salsa1877

I found a way to get around the block at school. If I click the link in the emails that they send you then it will let me through!! Phyl - Sorry to hear about your friend. I think that if we could all figure out what makes us successful with the band and what makes others not that we would be rich. I have a lot of people ask me how I got to the right frame of mind to lose what I did. I tell them that if I had that answer that I would be sipping crystal light on some exotic beach and not working in the trenches of my classroom cause I would be RICH RICH RICH!!! We will be passing each other as I am heading to WA! (More on that in a moment) Steph - I have never had to have much of a fill. In fact the last 20 pounds that I lost prior to PS was all unfilled. The biggest fill that I ever had was a 1.8 in a 10cc band. So I am certainly one of those people who don't need to have much of a fill. however this is ridiculous. The think that I just irritated my stomach on top of the body stress (mental and physical) that is going on. I have changed my running routine to make sure that I am getting a lot more weightlifting so that could certainly be part of it. We can't forget the crap that is going on with school and my retarded student teacher and then the whole moving issues that I have done in the last several months. I am just exhausted and that is probably what the problem is but they want to have me do a barium swallow to make sure that the band is right where it is supposed to be. so I have to miss work AGAIN tomorrow. This is not a good thing as the supervisor for my student teacher is going to be here tomorrow and we need to really sit down and get some thing fixed. Oh well...I have to let it go! Well I need to get back to some actual work!

Okay...someone explain this to me please. I had a COMPLETE unfill when I had the flu and then stayed on my liquids for 1 week and 3 days followed by mushies. I followed the directions to a T! However I am ALWAYS tight in the morning. I can no longer eat eggs and if I want anything besides cereal I have to drink tea. Over the last several days however I have been very tight and have pb'd 3 times. Now I am going on an HOUR of pb'ing on chicken. Really????? SHould I have any of these problems? I am calling the doc in the morning, but now my stomach is SORE SORE SORE. It is actually throbbing and I have major heart burn and pain in the back. So much for going to the gym tonight. I am going to bed instead. Hopefully gym in the morning. I'll keep in touch but keep your fingers crossed that nothing is wrong!!!

That was a HUGE amount of fun. And I scored my first basket in a basketball game EVER!!!! 2 points for Psychadelic Salas...That was my nickname. I was the ONLY girl on the entire court. All of the staff were men and since the students are part of the MR. RHS pagent they were obviously all boys too! Now this was no typical game. One of the times I subbed in I took an extra ball with me and before you knew it we had 3 balls on the court and every player! So as you can see...playing by the rules wasn't really part of the deal. So here is my picture. WHile I wasn't the best playa' I certainly was the best dressed. Okay so I have to say that for anyone that is reading this and seeing how much we are struggling right now with our food (or for those of us that are getting discouraged right here in our little family), I have to say that tonight ranked right up there with the biggest accomplishments of my life. I ran on the baskeball court for 20 straight minutes tonight. I caught up to and out ran HIGH SCHOOL boys, many of whom are major athletes. Yes, we will struggle with food, yes we will have down days, but being able to accomplish what I did tonight and be part of something as special as MR RHS (it is a fundraiser for the neonatal intensive care unit) by far outweighs (yes pun intended) all of the struggles that I go through. Life IS easier to deal with when you are 100 pounds lighter. No this will not solve all of your problems and I am not going to go Polyanna on everyone and say that life is great and perfect now...but it is a HELL of a lot better. For 2 hours tonight I didn't have to worry about whether or not my belly was flapping out there or that people on my team wouldn't want me to play because I was so fat that when I ran the floor shook (and yes that is how I felt!). Now I was PART of the team and it was amazing. Okay...off the soap box! MR RHS volleyball is coming up next month so I have to start working on the outfit for that one!!!

I totally get it!!!! I am GREAT at home...get me to work and all hell breaks loose. Home - not hungry/healthy eating Work = food binges/ starving all the time. I don't get it!! I think when we are outside our safety zone that we still don't know how to deal. I am a thin person with a fat brain. So my problem has become...I am a size 4 and so I am not fat (finally got that through my thick head) but I somehow feel like that gives me a license to eat! Well I am playing in the MR. RHS vs Staff basketball game tonight so I had best get into my outfit. When you think of me playing basketball picture Michael Jordan flying through the air with his tongue hanging out and slamming the ball through the hoop in a glamorous play...and then think the opposite of that:tt2:. I am TERRIBLE at basketball but I am going there to be the "jester" of the game. I will take a picture and post my outfit!

