FemmeOne

Hi everyone. Hope you're all enjoying the post-holiday lull. My daughter and her partner are here visiting until tomorrow (I think), and I hate to say it but I'm kinda getting tired of them. That's bad, I know. I'm not crazy about her GF and she sorta drives me nuts. I was prepared for this and kept telling myself that I'd just stay calm and let things wash over me. Hah. But on the order of things to be upset about, this is really minor. Apples, I"m really sorry to hear about those kidney stones; I've heard that are horribly painful. I hope you get through these ok. I'm sending healing thoughts your way. I went a little cookie crazy and ate too many over Xmas (nothing like I would have pre-band though). I'm back on track though. It is weird though, sometimes I'm too tight and I PB and other times it seems like I can eat anything. Perhaps it's stress or something. I was scheduled for a fill but I cancelled it---just didn't think I was ready yet. I don't have very much in my band at all. New Year's traditions---Well, because my one grandfather was German, we'd always have pork and sauerkraut for dinner. And my grandma was Scottish, so they'd go "first-footing" and visiting around the neighbors. The tradition is that the first person in the door that day should be a tall dark man (for good luck). My grandfather was tall and dark-haired, so they'd be the bringers of good luck! And, of course, a lot of drinking gets done on Hogmanay (the Scots word for New year's). I didn't mention everyone (still havent learned all the names yet), but I hope everyone has a good New Year's. We usually stay home and don't do much celebrating (we're become old stick-in-the-muds).

Great, it's great to hear you're having a good Christmas; sounds like you really made out! And congrats on the weight loss...you're really dropping it! Since today is not our Christmas (waitin on DD to get here), I'm having a quiet day. Slept in late, talked to Sis's in-law and now am getting ready to make some homemade yeast rolls for tomorrow. I invited my DS (who lives in the same town) and his girlfriend over for dinner tonight. Nothing fancy, just pot roast. Hubby is downstairs wrapping presents and singing...it's so nice. DD (Phoebe) and her partner, Linda, are in Penna. with my mom today. They are supposed to be getting freezing rain all across RT 80, so if it's bad they are going to wait another day before coming out here. I'm missing DD badly so I hope they get here soon! But I don't want them risking their lives in bad weather, for sure. I haven't talked about my daughter much, but she's the best, most thoughtful person I know. We are very close. She lives in NYC, but I wish she were closer. She teaches 4th grade at a public elem. school. Yesterday I was so happy, a whole day without PB'ing at all. And I'm good so far today too. I was really getting worried. I'm scheduled for a fill this Monday, but I think I'm going to cancel it. I don't want too much restriction if I'm going to be PB'ing all the time. I did eat too many cookies yesterday, because I made Toll House cookies and couldn't resist them. Still, it was less than I'd normally eat before LB. Haven't gained, according to my scale, though. I'll probably check back in, just because I'm not busy today and I can't help checking in on you guys! Merry Christmas, Janet, Apples, Linda, Laura, Jewel, Melissa, Eva, Great, Peas, and everyone else whose names I haven't learned yet!

Merry Christmas to everyone here! You've all been so welcoming and wonderful. I feel like I have a "spot" on the Internet to come to and have found some good friends. You all were choking me up with your heartfelt messages! DD won't be here until the 26th (if all goes well with the weather), so it'll be a quiet day tomorrow for DH and I. I'll be making some rolls and some other stuff. Did more cookies today and have eggplant caponata simmering on the stove. So I'm all set. I did my shopping today, and bought squid for the calamari. Jeez, it was expensive. I remember when they just sold squid for bait and it was waaay cheap! Now that it's become "gourmet" they raised the price. In some ways I wish I had a grandchild to spoil, but I don't think either of my kids are ready for that yet, so I'll just have to wait. All of you in the big storm, please be careful!

Cheri, I'm an Al-Anon'er from way back, and I understand where you're coming from, girl. I have very mixed feelings about the holidays, and as a matter of fact, am having a bit of a hard time with depression right now. You are definitely not the only one. I have been hitting more meetings recently, because that is a place where I can feel accepted and they always make me feel more calm. I don't do well at large gatherings either, so I tend to limit my socializing with small groups. I've always (since a kid) had some social anxiety, and I've learned ways to deal with it. I'm also trying to keep things low-key, so I don't get so stressed out with all the preparations. Today, I took the day off so I could finish my shopping and plan my Xmas menu. Seem to be doing ok with the food, except I'm still really tight and have been pb'ing like crazy. I can't figure out if I'm just eating too fast, or whether being nervous has me still so tight. Hang in there, Cheri. We'll make it through the holidays! *hugs*

