Sis in town...

Well my banded sis came home Wednesday night for a week. So...yesterday I took the day off work and we spent the WHOLE day shopping! Left at 8:30 am, drove to Cincinnati to Kenwood Towne Center, then the Cincinnati Premium Outlets, then back up to Dayton for a few more stops. Other than the weather, the trip was great! I went to get some crops pants for the spring/summer, and came home with 16 shirts and a pair of jeans instead. But hey, the shirts are cute. Pretty much got rained on the whole afternoon at the Outlet center...why oh why do they think everyone wants to be outside no matter what the weather in Ohio? By the time we made it north to Troy, the rain had turned to snow, and by the time I dropped my sis off at the parents, they had an inch on the ground and it was accumulating on the roads. By this morning, tons of ice on the road and really treacherous! Luckily, I only work about 1 1/2 miles from my home so it's not a big deal, but wow what a difference in the weather. Wednesday night hubby and I walked outside with barely a jacket on. Even yesterday morning when we started out, neither one of us wore a coat or even a light jacket.

The "cyst" - or mini me as my sister fondly would call it, still hurts and I'm so hoping the surgeon doesn't try and drain it again or that I have to have surgery. I seems to have gotten smaller, but it still is uncomfortable. I'll try not to get panicky about that and remember to take my Motrin before I go for my checkup Monday.

Fish fry tonight at the bowling alley with hubby's brother and wife and watch some basketball. On the band front, I keep bouncing around and am up 2 1/2 lbs since my lowest. Not thrilled about that, but mini-me is taking precedence right now. And I am feeling better with the slight unfill last week so I'm not going to obsess about the scale. Still lovin' the band though!

NOW I know what hurts the worst...TMI

One thing about being banded that has come up (or failed to come out) is constipation. Wow, when I get it, it takes softeners, laxatives, and sometimes (as hubby calls it) the TNT sticks to help things along. Then, if that isn't enough the ole hemorrhoids rear their ugly heads and make life miserable for a few days. Well, here I was lying in bed last Tuesday and thought, why is it so painful "down there". Haven't had a trouble of late. Then when I was taking my shower in the morning I felt a fairly large lump near the poop shoot and was a little concerned to say the least. Something different, something internal. The more I sat at my desk the more worse it hurt. So after a call to the doc's office (at least I got the female NP) to check out the "problem" and the prodding that ensued...very uncomfortable I might add...she said it seemed to be a cyst and said she would try and get me over to a surgeon's office right away. Huh?

Okay, so about an hour later I'm in with the surgeon and lo and behold he is going to drain this thing right now. By this time I've forgotten all of my inhibitions and have no qualms about showing my hind end to anyone. Well, the Mennonite nurse forewarned me that the numbing meds don't really work down there very well. Hell the shot itself (picture in your mind getting a shot about 1/2" from the poop shoot) was about to send me into orbit. Then he proceeded to make an incision and I yelled "good God" and immediately felt horrible with the nurse standing there. I'm glad that is all that came out. Then went in some instrument as I'm taking long deep breaths and then the packing strip he placed inside as I'm trying not to embarrass myself too much. But by this time I'm shaking, then come the cold sweats and the woosh in my ears and yep, I'm ready to pass out. I tell the nurse to not wake me up until he's done if I do, but no such luck. The nurse gave me smelling salts...a good healthy dose actually. That's the longest I've felt like passing out when I didn't do the deed. And I can count the number of times I've passed out on one hand in my life. After about 10 minutes later, I'm finally with it enough to leave the office. The bottom feeling definitely better, me not as well. Watch me meet up with that doc again in the grocery store or something. Wonder if he'll remember my "face"?

Entering new territory...

I was sincerely amazingly happy when I reached my mini-goal of 164 lbs. Last time there....over 6 years ago. Well let me tell you...the scale has finally been moving and this morning I clocked in at 162. Yes, I did the step on the scale 3 times thing to make sure it stayed there and wasn't just an aberration. And it did. Each time. I am now the lowest I've been since I was a senior in high school. 28 years ago. I feel like I'm in unchartered waters. The body hasn't bounced back like I'd hoped, but hey I look pretty decent in clothes, so I won't complain.

So what did I do today? Packed up all the "too big" clothes and put 3 bags in the Special Olympics bin in front of our local grocery, and gave several piles of clothes to my SIL who was banded in October. Getting it out of here. I don't want to keep anything to make it easy to slide backwards. Been there done that and not doing it again!

I really hope everyone with me on this journey meets and exceeds every single one of their goals. It has been an all-encompassing life changing experience that I wish everyone could have who has struggled with their weight. I feel like I've been given such a gift....quite simply my life back. Life is grand!

NOT an NSV....and SV! Mini-goal reached!