Well your stories echo mine! Food has been iffy but with the increased workouts I am still sitting at the same weight. My DH has finally decided that he needs to eat healthier so at least at home the food is getting better. As for work...they put my student teacher on a plan of assistance and are going to provide me with weekly observations for him. Hopefully that will turn things around. He is the worst teacher I have ever seen. I am having a little knee pain but am working with the athletic trainer at the high school to get it straightened out so that I can go back to marathon training. RIght now I can only run a quarter of what I have been doing. However I have gone back to lifting weights so that is supplementing a little. Hope everyone has a great valentine's day. I think DH is taking me to dinner. There is a great new restaurant that just opened and we really want to try the Osso Buco they serve.

I am still around just busy as hell this week. I will try to post this weekend....I won't really have a moment until then!

My gall bladder ruptured when I was in college...OMG...the worst pain in my life. It took them almost a week to figure out what it was. Finally they did some test where I was under a machine for hours and they finally saw something. I was out for about 1 week but that was because I had an infection due to the bile leaking out of the gall bladder. Mine was done just like the band and I would have been back at it earlier had I not had the infection.

The interview went great. The lady said if I wanted a job on Monday I was hired, but since I am wanting a job for next year...I might not find out until August! Now I do have a few things going for me that might lead to a job earlier. 1 - I already have a principal HIGHLY interested in me. 2 - I teach science. THe only thing that would be better would be if I taught math. I am actually considering getting a math endorsement just so that I make sure that I have a job. I can't be here next year. I just can't do it. My DH and I are on the verge of fighting daily...and we don't fight. We have had 1 argument in the 3.5 years that we have been together and now...everything we do or say just gets on each others nerve because we are both so miserable here. We did go out to a bar last night. We played the little video machine that they had and he had a drink. It was nice to just get out. We haven't done that forever cause of all the moving! We have been invited to a Freshman Academy party today but I don't think we are going. I don't like the lady who is hosting it at all and with already being depressed I don't need to surround myself with all the unhealthy food they serve and people I don't like. So I think we are going to this little movie theater where they serve food and drinks (real meals) inside the theater today. Then we are going to the casino tomorrow so I can enter a blackjack tournament. I think it is only 12$. I did go to the gym today and it felt good. I ran a little over 3 miles and then did weights. Well I am going to finish my laundry and take a shower. Chat later. Oh and yes...I am a typical kid. But look who I hang around with all day...I can't help but act like a kid sometimes!!!!

Nope...the day sucked. But at least I planned on it sucking so it wasn't a suprise. We had conferences today so it was a 14 hour day for me. However while sat in my classroom with 20 minutes between parents I started journaling to figure out what the hell is wrong in life. And amazingly I came to an epiphany that has probably been obvious to everyone, but to me it is still a foreign concept. I have been WAY neglecting myself. Putting work and everyone else before me. Well that is what got me to 250 pounds in the first place and while I have been hanging on to 152 that is NOT where I want to be. At most I want to be at 145 but in reality I want 140. But it is safe at 152. So it is MY time. It is about ME. And yep I am getting selfish...big time. In fact...I got my car fixed so now I can get up EARLY and go to the gym. It is the gym twice per day. That might mean not being at home as much or being available for students or meetings as much, but damnit I am no good for anyone if I am not good to myself. Well I need to go to bed early. My official interview with Las Vegas is tomorrow morning and then conferences from 10 -1. Then to the gym to sweat out the demons! Night all...keep your fingers crossed for me!

