ReneBean

Well, at last. The surgery is a done deal. And to my intense gratification, I never felt a moment of embarrassment due to any of the staff at the Surgery Center of Richardson. I felt quite at ease - and at 7am - there just weren't that many spectators - just the lovely staff. Apparently, it is a miracle that my liver hasn't just given up the goat and stopped functioning. According to Doctor Fox, even after losing 15 lbs on the pre-op diet, my liver was still big, fatty and misshapen. (uh - yeah, just like the rest of me!) So, now, I can move on with the rest of my life as a banded person. Personal goal: NO PB's!!! I am sipping some lovely beef consume as I type and I am vowing to myself to do the best I posssibly can to follow the post-op diet to the letter. I can live for 4 days on protein shakes and beef broth, no matter what my brain says. I mean, my BRAIN said I needed a cheeseburger on the way home from the surgery. I can see we are going to have to have some words, my brain and I. After that, I gradually move into what I would call mushies - but Doc Fox calls "full liquids". I think sugar free pudding and yogurt qualify as mushies...By day 8, I can have mashed potatoes, cream of wheat and bananas. By day 13, I can start with scrambled eggs and baked potatoes. I can survive this, really I can. All I have to do is totally avoid tv or any advertizing for the first week. The Spirometer is a big old pain - but I guess I will do that, too. I don't want any collapsed lungs or diaphram issues. Well, I have to get up and walk, now... Sip a little, Walk a little Sip a little, Walk a little SIP SIP SIP Walk a lot, Sip a little more...

Well, today is the last day of my official "Me Year". Tomorrow I turn 41. I have accomplished the one goal that I had for the year - getting insurance approval for the LapBand Surgery. I had to fight tooth and nail - but Sanity won out over Stupidity, and the State of California told Blue Cross they have to pay. :rambo Yesterday was my pre-op visit with Dr. Louis Fox from the Surgery Center of Richardson. He said no liquid diet pre-op. Yee Haw!! I can deal with South Beach phase I for 10 days. I think I will do some liquids the day before, just to empty out the system. Tomorrow morning I stop by the stab-lab for updated Bloodwork, and that should be all I need! I m pretty excited about the whole thing - but it still isn't REAL to me. Maybe after I start the 10 day pre-op diet... But Today & Tomorrow, it's Carb Central for me... my Celebratory Cheeseburger & Fries will be tonight, I think. I wish my oven wasn't broken... I would bake a loaf of bread. Oh well. The dieting is all for a good cause... ME! I can and will do what needs to be done to make this surgery a success. Even after losing a total of 10lbs since September - I can see my cheekbones, again. Hmmm, didn't I used to be a Babe? Oh, yeah... I WAS a Babe. Of course, I never really knew that until I wasn't a Babe anymore. Figures. Well, this time around, I intend to ENJOY my Babedom - and work it to it's fullest. It's a sad world when promotions are dependent on fitting a physical mold - but I swear it's true. So, I guess I will have to come back and read this entry when I get all whiney and teary-eyed about not being able to eat whatever the heck I want to eat at the time. Every minute of suffering is all for the best cause - ME. Still 40 and 346.5 lbs... for now. I wonder if the world is ready for a fully functioning, fully Babe-Aware Irene? I guess we'll find out....:devious

Hey Y'all Another glorious day AWAY from Mortgage Lending. Today, the plan is to get my hair trimmed and get my toes done so I will be all ready to return to the workplace. I also have to shop for some miscelaneous "stuff" and make a couple of dry runs to the office so I can figure out alternate routes. The place is a little farther from home than I could have hoped, but I don't expect the commute to be THAT long. I may time a trip today - just to check. Not much going on here. Still hovering in the range just below 280. I am having a hard time motivating myself to get up off the couch and move. I have done a few things to keep from completely going over to marshmellow status - stairs for 2nd story classes and such - but that's about it. I have never been very good at food choices - exercise was all I had going for me. Once I flaked out on that - I pretty much stopped losing. I am hoping that I will like this new job and be less stressed about work. I need to get motivated and lose another 25 lbs or so before Christmas. (yes, girls, it is time to start thinking in terms of Holidays, again). The good news is that when I lose weight the right way (exercise & diet) it doesn't immediately come back on anymore. That is truly the saving grace of the band. In my old life, I would have gained 30-40 pounds in the last 2 months - not just the 10 I had lost by practically fasting while working at the Hell Job. I figure if I exericise just a little bit - and eat just a little bit better, I should be able to lose a few more pounds. So, I am thinking 25 pounds before Christmas is realistic. That gives me four months. It's doable. I just have to focus. One thing I have discovered recently is Crystal Light "on the go" packets. Maybe they are old new for you - but I have found that the Fruit Punch in a litre of Water is perfect - ok, maybe a smidge watery - but I like it that way. It keeps me drinking water without being bored. Now if I could just get bored with cheese.... *sigh* Mandy - thanks for the warm welcome back. How are you doing? I know you had some kind of surgery - but I missed what it was. I hope you are healing up well. How's your little punkin? Patty - 3 pounds is great any time, any place. I am so happy that the band is working for you. Nobody deserves it more than you! I hope you and the boys have had a great summer. Chris - How you doin' Sugar? I am sorry work is not going well. I can commiserate. I hope it starts looking up soon. I look forward to living your love-life vicariously, again. :] Sherry - HUGS! You will be getting a Disney Fix, soon, right? Try to stay tough. xo Well - I have to get out and get going, or I won't get anything done today. Hopefully, I will have a signal over the weekend, too. Hugs and Kisses! Irene