You guys are probably tired of hearing about my Italian pizzelle cookies, but that's our main tradition. My grandparents were from Italy, and my grandmother used an old pizzelle iron to make these thin anise-flavored waffle cookies on top of the stove. So this is one Italian tradition that we still do. I used to make the dough with the kids and supervise the cooking on the stove. My daughter still demands pizzelles for Christmas and although it's time consuming, I still make them. A couple of years ago, we even made up a song to go with the pizzelle-making. (Sung to the tune of "Noel, Noel." ): The first pizzelle, it stuck so bad, It made mom frustrated, and o-o so mad. And we did a LOT of verses too! Another tradition that I still do (and am expected to!) is to fill stockings. I look for oddball gifts and weird candy and try to surprise them every year. Actually I still need to go out and find more stuff! I'd better get busy, huh?

Cheri, I live in Bloomington, which is about 50 miles south of Indianapolis. Home of Indiana University (where I work) and the Hoosiers! I haven't been up in the northwest part of the state much. Too bad we both had crappy days yesterday. I'm feeling a little more positive today, here at work (trying to actually do some work). Christmas time isn't the best time of year for me, with the lack of sunlight and all. I'm just happy that yesterday (or today, not sure) was the winter soltice and it's going to be a little longer day each day. Hang in there!

Apples, I have a question for you. When you were heavier, did you have as much energy as you do now?

Hi Shrinking Shan! I'm kind of a newbie here myself, and this is a great place to get support. All the people here are so nice and friendly! Sounds like you're doing just great and are getting a fantastic head start on your weight loss. Welcome.:thumbup:

Good evening, everyone. Well, it's Sunday night and I'm dreading going back to work tomorrow. :thumbup: I'll be working this week and taking off the week between Xmas and New Year's when my daughter and her partner will be here. Had a nice day, but for some reason I'm feeling a little down. I have no good reason to, except for worry about my mother. She lives in an assisted living place in Pennsylvania, about 10 hours drive from me here in Indiana. My DD was going to pick her up and bring her here for the holidays but she has an infected leg that won't get better, and can't get around very well. She has Parkinson's and is progressively getting weaker. In a way, I'm relieved that she's not coming, because I was so worried about her falling and hurting herself in my house. And also that I can't really take care of her needs. But I'm also sad that she won't be around family. We still have plenty of family where she is, and I know she'll be OK, but I still worry. I did get some pizzelle-making started, but my Iron kept sticking and boy is that frustrating! So I made some of those Hershey kiss blossom Cookies and my DH is very happy! We also went to a friend's open house today and I got to see some friends that I hadn' seen for quite a while. So today was good, but here I am still feeling sad. Today I was also finally able to eat three meals without PB"ing or vomiting. I think the swelling around my band must have finally gone down. I was beginning to worry that I'd never eat again. Here's hoping tomorrow will be cheerier!

Aw, gee, thanks, Indio...to tell the truth, I have been thinking of Florida and I've seen some cheap flights. It would really be fun. I do have to watch my $$, though, as my DH has been laid off for over a year. We're doing OK, as he is doing small carpentry jobs, but nothing steady. And I have my job. It's just something I have to weigh in my mind. He was a superintendent of large hotel-building projects in Indianapolis but the whole commercial building thing is waay waay down. Who knows when it'll come back. Ornament making was much fun last night. People are SO creative...a friend of mine took photos. If I get them soon, I'll post them. I still have a big mess on my dining room table to clean up. Someone brought some good champagne last night and I tried some. Shouldn't have as all the bubbles made my band make some crazy noises!:biggrin: Apples, good to hear that your harvest is finally over. How you get done all that you do is amazing. Maybe you'll have a breather now?

Lori, I'm glad your surgery went well. Sounds like you're on the mend! Well, our work Christmas luncheon was yesterday and I was actually able to eat something solid for the first time in a week. So I guess the unfill did the trick. However, I do notice that I am getting hungrier between meals. I need to use some willpower not to overeat now. Tonight I'm having my craft group over (a bunch of women friends---we get together once a month to work on whatever project we have...individual knitting, embroidery, quilting, etc., and just talk and have a great time.) I'm setting up for us to make Xmas ornaments using styrofoam, beads, sequins, all that glizty stuff. Should be a lot of fun. We'll sit around the table and glue tacky ornaments and chat. I really look forward to getting together with these women, as I have a pretty quiet social life. I'm not a big group person, but love little get-togethers with a few good friends. In a way, that's what this forum feels like! Hope everyone is having a good day---boy, do I miss it when people don't post very much. I keep checking in throughout my work day.