I promise. 1 hour for me. I need it more than anything. DH has a test that he needs to take for his teaching program on Saturday morning so I will have the house to myself. I don't have a quiet time at all. Last year I got to school at 4:30AM and for about 2 hours I had the building to myself. It was quiet and no one talked to me. No one shared their problems or wanted me to fix anything. Now because my car has not been working I have had to go to work when DH does so I haven't been getting there until 6:30. Within 10 minutes I have students in my room and then my student teacher is there within 20 minutes. There goes my peacce and quiet. As for my student teacher...I can't tell him my way or the hwy (Believe me I would love to tell him that he in NO way should go into teaching) but instead I need to mentor and nurture him. We are TOTALLY opposite when it comes to teaching. I now know how moms/dads feel when they get remarried and the spouse starts disciplining their kids. My students are my babies and when he goes after them the way he does I want to hurt him BADLY. Then other times he lets them run wild. It is painful to watch him teach. However I just have to survive the next 6 weeks with him. For the next 4 I am out of my classroom and he takes over. God help me. As for my brother he fractured his ankle just before Christmas when we had all the snow (they had a bunch in WA). He was getting out of his UPS package car and stepped on to a bunch of mats that had been thrown on the ground prior to the snow. Well needless to say they were slippery and he went down. After being jerked around for over a month on what was actually wrong with his ankle (he didn't miss a day of work since the injury happened) they finally decided to do surgery because they thought they saw a piece of bone on the MRI. When they got in there they found five pieces of bones that had broken off ranging from the size of a pencil eraser to the size of a thumbnail. He is now on disability from work for the next 6 weeks. The funniest thing is that he is just like my grandma when he comes out of surgery. THe biggest B!TCH you have ever seen. When my grandma had to have surgery they would have to rotate her nurses every 2 hours because she would cause them to want to kill her. Her family wanted to as well!! Well he got those genes! He wasn't quite as bad as she was but he is just plain grumpy. Besides being in pain, the inability to walk for the next 4 weeks will kill him. We are similar in that we are both constantly working and he can't make it through a movie without doing SOMETHING so to sit there on the couch for 4 weeks. Well lets just say that I am glad that I don't live with him. Well I am going to go to bed. Tomorrow we have conferences so I will be at school dealing with my student teacher for 13 hours. Not ending up in the psych ward or jail will equal success for me!

Life sucks. That pretty much sums everything up. I have been so damn busy that I haven't been able to do anything. Warning this is a full on rant and rave and pity party! Food is okay. Not great but not horrid. I am pretty much staying at 152. Been there for months! Exercise...who has time between moving, cleaning, working, brother having surgery, dealing with STUPID STUPID STUPID student teacher, putting together resumes, filling out applications and preparing for an interview on Friday. Counseling appt had to be cancelled because my brother had surgery that day and I went to WA to be with him. So what is the plan now...Saturday it is back to the gym. I REALLY want a personal trainer but it is not in the funds right now. I can really push myself running but I want to get back into weights and I need someone there to help me do it right and make me not quit. Actually I am getting bored with running right now. I think it is because I have to do EVERYTHING on the treadmill. Plus when I start running all I think about is the 10 million other things I could be doing instead. Like just sitting in front of my computer. Sometimes I like just doing nothing, but I don't have that luxury right now and it sucks. Well I wanted to check in so you didn't think that I had fallen off the bandwagon or the planet. Please keep your fingers crossed that something eases up or I am going to have a breakdown. I am on the edge right now.

This week and next week at school are what we teachers like to dub as Hell Weeks. Grades were due yesterday and then conferences next Friday. I won't even get into how much I can't stand my student teacher, but that has been bugging me as well. NOt to mention all the phone calls, texts, and emails from students begging me not to let him take over. Deep breath. As for Ontario, we will be moving around that time and money will be EXTREMELY tight so I doubt that I would be able to make it there. Vegas in July is hot, but Thanksgiving time is beautiful! And cheap for me to get to!!!! Well we are going out to Breakfast. I am on mushies now so I can at least eat oatmeal!

Happy Birthday Mommy!:Banane40::thumbup:

I should be moving July or August at the latest...though that isn't the best time to visit cause its HOT HOT HOT. Though for Janet it will be normal! I am doing better though the liquid diet is wreaking havoc with my system. 6-10 pound weight fluctuations due to water retention (I think I have had too much salt trying to spice up my diet!) and I have the FARTS! I know...pretty picture...though it is better to picture it than smell it:yikes: Work is alright. It is grading week this week and on top of that I am dealing with my student teacher who I cant stand. I am really REALLY protective of my kiddos (even when they piss me off) and am just a BIT of a control freak (not much...really...i don't have control issues at all:sneaky:) so when he doesn't do it the way that I do it kind of bugs me. Well I am going to go blend my chili. I think the bathroom issues are coming from all the beans I am eating! At least I am getting protein and fiber.

