LittleBill

Being the man of the world with refined tastes that I am, I opted for a coffee cup for my bourbon. Mrs. LittleBill has these fancy little glasses we haul out for company or special occasions, but they require hand washing, and that goes against the Code of the Bachelor. I laughed out loud at this. On those rare trips out of town without me, she is guaranteed to admonish me about the trash and the dishes, always in a very good natured way of course. You'd think I had given her cause of some sort... Hahaha, Dub! I know, I know. Look at the bright side though - you were comfortable, and you got it on a recording. It could be worse, right?

I wanted to name our middle daughter Daisy. Mrs. LittleBill wouldn't hear of it. I think attitudes on both sides were a result of picking her middle name first, which is May (we gave all our girls middle names from great grandmothers). I do like daisies. We seem to get two varieties here, and I always leave as many as possible when tending the yard. I did Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T337A using the BariatricPal App And a very nice one it is!

Almost 20 years ago, I took my wedding ring off. It was early 1998, and I was working in my shop. I caught my ring on a machine and lost a big chunk out of my finger. I took it off, and bandaged it up. At home that night, I told Mrs LittleBill, "I will gladly give my life for you, but I won't lose my finger". She was fine with that. For the past 19 years I haven't worn it. Now that I am losing weight, women are hitting on me. I know, I know, hard to believe, right? But even before, it was an issue. My voice is deep - Darth Vader deep. Women approach me even with Mrs. LittleBill right there. So I am putting it back on. It feels weird. My finger is not normal. In high school, it was broken in two places in a wrestling match. Just to get over my knuckle, my ring is the size of a small napkin ring. I suppose my fingers were a little fatter to boot, but now they are skinny, and my ring slips right on - almost. I am sure I will get used to it. I did once before. And we have been married a long time.

@@sarahb309 People can be cruel, even without thinking. But a lot of the time, it is just the not thinking part, and being cruel isn't part of it from their point of view. That doesn't make it hurt any less. Keep trying, and do your best to keep your spirits up. You will find friends who will like and respect you for who you are, and not just how you look. It can be hard (it usually is, because most things worth having are hard) but it really is worth it. Been there, done that. You will get through it, and be the better person because of it.

@@SleeveSoon Yes, I was very careful. I have discovered that it affects me about the same now as it did pre surgery. I am also one of those people who can hold his liquor very well, but virtually never drinks anywhere but home, just because. And even then, moderation is the word.

I was at the gym today to spend some time in the pool and then the whirlpool. It was a quiet as I have ever seen it there, most likely because everyone is at home preparing for a weekend of debauchery. But they (the people at the gym) are preparing for an onslaught come Monday. That is when all the New Year's Resolution people will start showing up in droves. I was talking to my acquaintance the trainer. I asked him how long it would take for most of them to fall by the wayside and give up. He gave it two months, maximum. I laughed at the expected lack of committment, and then commented that maybe I shouldn't, seeing as how I had only been there a month myself. I figure I will give it at least another two months before I start strutting around like I own the place. I also ran into my next door neighbor there, who is a professional masseuse. She was standing at the check in counter and did not see me coming. I walked up and stood next to her for a moment, and then called her name. She turned like I had stuck her with a cattle prod. OMG!!! What are YOU doing here!?!?! It was almost like, "When did they start letting fat people in?" I knew better, as I have known her for 17 years. So I said, "Well I was going to ask YOU the same thing!" I already had a pretty good idea, since she was dressed in her massage clothes. She confirmed my suspicions, and asked me if I wanted to schedule a massage. Now, she has given me massages before, so I am a little scared. She is... enthusiastic. One time I had a knot in my back, so she was working on it. She was pressing and pressing, and started to say, "I feel something! I feel something!" I was thinking, "Yeah, it's my STERNUM!" But she got the knot out. I asked her how much they charged, so she handed me a sheet of paper with all the options listed out. When I saw the prices, I ALMOST asked if that included the happy ending. I knew that would do nothing but get me all sorts of trouble, so I just bit my tongue. I told her I would think about it. In the meantime, I will have to start saving money. And therein lies the rub.

@@izzy13 I mentioned this in passing earlier up. I was going through the airport line in Philly years ago. I took off my shoes, emptied my pockets, and stepped through the metal detector. DING DING DING!!! The woman came all unglued, and yelled at me, "YOU DIDN'T TAKE YOUR BELT OFF!!!!" "Lady, if I took my belt off, I'd be accused of another crime you REALLY don't want to see!" They did the hand wand thing on me and passed me through. The next thing I knew, I was yanked out of line for a special pat down. Now, if you have ever been in Philly, EVERYONE is in one big line. It stretches out beyond the horizon. So when they pulled me out, I was suspicious. "This is because I didn't take my belt off, right?" "Oh, no sir, this is completely random." This was said with an expression like butter would not melt in her mouth. "Right." This big mean looking man appeared, and proceeded to pat me down. Roughly. When he got done, he stood back up (he was crouched down patting my lower parts) and told me I was free to proceed. I probably should have just walked away, but I am not that way. As he started to turn away, I said, "Wait a minute". He turned back to me, staring me in the eye, and said, "Wut?" "Does this mean we're going steady now?" I thought his eyes were going to pop right out of his head. I imagined the snapping of latex gloves in the background as they prepped for a cavity search. He just looked at me for a few seconds, long enough for me to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Then he burst out laughing and said, "Get the hell out of here!"

I had mine done the day after @@vannababyy22 We actually looked for each other in the post-op recovery ward.

