that I'll finally get to see the Grand Canyon for the first time! I've been to Phoenix/Scottsdale on business before when I was working, but never got to see much.     We booked my FF airline tickets and 2 nights lodging (2nd, 3rd nights of the trip) inside the park (2 different lodges, since that's all that was available now). I think I'll plan the last 2 nights in Sedona, but I'm not sure where to stay the first night; somewhere on the way up to GCNP (maybe somewhere in Oak Creek Canyon?). I'm starting to think 5 nights may have been too many. DH was a Geologist (before he moved into the business world), so I'm trying to plan mostly outside things and outside of Phoenix. I'm looking for some easy hikes. DH has already hiked down and up the GC; good thing as there is no way my body/back could handle that hike...short hikes for me (maybe this will be the motivation I need to exercise more). You know me, I'm an anal planner and I love coming home from a vacation exhausted. I'm trying my best to make this an economical trip too.   If you have any suggestions/tips for me, please let me know! Back to my research!
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4/9/10 To My Followers...(part I)

I'll apologize now for the book length of this post. I have to break it down into part I and part II. It's the hardest post I've written yet. I'll thank you in advance for reading it…thank you.   I seriously didn't even know what a blog was until I stumbled upon a section of them on LBT as I was beginning my LB research. I think blogging is kind of like our LB journeys...we all have to figure out what we need and what works best for us and do it. I started my blog the same way I started my LB journey...I had to learn to put me at the top of the list for once. I selfishly (allowed myself to take the time) started a 'journal' (blog) for me where I could document my journey and research things I was interested in along the way. Journaling is something I've tried to do at several other points in my life (yeah, my whole family had gratitude journals one year), it always ended as fast as it started, but it intrigued me. I looked at the blogs on LBT and it seemed like a 'safe' and tiny place where only a few people even commented on blogs, so I really expected to just be writing for me. I can't tell you how surprised I was when people started to comment and how much I appreciated all the things I learned from other LBers helping me. It soon became such a wonderful and unexpected support system for me and when I got Banded, I tried hard to pay-it-forward and be there for others. There are a group of us that are/were long-term bloggers there, but mainly there are/were lots of soon-to-be or newly banded bloggers needing help and support. The comment I loved to get was that 'whenever I need help, I know I can count on you to answer'. I was so thrilled by my LB results even at that point and all the support that I'd gotten...I felt like I had been saved and helped in so many ways that would impact my life forever.   I've tried to be honest about my happy, but not so perfect life and my not so perfect LB journey. I write whatever I'm feeling that day and I try to write with the same voice I'd be speaking to myself with (yes, some days I talk like a crazy person, and I have lots of days where I just want to laugh, but that's me too). I think the biggest compliment people can pay me in my blogging is for them to say that I've said something they've been feeling, they've learned something that will help them, and that they feel like they know me...because you know what? They do.   As I came to my Blogiversary last Fall I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I wanted to continue paying it forward, but several other Blogger's on LBT had been encouraging me for awhile to move to Blogger (and so did others on other WL sites I visit now and then) and they told me that I'd be able to reach more people looking into the LB (Kathi was my main Blogger promoter, thanks GF). I was a little nervous about it as I knew that others were following me on LBT (even though there weren't 'followers' I could see by page hits that I had over 70,000 page hits in a year). Let me stop and say here, that I'm just stating facts…anything that might sound like a 'brag' is SO not me (most know that I'm a super humble person), but you never know how things come across when you write. Anyway, as the Holiday's drew near I looked into it more and decided that it was a good idea and I'd move the blog after the New Year.   I made another big decision with my blog move. I decided I'd move my blog without any of the funny pics I loved to use that made me laugh. I decided I'd focus more on my LB journey and less on my day to day life and the silliness that is me (no, not taking that completely out, but there was a point to all this seriousness I'm getting to, so hang with me here).   I know this is the scariest blog I've ever written (oooo spooky). I'm not a woman who generally gets scared about what I do (OK, you know I am scared of the dark still, but I have no control over the Boogie Man...yet). I've given presentations in front of hundreds of people and never batted an eyelash. I think I've shared that in the past, I've sometimes had trouble pushing the 'publish' button when I've gotten a little deep here, but I've learned over time to trust that the people who love me may not always have the same viewpoint, but they'll respect my honesty and that I've shared mine...and more times than not, more people than I'd ever imagine feel the same way and were grateful that someone articulated it. Let me say that again...I've learned to trust my readers...that's important...I don't feel scared anymore publishing any post...except now I'm nervous again...just a little.   I'm wondering if those that have been following me for a long time have seen at least a little change in me since my move over to 'Blogger'. Maybe it's just me, you know how we tend to magnify things when we know we're hiding something (yes, I have been). You see I know that there has been a change, because I know there's been one.   You see, I decided with the move that either my blog would peter out or I'd be trying to do something more to pay-it-forward. Let me go back and tell you that from the very first weeks of my blog I had people sending me private messages telling me how much they enjoyed it, or felt the same way and soon I was getting lots of messages telling me that I needed to write a book (again, I'm just stating the facts). I was flattered, but laughed it off saying I'm no writer, but thanks for the support. Here's the thing, even a year later I was regularly getting Private Messages, emails or Comments with people telling me they'd read my whole blog start to finish and that I needed to write a book (many during their recovery and let me just say...reading my year of blogs is a big feat...I'm sure it's longer than any book...you know I can't describe unpacking the gauze in my belly button without five paragraphs LOL...it totally amazed me how many people did this).   I started to think that maybe there was a need for more information out there from a Bander's perspective. I've looked at the LB books and all of them are written by Drs.; there's one that's written by a LBer and her Drs. but a lot of it is also from a medical perspective. I think you'd all agree with me that this LB journey has been so much huger than any of us originally thought it would be...I've gotten so much more from others going through their journeys than any LB Dr. will ever know (unless they have one). I think there's so much more that can be shared that would help newbies just starting out than what our Docs tell us. The fact that I had so many people reading my whole blog tells me that there's a need for this information out there.
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