Seriously when we move down there it will be party time! My interview went really really well so I don't think there will be any problems what so ever. It freaking snowed here...I hate snow. I couldn't live where you do Steph or Kari or Peaches! I want the sun!

No I had the flu...it is just that because I had the flu AND was too tight that I caused myself some terrible issues. Just one more reason to not be too tight. I am completely unfilled now and plan on staying that way. When I am unfilled I seem to have my head in the game better. Nothing to rely on I guess:sneaky:! Glad we are out of the other place as we woke up to 3 inches of snow this morning.:w00t: Here I come VEGAS!

Okay I am back. And life has been HELL for the last several days. I know that no one is really around but I need to vent to someone other than my DH who has been through the wringer too. I am going to go back to Sunday and work my way forward to show you my week. Sunday - Ran 10 miles and my Nike+ refuses to sync to my account now. I had to get a new sensor because apparently storing it in your running bra will break your ipod and your sensor. I had to buy an ipod about a month ago and now had to finally break down and get a new sensor. Not too badk 29$. But it would NOT sync. Then I went outside and checked the mail that we had neglected to do for a couple of days. INside were all of our utility bills...$688 dollars worth. Our rent is only 695$ So paying that much for utilities sent my DH through the roof and me to tears. It wouldn't be bad if we were keeping the house at 80...but we couldn't get it above 65 degrees. I was freezing constantly and we were spending more time driving around and eating out so that we could be warm somewhere. So DH decides we are moving. I try to argue against it but after crunching the numbers... it made sense to move, AGAIN. The worst part is that we know that we will be moving again in 6 months. Monday - Found a cute (tiny) place to live and put our application in on it. Spent ALL day looking for a place. Went to the gym and put in a half hearted workout but sensor still not syncing. Tuesday - Got approved for the apt, put down deposit and moved in. Not all the furniture just some cooking stuff, food, and sleeping bags. We finally got to sleep in a warm room for the first time since we came back from Vegas! Started feeling kind of icky. Tummy ache, headache, and just plain achy. Chalked it up to stress and moving. Wednesday - 2:45AM Started throwing up. Now remember, I was never able to get my unfill so I am tight and throwing up. NEVER a good thing. Just didn't realize HOW bad. Threw up a couple of times. Went to work to do sub plans came home and kept throwing up. Called the doctor and he demanded that I come over for an unfill. At this point my stomach HURTS and not flu hurt so I call the school, call in sick for the rest of the week, throw together sub plans and head across the mountains for my 6 hour drive. Fortunately (the only good thing this week) the mountains were clear and NO weather problems. Stayed at my brothers house for the night since I had stopped throwing up. Thursday - Got to the doc at 9AM and had a complete unfill. Fluoro shows MAJOR inflamation and SERIOUS swelling. Concerned that my pouch is starting to dialate (which can lead to slippage) they put my back on post op diet...2 weeks liquids, 2 weeks mushies and then back to real food. Drive home feeling sorry for myself! Friday - Cook some soups that I can eat and then when DH gets off work move some more stuff over to the apt. Still feel Crappy. Had a phone interview with a vice principal in Las Vegas. Looks good!!! Saturday - Got a uhaul and moved all of our stuff, got cable and internet hooked up. And still feel crappy! Finally I broke down and took a nap. Feel a little better but my tummy is still sore. No throwing up, but being totally unfilled I do not feel hungry at all. That should tell you how swollen I am. So I learned my lesson...never stay too tight cause even if you are careful and don't pb often if you get the flu...it can cause MAJOR problems. Well I am going to go to the store to get more pinto beans to make more soup. I did get one of those immersion blenders so I will be blending everything and watering it down for the next couple weeks.

VERY long story short...we are moving...yep right now. That is why I haven't been on. No we are not moving to Vegas yet...I will explain later when I get a spare )(*#$)(&*$ moment.

I wanna go to Vegas!!!!!!!! Both on your your little vacation and to move there. I will take "hell" in the summer anytime over "hell" in the winter! Before the weight loss it was totally different. I couldn't handle the heat..but now I am freezing all the time. My kids are even making comments at school that I need to buy new coats because they don't match my skirts! Great...getting fashion tips from teenagers! Well I worked at the basketball game last night so I didn't get to the gym but I am going to get ready to go this morning! I need to get about 15 miles in the next 2 days to have any chance of catching up on the challenge.