Wow, Jenna! Nobody deserves a hot bod more than you... except maybe me... but that's a ways off, yet. Thanks for posting the pictures. I figure we - who will probably all need some form of work or another - can't have too much information. I am with you on the big - but there is some sense in moderation to start with. By the time all the swelling goes down, you might like the final shape. Don't worry about the imperfection thing - it does just add to the whole "natural" look. Nobody has perfectly symmetrical boobs... Thanks for all the great information - and I hope you will post more pictures later on for scar stages and such. Enjoy the new bod. Hugs!

Hi All Well, I can now spend my library time talking to youse guys - I am officially employed starting Monday. I am going to work for a Bankruptcy Services company working with Real Estate. I am not sure what the exact specification are - but my mortgage background was beneficial and I tested in their acceptable range. Certainly, with all the craziness going on in the mortgage industry, bankruptcy and foreclosure rates are on the rise - so I should have more than enough work to do. My days as a lady of leisure have ended. I just wish I could figure out a way to get paid for doing nothing. I have enjoyed lazing around all morning reading and drinking coffee. Alas - work is a requirement for life and I will have to get back to the old grind. The good news is that unless these folks are as crazed as the last ones, I will have a little bit of time to check in here more than once every two months. Wahoo! Love you guys! Talk to you soon Irene

Howdy All. Sorry to have dropped off the face of the Earth for so long. After I got laid off, I took a job with a company that was a true sweat shop - they had two of us doing the work of 4 people...and they weren't even NICE to us while we were working 12-16 hours a day. I was even working on weekends to try and keep up - but it just could not be done. So, I gave notice and took some time off. My internet signal here at the house is so sporadic that I wasn't able to get on line for more than a second or two at a time. The only real internet access I have had is at the library - but I only get two hours a day - and I have spent that looking for a job. Fortunately, for the last day or two, I have had some luck with my signal at home. Yesterday, I read all your posts for August. It took most of the day - cause I had to wait to get a signal to turn the page. Today I am posting so you know I am still alive and I have missed you guys to death. No job, yet - although I have had a couple of interviews. I guess I am going to have to start pounding the pavement here, soon. I have two strikes against me - first I am trying to get out of the mortgage business and second that I plan to become a teacher and I can only promise two years to any employer. I suppose I am going to have to be dishonest and stop telling people the truth in order to get any kind of a job. I applied for jobs at the school district yesterday - the pay is so low that I would have to keep eating into our savings to live - but the experience would be useful for my future. There are two jobs as teacher's aides, as well as a couple of office jobs. Hopefully, my goal of becoming a teacher will not be considered a detriment at the school district. If the blankety-blank-blank utilities weren't so bloody expensive, we could live on almost nothing. Thankfully, the weather has been cool up until now - so our bills have not been too outrageous - but we cannot go on without work for too much longer. I guess starting next month, I will just not tell people why I need to work the day shift with no weekends - or maybe I will try Target & Home Depot - they say the schedules are flexible. I am glad that the cupboards and the freezers are full. At least we won't starve. I could use a little starvation, though. I had lost about 10 lbs while working at BSM - mostly cause I didn't have time to eat except at dinner and on weekends - but I have gained most of those pounds back. *sigh* It's amazing that sitting around for 2 months eating nachos and strawberry shortcake hasn't done any worse than that. Thank God for my band, or I would surely weigh 350 pounds again, soon. I guess I will have to just get myself under a little better control and get my butt back to the gym. Well, I have to go. I am trying to do some things around the house that have been neglected - like tidying up my office. It's a mess in there, since my desk is one big pile of paperwork and the sewing machine is open in the middle - I really need to get in there and get it organized. I had it clean, once, and it was really nice. I need to work on my self-discipline, that is for sure. I can't make any promises for when I will be back - but please know that I think about you all often and I love you. I have seen several pictures and everybody looks GREAT. I miss you guys and I will try to get back here more often. If you don't have it - PM me for my home e-mail address. I check that at the library - so I am more reachable there Love and Hugs to All Irene

