Hubby and I got back from a long weekend in Nashville last night with family/friends. What fun! We stayed a few blocks from the 2nd & Broadway entertainment district so we didn't have to do alot of driving once we arrived. The flood waters have all receeded and most of the bars and shops on 2nd have opened back up. They have all done an amazing job at getting the city back on it's feet. It's really a tribute to the people of the city, and the "powers that be" that have lead the way in reviving the area so quickly. Once in awhile you would get a whiff of the musties here and there around Broadway due to the flood, but really almost everything seemed pretty well back to normal.
There were alot of homeless wandering around which was sad. Tent city was flooded down by the river and many have relocated to different areas during the day. Even though there were many, they were all pretty friendly and liked to talk. It was sad to see so many with so little.
We spent a good deal of time in the entertainment district, then at a brewery up around Vanderbilt University, the Belle Meade area, and lunch at the Loveless Cafe for their wonderful biscuits and preserves. The peach is to die for! Had to bring a jar home even though I don't normally eat much in the way of jam/preserves but damn was that good!
Saturday night we took in the Opry show at the Ryman which was great and felt like a treat since normally the shows aren't performed there, but due to the flooding of Opryland, they have been relocated to the Ryman on the weekends. We met a few of the band members from Exile in the alley along with the Whites. A tradition in Nashville to meet/greet performers on the show. All in all a great time.
I was a bit concerned with the way my band would act with the traveling. It seemed a little tight the night we arrived. Everyday was a bit uncomfortable to eat since we went with people who are fast eaters, and as you bandsters know, that doesn't bode well with the band. I did okay until the way back. We stopped in Louisville for a sandwich (problem #1), while traveling (problem #2) with T.O.M. (problem #3). I ordered a meatball sandwich (problem #4) and tried to eat what I could while we were sitting there. Well, I proceeded to slime a little afterwards, and then threw up in the car 3-4 times before we got to a rest area. And the bag burst, so I ended up wearing it. Ugh! I was so embarrased since my SIL was with us in the car. So after a new pair of pants and a little cleaning up, I was okay after that. Not fun. And totally my fault for ignoring what I already knew would be a difficult day.
Today we spent some time with my folks who came over every day and fed our Stueycat and watered the flowers. Spent some time reflecting on what Memorial Day is really about and glad to be home, safe and sound.
To those in the military, who had ever been in the military and for those who have given their lives for our liberties.....THANK YOU for your service and your sacrifice. You are the reason I get to do what I do, say what I want to say, and live the way I live. I am in awe of your dedication and sense of duty.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Oops...
I've been a little remiss in my postings lately. Guess the stalled weight feels like everything else is in limbo too. Feels like I'm still trying to catch up from the weekend. We had a couple of friends over Friday night and went to Cassano's (the most wonderful pizza). Saturday we were up and at 'em working around the house, then it was off to a bridal shower for my godchild in the afternoon. No sooner than I get home, we are off to Celina to visit my hubby's folks and a friend that had knee surgery last Monday. Off to dinner and then home late. Sunday it was the Dayton Dragons game with another couple and dinner and home just in time for the sun to set. Felt like my weekend was a blur with not much at home accomplished.
On the band front, I have to admit that my food choices haven't been the best lately. Entirely too much eating out and grazing in the evening. I like to think my food choices are better but the fact is I shouldn't be eating it at all. Hubby and I drove down to West Chester last week and ended up at a Gap outlet to try on some jeans. I have this pair from 6-7 years ago that fit like a glove...curvy fit, a little ratty, but just loved the feel of the fit on my body. Well, they are getting a little too baggy to look good anymore so I wanted to try and find a pair that fit just as nice.
So, the outlet doesn't have exactly the best selection, but I tried on the 3 different "fits" that I thought would work and they ALL fit. Can't say any of them fit as wonderfully as my old pair, but they fit well enough to buy. And to boot, like $13.99 a pair! Get out! Felt like a major score.
I've pretty much overhauled my whole closet with new clothes and a few oldies but goodies from a few years back. The largest size I have kept is a 12, so there is absolutely NO going back at this point. I'm somewhere between a 10 and a 12, so I think maybe 5 more lbs ought to do it.
For the first time in what seems like ages, I feel pretty good about wearing sleeveless tops. Yes when you hold your arms a certain way you can really see the excess skin, but most of the time they look pretty good. The strength machines really do help with the toning...and the protein. I just need to get my mind back in the game to get the last few lbs off. Time to actually hit the goal and not just get close.