28 miles as of today!!! I am so proud of myself. Also, starting next week I am limiting the amount of time that I am available for students. I will only be available Tues. and Thurs. for them to come in for help. I am hoping that will help the food situation at work. That way I can make sure that I am giving myself a meaningful time to eat instead of grabbing a bite here and there and never getting hungry and never getting full. Without meaningful eating I just graze all day. Phyl...I hope you are feeling better and that your TOPS event went well. Big Hugs to you!

:crying::thumbup::tt1: I thought a heard an echo which sounded like someone expressing their joy! Congrats...we all knew you could do it!

When we went to vegas we got a killer deal 325 for flight and room for BOTH of us! But they only fly on Sundays and Thursdays...so you have to be flexible. One of the reasons that we want to move to Vegas so badly is that we love to travel and it is too dang expensive to do it here. We are cheap travelers but the "getting there" is always what kills us. Flights OUT of Vegas are usually dirt cheap! Well I am tooting my own horn tonight...TOOT TOOT! It is only Wednesday and I have already run 23 miles this week. That is HALF the amount of miles that I have run in the last 3 months combined...Including the half marathon. Being challenged just did it...I am getting my runners high again...and I love it. Well I have been getting to bed WAAAAAYYYY too late lately so I am going to take a shower as soon as DH is out and then off to bed.

We were looking at Dallas or Vegas and when I map quested Indio I told Lee we were movin' to Vegas. DH and I got together about 3 months after I got back to Vegas. I broke up with my BF about 3 months before I left. He was still in Oregon and I was in LV and he was bipolar. That on top of the fact that I was still in the mode of "I need to take care of everyone to feel like I am worth anything". On top of that my mom was still alive and trying to control my life from 1700 miles away. Then in the midst of it all...she dies. She died in february and since Sept. I had been trying to pull away from her and put distance between us. Then she died and I felt like dog crap. I of course thought it was my fault because I left. I was in some SERIOUS therapy that year. As a result of all of that hell and not really knowing a soul, being fat and EXTREMELY shy...I had a rough year. Now I am very different. I am in the greatest relationship ever (though steph...sometimes I want to kick him too!), I am comfortable with myself for the most part, I have come out of my shell, and I am sort of getting a hang of this teaching thing! So I am ready to go back!!! I had a great workout. I really feel like I am back. First and foremost I am taking care of myself. I am no good to anyone if I am not good to myself. That needs to be my new motto. Nope that WILL be my new motto. Night all!

In Nevada you only need a BS degree in order to substitute. So he could do that. He is currently in a masters program at the University of Phoenix so when he finishes that he will easily be able to step into a job considering that he wants to teach middle school math and middle school science!!! Sorry to hear about your job...I REFUSE to go into administration because being a dean is usually the first step and that to me would be worse than being a bus driver...and I would rather be homeless than be a bus driver! As for me...I like the wind...as long as it is warm. I HATE the cold wind.

Ms. Pris - You can go to my blog (it hasn't been updated in a while but my PS stuff is in there). As for my recovery...it was a piece of cake. I was actually typing on LBT about 3 hours after I was out of surgery. My PS gave me a pain pump (it is something they implant just under the skin that dissolves) and that is a life saver. Stay up on your pain meds and stool softners and I was great. There is some discomfort, but in reality...it was less painful than my lapband because they didn't have to cut through the muscle. I don't know how a hernia would effect that pain. Now here is a downside to the PS. I have talked with many PS'ers here on LBT and at in person support groups and the biggest problem comes way after surgery in the form of lack of motivation. Here is why for me...I didn't (wasn't allowed to) workout for 6+ weeks and yet I looked a hell of a lot better than I did before surgery. So why should I work so hard when I look better. Well as a result there seems to be a 10-15 pound weight gain that occurs. I think if you go into surgery KNOWING this you might be able to work through it. I need to have 1 more surgery ( breast reduction and reverse tummy tuck to remove remaining excess skin at the top of the torso) and I know that my mental state will be MUCH different than it was the first time. Let me know if you have any further questions. You can PM me for my email addy if you want. Karri