Hey Y'All Sorry to have dropped off the face of the Earth on you.... My signal is weak - one of these days I am going to have to get my own broadband signal... But until then, I will do a little hit and run with an update on me, and then try and come back and do personals Hugs and Love to each and every one of you! I have missed you guys! I started the new job on April 30th, and I have pretty much been running like a mad dog ever since. It isn't really stressfull, but it is just constant - one of those jobs you have to stay on top of or it will run you down like a bus. I go in at 8:30 and work straight through until six or seven, eating lunch at my desk. Hey, it keeps me off the streets... But it also keeps me out of here, since my pirated signal is pretty iffy most of the time. It isn't exactly the same thing I was doing before... heck, before I was getting paid to do not much of anything - at least for the last 6 mos or so. Previously, I was a mortgage underwriter... I was the person who said "yes" or "no" to the loan. Now, I am an assistant to the underwriters and the closers... I do the grunt work. Why take a "lesser" job? Well, it's VERY close to my house - so I have no commute anymore. 2) It's perfect while I am going to school to become a teacher. I am overqualified for the position, so I don't have to stress about whether or not I am doing it right or making a good decision. I am busy - but I don't have to think about it too much. 3) I figured out that I had stopped loving my work about the time I became an underwriter - seven years ago. I really kind of like the grunt work. Weird, huh? So, I am now a "Loan Coordinator" - which basically means that I make the files pretty for the Underwriters at the begginning, at for the Closers at the end. No-Brainer work for ALMOST the same pay as I was getting to underwrite - and for about the same pay as a first year teacher. Might as well get used to the pay scale, now.... I started my formal Spanish classes - and I am really liking it. The teacher was raised in Mexico City, and she is really nice and very patient. Everybody seems to be having a good time - I know that I am. We lost power in the big storm - just over-night - but did not lose any trees. They were down all over the neighborhood! It was like a bomb went off around here. But, Thank Goodness!, I had already had the pine trees over the pool and the bug eaten Redbud cut down and hauled away. Yippee! I have NO idea how much I weight right now. My scale is dead (stinkin' digital piece of crap) and I haven't been to the gym in weeks, either... so I really don't know. I am thinking good thoughts for maintenance - since I am thinking it would take a miracle to have lost anything - and I am forwarding any miracle points on to Kat & Rick. Everyone here is well and happy. Aside from the fact that I have been AWOL and missed you guys, all is well in Allen. Well, I am going to post this, and TRY to go back to do personals. If you don't hear any more from me tonight, know that I love you all, I miss you and I will try to get back sooner. xo

Betty - I am glad to hear that you have the car thing figured out. Deb - just remember to eat the protein first - and supplement with shakes. Good luck! Sorry about the hair. Good news, it grows back. :] Sherry - glad to hear your boy is doing better. My DH is doing great and I start work on Monday. Kat - Congrats on hitting Onderland - and by your Bandiversary! I am thinking good thoughts for your DH. I hope there is nothing pressing that you will have to worry about if you don't come to TX. Chris - I hope the new guys are keeping you entertained. Good luck with the exercise endeavors. I have been couch-potatoing out for the last week. I have to get back on it!~ Patty - congrats on getting your surgery date! Only two weeks! Woo Hoo! Mandy - liquid in your ovary? Is that normal? I have to admit that I know not very much about that girlie stuff - I wanted to get that plumbing ripped out when I was 20... I hope they figure out the problem, soon. Eileenie - how you doing? Did staring at the waves help? I hope this week is better than last. Hugs!! Cindy - Sounds like Haven is a little star...always off performing somewhere. I hope she's having a good time with it. Do you teach at VBS? Or are you just helping make it pretty? :] Well, it took me all day to get enough signal to post... so I am going to run. Tomorrow, we go to the Faire again. xo

Hi All I have come on to read and tried to post a couple of times, but my signal is weak... so before I lose it again, I wanted to tell you that I got the job and I start on Monday. Hopefully, I will be able to post during lunches, again. Love you guys. I am going to try and come back and do personals - but I may lose my signal. xo

Hey All My signal is flickering, so I am not going to do personals, again. Sorry! I am scum. I didn't go to the other interview... there was no point, since I am NOT going to drive and hour + to get to work every day... no matter how much more they pay. The job right near the house has everything I need for the next year or so - and the pay is comparable to first year teacher salary. So, I took the goofy tests I have to take in order for them to give me a formal offer. Hopefully, I will make the grade! Otherwise, I might have to take a job with my employer of last resort. Well, I am going to go to bed, now. Hugs and Love to All!! Hey Texas Chicks... It is looking like I won't be available on a weekday, either. Can we do a weekend day to meet up with Miss Kat?

