LittleBill

I've got about two tons of it out by the outdoor furnace. And my parents, jokers that they are, put black licorice coal in our stocking several times when we were kids. I am used to the threats.

Thank you. I had a pretty in depth discussion with the psychologist at our program about how to handle stuff like this. He is firmly of the opinion (and I agree) that making something forbidden is the best way to make it more desirable, and cutting it out completely is not always a good thing. Now, if it were an addiction problem, then yeah, a little is as bad as a lot, and can cause someone to fall off the wagon. Going in with a plan really helped too. There were lots of old familiar smells and sights. I skipped the cookie and candy dishes completely. I didn't even go close to them. I figured I could probably get away with eating a little, but they would just get in the way of my Protein, and I am working real hard at keeping that up. So even though I put a little humor into this, I hope the real message that comes through is that planning ahead can be very effective in not going overboard and causing physical as well as emotional problems.

It seems like progress is never what we would like it to be, but it sounds like she is continuing to move in the right direction, albeit slowly.

Wow, that sounds like a big change! We have been of the opinion that smaller is better when it comes to decorating. My mother-in-law used to go completely wild. It would take the whole month of November to get everything up, and the whole month of January to take it back down again. We get it done in about an hour or two. As far as moving goes, I hope to be carried out of here in a box. There is way too much stuff to have to pack up. I was really surprised when she came in with that ornament. I kept looking at that little block, thinking I should just toss it, but knowing as soon as I did, the rest of the piece would surface. I am amazed I was able to find it, to tell the truth. Usually I see something like that every day, and then when I need it, it is gone!

Today we decorated the house for Christmas. By "we", I mean Mrs. LittleBill decorated, while I hid out up in my shop. We are minimalists for this event. It has a very deep meaning for us, but we choose to avoid the popular culture when it comes to observation. Our tree is a small plastic tabletop version, complete with lights. There are a few decorations on it. One important one is a Santa given to me for my first Christmas back in 1958 by my grandparents. But anyway... We had a sort of interesting event during today's decorating. I was happily working away in the shop. It is a wood shop. It is stuffed with wood of all sizes, from 4' x 8' sheets of plywood, to boards of every sort, scraps, and of course, piles of sawdust. All of a sudden, the door burst open, and Mrs. LittleBill appeared, clutching a wooden, painted Father Christmas. "Can you find a small piece of wood to glue to the bottom of this? It is missing a part and it won't stand up on the mantel the way it is." As soon as I saw it, things clicked. About six or eight months ago, I was cleaning out the bed of my truck, and I came across a small block of wood stained with a red stain. It had the notation "From Mom and Dad, Xmas 1988". I could not toss it out, although I had no idea what it belonged to. It sat in the shop for months. Apparently it had broken off when a plastic tote in the truck overturned, spilling its contents. That happened because I put the stuff in there to move to our barn, and then forgot about it. I took one look at the figure and realized the block it needed had been up here the whole time. I walked over, picked it up, and sure 'nuff, it matched. All it took was a few quick air nails, and it was fixed. It should last until one of our descendants inherits it now.

In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they're different.

We have that saying. "Some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you." We take that literally, you know.

Thanks, Dub. It sure sounds great doesn't it? Of course, there are all those things that give rise to a good story you know. Adventure is someone else far away in deep $#*t, right?

Thank you, and the same to you!

I was prowling about the store on the site here a few days ago, and came across Click coffee protein mix. I like coffee, and I like chocolate, so I ordered a canister of their Double Shot Espresso Coffee mocha. It arrived today as the saga of the squirrel was winding down. I had been out in the cold all morning long, so I thought this would be a great time to try the stuff out. I made up a cup according to the instructions, and it was very tasty. But then I got to wondering. Is there caffeine in this stuff? Naw, there couldn't be, right? It's supposed to be good for us, right? They probably sucked all the caffeine out of it, right? So THEN I decided to read the label. Wrong. They did not suck the caffeine out of it. So I will be staying up late tonight. At least I have a good book. And of course, I can always come here and look for trouble.

Same here. The only thing I can think of negative about it is that the powder is so light and fluffy, it sticks to the sides of my container and my immersion blender. So I have to scrape it off a little. But if I lick the spoon, it is like a chocolate covered espresso bean!

I must be a big sissy pants. I usually sleep on my side, but I stayed on my back for two solid weeks so I would not disturb anything.

I hope it all goes well for you. Tall women have a special beauty all their own. I will look forward to seeing how you make out.

Heal over or heal completely? Mine were healed over on the surface at about 2-3 weeks. The big one took the longest, as one might expect. As for healing completely, that takes longer, which is why the doc told me to take it easy with weight. I do a lot of heavy lifting for my work, so I waited for two months before I started ramping up the weights I was lifting.

The chances of it changing are small, but you never know.