Hi, everyone. I had to get a 3/4 cc unfill yesterday, as I couldn't eat anything without PB'ing and then it was hard to even get liquids down. i'm still swollen and on soft mushies so i hope that I still have some restriction, but I can't tell yet. Lost 8 lbs in 2 weeks. Although I'm glad for the weight loss, living without being able to really eat sucks big time. I'd almost rather do it on will power! But if all goes well, I can go back in for a mini fill in about two weeks. That is, if I need it. I'm happy with the amount of weight I've lost so far, just hoping it continues.

Egad, Apples, do you have an industrial kitchen with one of those giant-size Kitchen-Aid mixers? And just how many ovens do you have?? :thumbup:

JeweI, I'm sorry to hear your MIL reacted negatively. I hope she comes around soon. Someone asked what an "ashram" was; it's an Indian word for a religious hermitage. I didn't do hatha yoga (the physical form of yoga) there, but we practiced bhakti yoga--devotion. I was there for 2 years in my early twenties, and it was like being a nun or a monk (up at 3 am for devotional practices). It was an interesting experience (some bad and a lot of good), and I'm glad I did it. Indio, I'm still so swollen from all the vomiting and pb'ing that it's a little difficult to swallow my pills. My doc says to only stay on liquids for the day of the fill, then back to regular food. But I'm sticking to liquids and soft mushies today, then probably more mushies tomorrow. I know a lot of other doctors say to keep on liquids for longer. There's polenta in my fridge just waiting for me to be able to eat it! Lotsa lotsa carbs though.

Laura, I'm so sorry about your dad. There's not much to say except "this too shall pass."

Ah, cornmeal mush...except we Italians call it polenta and it's my soul food. Served with spaghetti sauce over it, or sliced up in squares and broiled with parmesian and romano cheese. Yum. Now I'm REALLY hungry and I've been on liquids all day. Went to the dr's and got 3/4 cc taken out. I can't tell any difference yet, but I sure hope I can eat something now. I'm down another couple lbs, so I hope I still have enough restriction yet to keep losing.

Indio, just a tip about making steel cut oats: Bring the water to a boil right before you go to bed, stir in the oats, and turn them off after they boil for about a few minutes. Keep a tight fitting lid on the pan and they'll be ready in the morning after heating up for just about 5 minutes. They will be thick, so I put in some milk when I heat them up. We cook them this way almost every night.

I think I'm finally on the Xmas bandwagon. Got some decorating done and put the tree up (another smallish pre-lighted tree with all our traditional ornaments on it). Decided to make dried "friendship soup" for some gifts. Someone gave me a jar a month or so ago, and when I cooked it up, it was delicious. Just in case you haven't heard of it, it's a canning jar layered with rice, lentils, barley, and split peas along with seasonings, with a pretty fabric top and a small card with instructions. To cook it, you just add hamburger and tomatoes and it's ready in about an hour. I went out and got all the fixins, but I still need some canning lids (hard to find this time of year). I'm going to have to get an emergency unfill tomorrow. I've been PB'ing at least once a day, and yesterday was really bad. I couldn't even keep down my oatmeal this morning, and it's even hard to drink liquids. I just tried to drink a small bit of a Protein shake and it's not working. I'm worrying that all this vomiting is going to damage my band. It's weird because I've only had two fills. Looks like I just need to try Clear Liquids for the rest of today. I hope I can get in tomorrow.

Friday's winding down here at work, and I'm ready to go home! It was a productive day and I hope I can keep it up this weekend, because I sure need to get busy about Christmas. Wow, Apples, you get more company out there on the farm than I ever get in town! I'm glad you're back on your equilibrium, but it never hurts to vent and get things off your chest. Indio, let me tell you, girl, I have my nose pierced too...had it done over 35 years ago when I lived in a yoga ashram. ANd yes, I have a checkered past. I usually don't wear anything in it now, but I sometimes put in a small diamond stud that my husband got me for Christmas one year. You guys are your pretty nails! I'm envious. I have wimpy short brittle cracking nails that seem to have gotten worse since my LB surgery. Oh yeah, and my hair is really falling out now. Used to have lush thick dark hair. Now it's gray and getting thinner and thinner. Argh. Better dig out that old bottle of biotin I have and start taking some. Hope all is well with everyone over the weekend. I'm going to pick up a bottle of anissette and get my pizzelles going (plus I can sip on the liquoure while I'm standing over the stove!).