On the band front, I have to admit that my food choices haven't been the best lately. Entirely too much eating out and grazing in the evening. I like to think my food choices are better but the fact is I shouldn't be eating it at all. Hubby and I drove down to West Chester last week and ended up at a Gap outlet to try on some jeans. I have this pair from 6-7 years ago that fit like a glove...curvy fit, a little ratty, but just loved the feel of the fit on my body. Well, they are getting a little too baggy to look good anymore so I wanted to try and find a pair that fit just as nice.
So, the outlet doesn't have exactly the best selection, but I tried on the 3 different "fits" that I thought would work and they ALL fit. Can't say any of them fit as wonderfully as my old pair, but they fit well enough to buy. And to boot, like $13.99 a pair! Get out! Felt like a major score.
I've pretty much overhauled my whole closet with new clothes and a few oldies but goodies from a few years back. The largest size I have kept is a 12, so there is absolutely NO going back at this point. I'm somewhere between a 10 and a 12, so I think maybe 5 more lbs ought to do it.
For the first time in what seems like ages, I feel pretty good about wearing sleeveless tops. Yes when you hold your arms a certain way you can really see the excess skin, but most of the time they look pretty good. The strength machines really do help with the toning...and the protein. I just need to get my mind back in the game to get the last few lbs off. Time to actually hit the goal and not just get close.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
I don't get it...I still feel fat
I've been messing with the same 2 lbs for several weeks now. I'm comfortably in a size 12 and even get a size 10 jean on that is tighter than I personally would wear, but seem to see many an ass plastered in tighter ones. I can feel my collar bones, ribs, hip bones and my spine very easily. When I hold a pair of pants up, they don't look very large to me and yet when I get dressed in the morning, I still seem to see the same middle-aged woman 40 lbs ago. WTH!
When I was much heavier, I always thought I looked way better and thinner than I was until I was bitchslapped into reality by an errant picture here and there. Now it seems like my mind is playing a not so nice game with me that I don't want to play.
I'm taking some time off work next week for me time. Time to get out and do some physical work around the house, spend some time in the sun, catch up on my exercise at the Y, and work on cleaning out all the clutter in my house. Mostly though it's the mental break I'm looking forward to. Need a break from the weekly routine to recharge the batteries and refocus my energies. I'm really hoping for some great weather.
When I was much heavier, I always thought I looked way better and thinner than I was until I was bitchslapped into reality by an errant picture here and there. Now it seems like my mind is playing a not so nice game with me that I don't want to play.
I'm taking some time off work next week for me time. Time to get out and do some physical work around the house, spend some time in the sun, catch up on my exercise at the Y, and work on cleaning out all the clutter in my house. Mostly though it's the mental break I'm looking forward to. Need a break from the weekly routine to recharge the batteries and refocus my energies. I'm really hoping for some great weather.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
New appreciation for my surgeon...
During the week I tend to check out my bariatric surgeon's forum to see what is up with the other banded patients of his. And today one of the posts reaffirmed by belief that I picked the right doc to do the job. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...
I went ahead and copied it here if you would like to read it because it's really quite refreshing to hear about a doc who will go out of his way for his patients. I did omit their names for privacy reasons.