Wow, Sherry.... spooky. Glad to hear he is ok. Bay - CUTE furry babies!

I agree - pay and you get the whole enchilada, including journals and specialized options like changing the colors on your screen. Don't pay and you get all the ads, fewer options and the all important information on the band. I would pay to be a "premium member" - or whatever. BTW - what does "Rep Power" mean?

Howdy, All. The interview yesterday went GREAT. The money sucks - but I really like the people that I met, the job is 10 minutes from my house IN TRAFFIC and it is a no-brainer, non-taxing kind of job. PERFECT for while I am going to school. The gal that interviewed me was down with the concept that I will be going to school and was still into having me work there. She pushed the salary to the limit for the job title and I told her I would think about it. I will probably take this one - it has everything I need right now - and the pay is about the same as I would make as a first year teacher.... Might as well make my budget adjustments, now... I have to run - DH and I are finally going out to the Scarborough Faire today. Walking, walking, walking - while we eat 400 things "on a stick". Love you guys!!!

*Whew* What a strange day... We got laid off and everybody retired to On The Border for drinks and food... then we moved to The Quarter - another bar that opened early just for us. Lots of drinking ensued... a young couple had sex in the bathroom... people danced on tables... it was that sort of a gathering. After much hugging and some tearful farewells, I headed for home. DH & I went to the gym. I could only force myself to do 15 minutes on the elliptical. I had a little cigarette at the party (instead of drinking, I smoke) and it was clearly having a negative effect on me. I figured I would be able to suffer thru another 15 minutes on the bike. My sick & twisted husband kept on going for 55 minutes!! I did over four miles tonight, alone... bringing my total for April up to 12 miles. I have vowed to go to the gym more, while I am not working. I have no excuse not to. Plus, I have decided (again, for the 15th time) that maybe smoking is not such a good idea, even occassionaly. Tomorrow, I have a job interview with an office right here in Allen - which would be the best possible commute. The lady has been all weird about the fact that it is not for an underwriter position. I guess she thought I would never consider doing something "Beneath" my previous illustrious job title... I laughed. If the pay is doable, I am all over that puppy. I have another interview on Monday - but the commute for that one is horrid... it's practically at the airport - a good hour each way. ICK. Chances are good that the pay would be great - but I don't know if there could be enough compensation for that drive, you know? I am trying for another job very close to where I work now - but I don't have an interview for that one... we shall see. I am not in any hurry - since the company's lay-off plan is quite generous. I get regular pay for 60 days and I have insurance coverage until June 30th. I have a full 2 mos to find a suitable job. Thank Goodness. Eileenie - Hugs! Good Luck with your niece tomorrow. We'll be thinking good thoughts. Kat - I can't wait for you to get here! I have Spanish Classes on Monday & Wednesday starting on May 7th - but any other days would be just fine. We will have to coordinate with Cindy & Betty. Does your DH know where he wants to shop for his ATVs? I hope you get that camera back soon... we are waiting for pictures of BOTH of the new babies. :] Sherry - I am so glad your DS is ok. Nothing like a subtle reminder to appreciate your loved ones... Hope his hip heals up fast. Dianne - Sorry for all the family drama. Wish I could (gently) give you a real hug. HUGS!! Cindy - I just can't even watch that Cho news. It freaks me out too much to deal with that kind of insanity. I am just going to be in denial over here... so, what dates work for you to meet up with Kat? And where should we meet? Jenny - Congrats on getting your surgery date! That is so exciting! You will be a genuine Bandster in no time! Mandy - That video was so sweet. I saw it on the news when they played it. It will be nice for that family to have the video when that little boy is grown. Chris/Reqgoddess - if you are going to chat with us, you have to introduce yourself and fill us in on the details of your life. We are a nosy bunch on this thread, and we love to know all about YOU. :] Pull up a keyboard and tell us about yourself. Patty - so how are you doing on your financing? Have you got a date, yet? I am so excited for you! Chrispy - Sorry about Tattoo Boy - but nobody needs any extra drama. Maybe eventually he will pull it together - but for now, enjoy! Just remember - view them as guys you are just having a little fun with and try not to ponder the rest of your life. It will all happen in it's own time. :] Betty - your flowers sure are pretty! So, what days work for YOU to meet Miss Kat? Just not on Monday or Wednesday for me... You and Cindy will have to figure the best day and a good place. Where can Kat's DH shop for ATVs? Maybe we could meet up somewhere close. Well, my head is throbbing - that stinking cigarette gave me the same hangover I would have gotten from drinking, only sooner - so I am going to head for bed. First interview tomorrow... ok - well, today, now. xo