I will be three months out in two days. I have not been away overnight yet, but will shortly be traveling (overnight) to rescue Mrs. LittleBill from a small tribe of midgets - a.k.a. the little monsters. She has been babysitting grandchildren for a week, and while she has had the time of her life, she is running out of steam. It will be interesting to see how it goes, as I will have to pack lots of food that I can eat to take with me. Fast food ain't in it for me.

She must have had a real beef with you.

I was tempted almost beyond what I could bear when I first arrived here, and a certain "vet" decided to jump all over me with both her feet in righteous indignation, but I held my tongue, so to speak. I merely pointed out that she lacked a sense of humor. That seemed to do the trick, as she has stedfastly ignored me since then.

I can tell you right now, don't put your servings in a ziplock baggy. You'll be sure to get special treatment if you do. Perhaps you could put most of it in something else and take the can, or at the least, peel the label off and stick it in with whatever container you decide to use. But don't count on the perspicacity of the TSA to understand what you have and what you are doing with it.

I am going to respectfully disagree with you on this. There are dozens of millions of us who are legal gun owners and carriers who have criminal records that are... nonexistent. We are among the most law abiding of citizens out there. We are among the least likely to break the law. Yet we are maligned every time something like this happens. There is no law, no rule, that prevents people like this from doing what they will. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. The proof of that is the fact that every time one of them shows up, who gets called? The cops. Cops are not special, they are not superior humans. They are just people like the rest of us who have decided to make protecting the rest of us their life's work. But they cannot be everywhere all the time. I have carried my gun everywhere it is legal for well over 25 years. There have been three times in those years where its presence has protected myself or others. I have never shot anyone, or even threatened to shoot anyone. But in all cases, ill intent was thwarted. If someone else had been legally carrying at that airport, it may be that more people would have lived. We do not know. There are no promises in life. But I prefer taking a chance with my gun over cringing and screaming any day of the week.

The acronym does not describe the person who is the problem. It describes the sentiment expressed when those people show up and want to take control of your life and tell you what to do. It is FOAD. I do not say that I ever used it. I just say I know about it. Just in case.

I thought I was going to die. But I didn't. How's that for positive? It was the best possible outcome. Seriously. I am very happy I did it, and would do it again in a heartbeat.

There is an acronym to respond to this phenomenon you describe, but I cannot write it here, as it is not quite polite. But, it is accurate. And to the point.

No Krispy Kreme around here, but you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a couple of Dunkin Donuts. I am in there a bunch of times a week, but only for the coffee. In days past, I would eat a bunch of donuts, or even their sammiches. But I am reformed now.

Yabut!!! You live where winter is nine months, with three months of poor skiing.

There are friends, and there are acquaintances. It sounds like she might be more of an acquaintance than a friend. It is hard sometimes, in our culture, to make the distinction. Maybe her husband is right, from your point of view, and not hers.

It has been colder than the north end of a southbound polar bear here, but no real snow to mention. We've had a couple of nuisance snows less than an inch each so far, but that's it. But for that shoveling thing? This is the way to go when there's snow! This is from the blizzard last year. We had ONE snowfall. We just happened to get almost three feet of it in that one shot, with drifts to 48" in a lot of places. It took me hours to clear the walks and driveway, and that was with Mrs. LittleBill running the walk behind machine.

I have lost 124 lbs so far, with at least another 55 lbs or so to go. I am more of a noob at this compared to some of those who have already answered, and I am a guy to boot, so take it for what it is worth. I lost 67 lbs before surgery, just by changing my diet and tracking calories. I was amazed at how effective that was. I kept my caloric intake between 2000-2500 per day. I did not do much more in the way of exercise before surgery as I already have a fairly active lifestyle. I'm no athlete, but I spend a lot of my day walking around and standing and lifting heavy things. Since surgery, I joined a gym, but that is only going to tide me over until spring, when the rigors of lawn care take over again. I was mainly concerned about not losing muscle mass, of which I have lots. So I am doing some light lifting to maintain that, as well as some stationary bike riding to increase my endurance. It all seems to be going well for me, and when summer comes, I will replace free weights with firewood again, and the stationary bike with a real one. I do not count my calories very closely, but I do count Protein, and keep carbs very low. I was pretty much a carnivore before surgery, so it has been easy to maintain that after. My issue was just too many calories, and I have not really had any cravings for anything I am not supposed to eat. I have done a little experimenting with the "forbidden foods", but for the most part they have lost their appeal. I will say that I still enjoy a snort of bourbon from time to time. That might get the Ladies Temperance Movement wagging their fingers and tongues, but my doctor is fine with it.

It's been "break your ears off" cold here for the past week or so. It is supposed to go up into the 50s, but not for a few more days. In addition to the cold here, I got to spend a big chunk of the day in an unheated basement in the mountains (where it got up to a high of 14 degrees) helping replace a pressure tank for a well. Fun fun. I could use some cheese bread in a warm climate with a couple of friendly folks.

I figured as much, but I couldn't resist taking a jeep shot. Thank you, it is very kind of you to say so, but I seem to be changing from a plum to a prune. I used to joke that fat people looked younger because the wrinkles didn't show. Now that is not the case, for me anyway.

@@OzRoo Very nice! Jeep, that is. Seriously, you are looking good!

The issue isn't so much eating food that might be detrimental to your weight loss, but rather eating food that could cause serious and immediate health problems because of a healing stomach. To a certain extent, it is entirely the responsibility of the individual. But beyond that, others who may not have received a proper education as to how and what to eat immediately post op may see something like this, figure it's okay, and then do damage to themselves while thinking they were safe. So yeah, if someone is determined to eat something they shouldn't, it's on them. But if they are leading others astray, that becomes a different issue. Besides, if you are going to do something stupid, and then post about it on the internet, you should not be surprised when you receive criticism or worse for it.