Post 1
Re: emergency procedure
Dr. Watkins is Awesome!!! (the staff are great too) I was in the hospitalvomiting, fever and spasms with the flu. After giving me some meds fordehydration they were going to send me home but I insisted that something elsewas wrong. They rolled their eyes and said that nothing was wrong. I asked if itwas possible that something was wrong with my band since I kept having seriousspasms in my stomach area and finally they ordered a cat scan. Turns out that Idid have a problem but no one there could help me. Dr. Watkins came to thehospital at 3:30 in the morning to treat me! The nurses couldn't believe it andsaid they would definately refer anyone considering the band to his office. Itwas also a deciding factor for my friend to have it done by Dr. Watkins and didso a few weeks later. His dedication to his patients is amazing. It took a fewweeks but I'm back on the mend and looking forward to continued healthy living.I realize now that I can't do this alone so I'm eager to meet some of my "bandedfamily" at the next support group and staying in touch via this site
------------------------------------------------------------------
Post 2
I wanted to express my thanks and utmost appreciation for all of the staff andcrew at CWLC and especially Dr. Watkins for everything you did for me this lastweekend. I was deathly ill for three days with severe vomitting finally driving me to the emergency room Friday in the wee hours of the morning. After much deliberation about whether to actually treat me because I am a band recipientand it was not performed locally, they finally did a CT scan to check the band and its placement. During the CT scan they said the band looked fine and diagnosed me with a kidney stone. I was sent home with pain meds and zofranonly to return the to ER a few hours later when I couldn't keep the meds downand I was too exhausted to fight the pain any longer. This time it took hours to get back to be seen and even longer to convince them to give me via IV thesame meds they prescribed for me at home. After CT scan, swallowing studies,and enough poking and prodding they said that my stomach appeared dilated and I needed surgery torelease it. Of course, their Bariatric surgeon was out himself. They kept speaking of transferring me here or there to find someone available for the process. In the mean time I called CWLC and was speaking with Holly and Christina. I spoke with the surgeons and nurses regarding removing fluid from my band as Christina recommended. The nurse herself even had a band and still fought me tooth and nail. Dr. Watkins was prepared to come to Huntington WV himself to take a look at my situation with no help from the "medical professionals" here. A surgeon in the meantime withdrew what fluid he could. As they kept speaking of transferring me elsewhere I insisted on knowing the name of the doctor that was willing to help me, that I didn't want transferred to sit for two days like I have already. I never received an answer so in themean time Dr. Watkins arranged for immediate surgery at West Chester. We asked for discharge, which they were eager to issue me, and started towards Cincinnati. We had not even pulledinto the Medical Center parking lot when my insurance had been precertified, a wheelchair was awaiting me at the entrance, and I was taken straight back to begin work-up. I was given more attention in the first five minutes there thanin hours at my home hospital! Within an hour I was in surgery where (if I understand this correctly) my stomach had dilated beyond all hope, had strangulated itself on my band and blood flow was cut off to the lower portion of my stomach. Essentially my band had to be removed and I'm on major restrictions as I allow my stomach to heal. I was told I was 2 out of 5000 banded patients to have to have their band removed due to anything remotely like this - why me! BUT out of it all I am truly BLESSED to have CWLC and Dr.Watkins by my side, not to mention the big man Himself! I owe my life, especially my quality of life, to Dr.Watkins, the nurses, anesthesiologist, and all the other crew I am omitting at this point. The facility was top notch, the employees seemed to ENJOY being there, and my treatment was AMAZING! We now know that if anything arises, we're in the car straight to Cincinnati first thing! May each of you receive a bit ofconfidence knowing the dedicated, trustworthy, knowledgable, and truly caringstaff here for each of us. The road to recovery is going to be a lengthy one and scary for me knowing Idon't have my band behind me right now. You may see me at the occassional support group and I will need motivation and support more now than probably ever. Again, I cannot express my thanks enough! Thank you each and every member of CWLC and may God bless you every day! With my deepest appreciation, E. H. (always banded in heart)
It's a wonderful feeling to know that he is there for you when you need it, but it also poses the question of how much do we really know about all the ramifications of what can happen with the band and how much do we have to be prepared? I think you can research until you're blue in the face but does anybody really think this kind of thing can happen to them? I mean....CRAP! If she would have waited any longer or went to another facility that didn't know what to do, what would have happened? Kind of scary to think about. Also makes me want to make sure I treat my band better. I would seriously hate to have to get it taken out at this point. For those of us who haven't had any problems....we are blessed!
I went ahead and copied it here if you would like to read it because it's really quite refreshing to hear about a doc who will go out of his way for his patients. I did omit their names for privacy reasons.