It got the name Ring of Fire because it burns on the way in, and it burns on the way out. There is nothing really special about this chili, although there are two things of note about it. First, it is very easy to make, and second, it has been featured at all sorts of social occasions and we virtually never bring home any leftovers. I am posting it here in case someone is bored and wants to try it. It is not cheap in the calorie department, but a half a cup yields lots of Protein. In fact, you will get 275 calories and a hair over 25 grams of protein in 1/2 cup. These values were calculated with My Fitness Pal's recipe calculator. Just about anything in this recipe can be substituted, left out, moderated, whatever. For example, one might substitute ground turkey or chicken for beef. Make it your own and the way you like it. I like it hot - real hot. I like it so hot when someone breaks wind, it is like a flash bulb going off in a dark room. You may like it a little milder. One rule about chili is, you can always add more spice, but it is real hard to get it back out again. Ingredients 1 1/2 lb ground beef 1 large can kidney Beans 1 can black beans 1 can garbanzo beans 1 can corn Two large cans tomato sauce Two onions (chopped) Brown sugar Cumin Habanero pepper powder Black pepper First I put everything from cans into a large pot and start it warming up on the stove. I do not add any spices or sugar yet! While that is getting warm, I will brown the beef, cooking the onions along with it. Once that is ready, I drain it and add it to the big pot with the other ingredients. I will then bring the big pot up to a low boil, and back it down to simmer. Then I will start with the spices. There are no quantities listed because I have no idea what they are. Besides, you are making this, not me. Make it the way you like it. Store bought chili powder is a waste of time and money. As far as I am concerned, it is nothing more than a bunch of paprika with just enough cumin in it to make it smell decent. If you really like the taste and smell of cumin (and I think that is really important in good chili) just get yourself a bottle of cumin off the spice rack. If you are die hard fresh about stuff, you can buy it whole, roast it, and crush it. But that takes the easy out of this recipe. Put in some cumin. Put in a wee bit of habanero powder. Any hot pepper powder, flakes, or fresh cut will do, but habaneros have just a little bit of a sweet taste to them before they start burning your tongue off. Start low and add it sparingly. Add in some black pepper. I actually add in a lot of black pepper. I love the stuff. Then comes the sugar. Brown sugar has a little bit of molasses to it, and that plus the sweetness takes the bite out of the acid in the tomato sauce. It also complements and compliments the habaneros. I do not add a lot. Usually about 1/4 cup for a pot this size does the trick nicely. Stir frequently to keep it from sticking, and let it cook down until it is nice and thick. It is pretty much ready to eat any time you decide. I hope someone finds this helpful in their Quest for stuff that tastes good, is reasonably good for you, and is not hard to make.

@ I agree. If you are willing to do so, please keep me abreast of any new developments.

I thought this was going to be something along the lines of Lady Chatterly's Lover when I saw the title. As has been mentioned, go back to lean Protein for a while. Also, you mentioned you were "getting your liquids". Just because you get to the goal set for you doesn't mean you have to stop, or even that it is enough. So a little more drinking might help you some - Water and other non alcoholic things of course!

The pre-op diet was the hardest thing of all for me. I told Mrs LittleBill to just plan on my being grumpy the whole time. She said it wasn't so bad, but then she puts up with a lot. If you can tough out the pre-op diet, you should do fine post-op. It won't always be easy, but getting through it makes what will come a little easier.

We've had an outdoor furnace for 12 years now that burns either wood or coal. We are using our oil burner this year. I did not have time to chop wood before surgery (had other projects to finish) and we weren't sure how long I would have issues lifiting after surgery. Oil is nice for being lazy, but nothing beats the nice even heat of wood. We can't quite cozy up to it like you can, but if we want that, we just repair to our squirrel free outbuilding.

Wow, that's some serious trouble. We are on a country road that sees a decent amount of traffic from time to time. We have "other methods" for discouraging thieves and looters in the event of societal breakdown, but low profile has been a major component. Having seen what flooding can do to people, including some family, we purposely looked for a house on a hill. This place hasn't flooded since Noah was a ship captain. I am glad you were able to make it through.

I'm glad to sat that my man boobs are deflating. My ass cheeks are going too. I have no interest in a boobies job though!I seem to be developing the dreaded "plumbers crack". I have never had that problem before in my life. Is this a complication due to surgery? I do not have any man boobage problems to report yet.

omg I laughed so hard at ur post that my husband asked what I was laughing at so I read it to him and he laughed. It takes a lot to make him laugh. Lol. And ur lucky we loose electric a lot and already for over two weeks. We have our generator wired into our home to run our entire house at the flip of a switch. We did this after going over two weeks without electric one winter. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Our setup is similar. I have to manually start the generator (yank the cord), and then throw one switch to switch over the circuits we dedicated to keeping on. That's the heat, the fridge, and the freezer. We have bunches of candles and oil lamps for lights, and the aforementioned 19th century amenities for long term low energy consumption. With my new arrangement, I can leave it in the tool shed. That saves me time and work to roll it into place, and keeps it secure from generator thieves. The old arrangement had it next to the house, which is right up by the road. Nothing says "here I am!" Like a running generator in a power outage. When our girls were still here at home, they would complain about the outhouse. I told them they were welcome to use the inside toilet, but I was not hauling buckets of Water up two flights of stairs so they could pee in luxury. That was their job.

This brought back a memory. My doc came in to speak with me just before he operated. I said to him, "Doc, we have a saying in my profession which I would like to pass on to you." "What's that?" "Measure twice, cut once!" He laughed pretty hard, and said that the chief surgeon had that on the wall of his office.