To quote Buck Owens..."woke up this mornin', happy as could be". Well okay, not quite. Had a freaking migraine at 4 in the morning that kept me up and a couple of hours until the drugs kicked in, but when I did finally get up and stepped on the scale....HOT DAMN! Today's the day! Clocked in at 164 lbs...the same weight as when I met my husband. And, the last time I hit this weight since high school. Can't tell you how good I feel today emotionally! From here it's all a bonus!

My next mini-goal is 159 lbs - the weight where I will not longer be considered "overweight". And then my ultimate goal is 150 lbs. Which I'm afraid is going to take awhile, but I'm trying to keep the accomplishments in perspective.

Saturday hubby and I went and picked up our new SUV. Loving it so far! We decided on the GMC Terrain with almost all of the bells and whistles since we already have a full-size SUV. I love the excitement I get when getting a new car! Feels like I did when I was younger. You see, I LOVE to drive. Always did. Mom and Dad couldn't get me out of the driver's seat once I got my license. I do probably 95% of the driving when hubby and I are together...mostly because when we go out he does like his craft beers and me, I rarely drink anymore, so it just makes sense. Driving is my catharsis, okay except when you get an a**hole driver around you, but for the most part, I thoroughly enjoy it.

Over the weekend I have to say my band didn't want to cooperate with me too much. Maybe it's due to the TOM, but Saturday I struggled both for lunch and dinner. Not fun when you go out with friends. They all know I have the lap band, but it still doesn't look good when you keep having to leave the table and go to the bathroom. Plus, I woke up with a head cold on Friday which I'm sure didn't help matters. The whole combo is giving me reflux at night so if the ole persnickity doesn't settle down in the next week, I'm going to have to go down to Cincinnati and have a little taken out. I really, really, really don't want to...but I've got to look at this for the long haul. I want to win the war.

Movement :)

This is the first Monday in what seems like ages that the scale did not punish me for my excessiveness over the weekend. I woke up today the same weight as Saturday. Get out! So hate to say this, but I'm pretty happy today. I hate to think that my emotions are still being controlled by what my scale tells me in the morning. I'd like to think that I'm past that by now. But the slow progess in the last month really threw me for a loop after having such a consistent weight loss during this journey. I know Jack Sh*t, slow and steady and keeping focused on the goal is best, I really don't know how you keep your mindset on the straight path.

I bought some protein shots last week online after hearing such great things about them. Guess what? They smell like pee and the taste is just slightly above pee. Orange flavored pee. Can't even tell you what my husband said about them. I've got 44 of them left and am going to pass a few out at our next support group meeting. The rest will still take me a year to get through I'm sure. The only thing good about them is that you can throw one in your purse for those days when you're concerned about your intake. That is it!

Hubby and I went with our friends furniture shopping on Saturday. Nine furniture stores, Sam's club, a clothing store, a sporting goods store, 2 fitness stores, and super market, and lunch & dinner. Oh, and the BMV stop I had to make. It was a full day. And do you believe our friends still couldn't find any leather furniture they liked. Honestly, we probably saw a couple of hundred living room sets Saturday and they didn't find a thing. This was their 3rd week of furniture shopping. I think they have many more in their future. We settled on a couple of Flexsteel chairs and I need to order my dining set/server and end tables yet. We found someone that will take out old stuff that had a fire so at least it's being put to good use. I'm just happy to get rid of it.

Tonight we're looking at a new SUV. Getting rid of the convertible. Crap. I really like that thing. The year after we were married, my husband and I bought a PT Cruiser convertible - red, turbo. We drove it to Maine (shipped our clothes there) and back - taking mostly back roads on the way home. What a great trip! We also have taken it to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan and over to the Twin Cities area and a few day trips here and there. We've had alot of good times in it, but hubby is ready to make a change since we aren't blessed with a 3-car garage. Practicality is going to reign over having fun I guess. There is something about the wind in your hair and getting a tan effortlessly that I just loved. Just feels like kind of a downer.

Today starts the beginning of what is it - Nutrition month of something? I guess that is as good reason as any to re-commit to being on the straight and narrow food-wise. I would really just like to know why my body is so screwed up. I lose weight when I eat crap and don't exercise more than when I watch what I eat and do. It's hard to stay motivated when your metabolic makeup really doesn't reward you when you are on your best behavior. Where's my warm fuzzy? Where's my reward for continuing to work out and eat healthier? The past 4 days we haven't gone to the "Y" and haven't worked out. Ate whatever we wanted. And I'm not being punished. I'm the kind of girl that needs that positive reinforcement to continue doing the right thing and what is happening is not helping me one bit. But that being said, I am committed to exercising and striving to eat better if only to keep my knees and my back from hurting. I like the "new" me. And logically I know it's making me feel better, look better and be healthier. It would sure be nice if my scale would appreciate the effort!