Had ppl at my kitchen table ALL DAY yesterday so did not get done what I wanted to. All of the cookies (6 doz.) are eaten along with all but two of the dozen or so cranberry bread I made on Monday and most of the fudge. Hungry visiting farmers. Was a nice day and happy to share but now I need to start over with some baking. (You all know how much I enjoy baking so good to go). Apples, talk about good-hearted! I would have been hoarding those cookies after all the work they took! Every year I make pizzelles (an Italian anise-flavored waffle-type cookie) on my grandmother's old pizzelle iron. You have to stand over the stove making these things one at a time and they take forever. You should see the way I parcel them out! Once my husband took a batch I'd spent hours making to work with him for the "guys"---I called him up and told him he'd have to bring 'em back home! Just call me the Grinch!!:scared2:

I've been married for 20 years, and have gone through periods where I couldn't stand my husband, didn't want him to touch me, and so on. We've had our ups and downs and have come close to divorce a couple times. Over a long relationship, though, it seems that you can fall in and our of love with your husband. In the past few years, I've fallen back in love with mine, and now I'm so glad that I didn't leave. Just my 2 cents.

I'm still learning the names of everyone on here, so please forgive me if I get messed up! Laura, I hope you're doing fine after your surgery. JeweI, I'm on a mini-dose of a mood stabilizer that helps to up the efficacy of my antidepressant and it can make you crave carbs and therefore, gain weight. So I know it can be hard. It hasn't seemed to affect my weight loss after the band, though. I've had recurrent bouts of depression all my life (runs in the family), and now (at this great age) realize it's like having diabetes or something I need to be on medication for. I don't judge myself anymore for being the way I am. Sometimes I can't handle stress like other people, but everyone is different and I don't need to beat myself up over it. I'm starting to worry about getting Xmas stuff done, so I guess that means I need to get up off my butt and get some things done. I did order a couple of books from Amazon yesterday! (Big whoop, right?) My LB support group party was sort of a bust; not that many people showed up. But I got a beautiful necklace and earring set from the gift exchange, which I'm wearing to work today. My tightness seems to have calmed down a bit and I haven't PB'ed in a couple days. I think I've just been eating too fast and too big of bites. Jeez, you'd think I'd learn quicker after all those stuck episodes. It's so hard to change habits built up over the years. I've always been a fast eater. i hope you guys out west there are able to ride out the big blizzard--we're getting snow today and the winds are hellacious. Bye for now---almost time for my lunchtime exericise group to meet. We do a lot of pilates with the exercise ball, and also yoga sometimes.

It's funny. I'm just on my second fill, and have only 3 ccs in a 10-cc band, and I'm PB'ing at least once a day! Yesterday I even had problems with very mooshy tuna with mayo. I'm wondering if I need a tiny bit unfilled. I am losing more, but I don't know if it's worth it.

Hi everyone, So last night at my book club, the food was great, but I had a hard time. I think the social aspect is what got me nervous, and I got stuck and PB'ed. This is RIGHT after telling everyone in the group that I had had LB surgery! I don't think people noticed much about my "episode" except that I wasn't able to eat the food on my plate. Everyone was very accepting of the news (except for one person, I think) and very supportive. Tonight is my lap band support group Xmas party, and we're going to have food there, too. I hope to be able to talk with the nutritionist and see if I should get unfilled a little. I've been PB'ing about once a day since I got filled last week. But I only have 3 ccs in a 10-cc band! This time of year with all the parties and work get-togethers is a little challenging right now, with me being so tight. Thanks, Eva, for the welcome! I'm glad you like the retro look. Our house isn't totally retro, by any means. But gradually I'm re-doing things to get back to the original look. Anybody here a fan of Mad Men? I love the decors in that show.

Good morning everyone! Jewel, it's nice to meet you. Thanks for the welcome, Julie, Meredith, Great, Apples, Indio, and Laura (hope I didn't miss anyone). I had my steel cut oatmeal for breakfast this morning with some protein powder (since my fill, it's been hard getting the protein in). I'm going to watch it and see if I need to go in for a little unfill. It's strange how doctors differ in their instructions; mine just wants you to be on liquids the day after your fill and then straight into eating solid stuff again. I'm going to try to stick to the semi-mushies for a while and see if any swelling goes down. OK, you've all convinced me! I'm going to use The Daily Plate to record my food (already did yesterday's and starting on today). Looks like I'm getting about 800-900 calories in. Tonight I'm hosting our book group and will have to make sure I eat slowly!! I'm making crabcakes and a pork roast and I hope I can taste a little bit. Now I've got to do some laundry and see if I have time to take in a couple of pairs of pants. I could kick myself because about three weeks ago I went and bought two pair at TJ Maxx, and now they're already too big. I mean, I'm thrilled about the weight loss, but wish I hadn't spent the $$$. I'll check in later! Bye for now.