Morning All It's a glorious day to be laid off... *sigh* Everyone is packing up their desks and handing out personal contact info. It's a very sad day. We are all waiting for the big announcement, so we can go out and start looking for new jobs. We weren't supposed to know - but it was the worst kept secret in mortgage lending that our office is closing today. I have only one little box of stuff left... I have been taking stuff home for weeks, now. We have just been waiting for the California people to all arrive - cause they always make these announcements companywide at the same time. *sigh* By now, we are all just ready for this to be over. We have had so many months of uncertainty and the slim hope that our office might survive... we were touted as the "model" office for the company. The most efficient, the most compliant - just the best all around. But, in the end, geography took us down. Our corporate office is in CA and the parent company's corporate office is in NY - so guess which two offices will remain? *sigh* Well, I have to go get laid off now... I will check in later. xo

Chrispy, you HOT chick! Go, Girl!!!

Over a year, here. 1 PB - totally my fault. It took forever to get any restriction at all - but otherwise, all ok with my VG. If not complication free, it seems they are darned close to it.

Somebody was asking where this thread had gone... I happened to run accross it in my travels so I thought I would bump it.

Lots of TX folks round these parts... Welcome! I'm in Allen. Congrats on getting your surgery date!

Sometimes, you just have to trust in the rightness of the universe... You already have your band. You are committed. So all you can do now is to go forward and be the best bandster that you can be. Trust in your own good karma and know that you will succeed! Hugs!

Update - Eileen is fine. She will check in later. New job craziness.

Morning, All. I have two job interviews lined up... It's a pretty sure thing that the office will be closing tomorrow - so I have been looking for work to tide me over while I complete the teacher certification program. I can say that Monster.com appears to work. I have only been signed up for 24 hours... Not only did one of my 2 interviews come from there - but I just found an offer to interview with Farmer's Insurance to open a sales office for them. If anybody is interested, I can forward the contact info. :biggrin1: Of course, Monster is a big ol' pain in the petute - cause every time you move from one screen to another, somebody is trying to sell you something - but if you can get past that, it's ok. Tomorrow is "D" day for us... and I will probably have my first Interview tomorrow afternoon. I don't believe in letting the moss grow under my feet... As much as I would love to be able to laze around for the next couple of months and focus on exercise and diet (ha!) I will make myself go out and get another job right away. I will be hard enough for me to have to actually WORK at my job again, without the complete loss of discipline that comes from staying home. At least now, I have to get up and come in... Anyway, job interviews are good - but obviously come with some anxiety attached. I am having some serious food issues right now. I WANT to eat. I don't really NEED to eat - but I WANT to. Stress? Excitement? I can't say for sure why - but the demons are screaming at me right now. Of course, it is nearly noon and I haven't had any food yet - but what I want is something BAD. You know - something laden with cheese and carbs and fat... I guess I had better go downstairs and get some lunch while I still have some modicum of control left. Dianne - RELAX. Give yourself a chance to heal up, for goodness sake! And trust me, that "bed to yourself" thing is way offset by having your most beloved home with you. It will take some getting used to for both of you - but I bet it will be a very good thing. And - take the tuck now. A bird in the hand, and all... Cindy - Hugs! I am pretty sure Eileen is ok. I will e-mail her at work, just to be sure. Deb - glad to hear you didn't have too much damage. Hope you are having a great day! Mandy - Hugs! Hope the nap helped you re-focus on our new, altered universe. Have to run. Food is calling.

Happy Bandiversary!! Congrats on making your goal in the first year! :]

It seems like you get those looks no matter WHAT you do... If you go to the gym, you get the look. If you go out to eat, you get the look... Some people are just ASSHOLES and need to be bitch slapped a couple of times a day. If they look - LOOK BACK. And then give them the most evil grin you can muster. They will stop looking, eventually. Plus, you will feel much better. You have inspired me to haul my fat ass to the gym tonight. Thanks, Krystal. Stay Tough! Hugs

So have the bountiful buns problem. Thanx for the recommendation for Spanx! Try to keep your chin up thru this whole plateau business. After the next fill it will be easier... but it may take several fills to get really good restriction. :]