Post 1
Re: emergency procedure
Dr. Watkins is Awesome!!! (the staff are great too) I was in the hospitalvomiting, fever and spasms with the flu. After giving me some meds fordehydration they were going to send me home but I insisted that something elsewas wrong. They rolled their eyes and said that nothing was wrong. I asked if itwas possible that something was wrong with my band since I kept having seriousspasms in my stomach area and finally they ordered a cat scan. Turns out that Idid have a problem but no one there could help me. Dr. Watkins came to thehospital at 3:30 in the morning to treat me! The nurses couldn't believe it andsaid they would definately refer anyone considering the band to his office. Itwas also a deciding factor for my friend to have it done by Dr. Watkins and didso a few weeks later. His dedication to his patients is amazing. It took a fewweeks but I'm back on the mend and looking forward to continued healthy living.I realize now that I can't do this alone so I'm eager to meet some of my "bandedfamily" at the next support group and staying in touch via this site
------------------------------------------------------------------
Post 2
I wanted to express my thanks and utmost appreciation for all of the staff andcrew at CWLC and especially Dr. Watkins for everything you did for me this lastweekend. I was deathly ill for three days with severe vomitting finally driving me to the emergency room Friday in the wee hours of the morning. After much deliberation about whether to actually treat me because I am a band recipientand it was not performed locally, they finally did a CT scan to check the band and its placement. During the CT scan they said the band looked fine and diagnosed me with a kidney stone. I was sent home with pain meds and zofranonly to return the to ER a few hours later when I couldn't keep the meds downand I was too exhausted to fight the pain any longer. This time it took hours to get back to be seen and even longer to convince them to give me via IV thesame meds they prescribed for me at home. After CT scan, swallowing studies,and enough poking and prodding they said that my stomach appeared dilated and I needed surgery torelease it. Of course, their Bariatric surgeon was out himself. They kept speaking of transferring me here or there to find someone available for the process. In the mean time I called CWLC and was speaking with Holly and Christina. I spoke with the surgeons and nurses regarding removing fluid from my band as Christina recommended. The nurse herself even had a band and still fought me tooth and nail. Dr. Watkins was prepared to come to Huntington WV himself to take a look at my situation with no help from the "medical professionals" here. A surgeon in the meantime withdrew what fluid he could. As they kept speaking of transferring me elsewhere I insisted on knowing the name of the doctor that was willing to help me, that I didn't want transferred to sit for two days like I have already. I never received an answer so in themean time Dr. Watkins arranged for immediate surgery at West Chester. We asked for discharge, which they were eager to issue me, and started towards Cincinnati. We had not even pulledinto the Medical Center parking lot when my insurance had been precertified, a wheelchair was awaiting me at the entrance, and I was taken straight back to begin work-up. I was given more attention in the first five minutes there thanin hours at my home hospital! Within an hour I was in surgery where (if I understand this correctly) my stomach had dilated beyond all hope, had strangulated itself on my band and blood flow was cut off to the lower portion of my stomach. Essentially my band had to be removed and I'm on major restrictions as I allow my stomach to heal. I was told I was 2 out of 5000 banded patients to have to have their band removed due to anything remotely like this - why me! BUT out of it all I am truly BLESSED to have CWLC and Dr.Watkins by my side, not to mention the big man Himself! I owe my life, especially my quality of life, to Dr.Watkins, the nurses, anesthesiologist, and all the other crew I am omitting at this point. The facility was top notch, the employees seemed to ENJOY being there, and my treatment was AMAZING! We now know that if anything arises, we're in the car straight to Cincinnati first thing! May each of you receive a bit ofconfidence knowing the dedicated, trustworthy, knowledgable, and truly caringstaff here for each of us. The road to recovery is going to be a lengthy one and scary for me knowing Idon't have my band behind me right now. You may see me at the occassional support group and I will need motivation and support more now than probably ever. Again, I cannot express my thanks enough! Thank you each and every member of CWLC and may God bless you every day! With my deepest appreciation, E. H. (always banded in heart)
It's a wonderful feeling to know that he is there for you when you need it, but it also poses the question of how much do we really know about all the ramifications of what can happen with the band and how much do we have to be prepared? I think you can research until you're blue in the face but does anybody really think this kind of thing can happen to them? I mean....CRAP! If she would have waited any longer or went to another facility that didn't know what to do, what would have happened? Kind of scary to think about. Also makes me want to make sure I treat my band better. I would seriously hate to have to get it taken out at this point. For those of us who haven't had any problems....we are blessed!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
My husband the porn star...
Ahhhh, made you look! Last night hubby decided it was time to shave off the goatee he's been sporting for the past few months. Naturally for him, it doesn't come off all at once. No, too easy! So, he shaved it off his chin and now has his mustache all the way down past his jaw line. To top it off with his flannel shirt on last night, he looked like a dude right out off the show "My Name is Earl". He decided to go to work today with it as a gag. Man I hope it's only a one day gag. Between that and him in his skivvies shaking what his mama gave him in front of me last night I lost all of my libido in like a nanosecond. Seriously dude, you look like you plopped right out of the 70's!
In other news, my scale blessed me with a new number this morning...157. Well, first it was 156.5...down a whopping 3 lbs from yesterday, but after the happy dance a couple of times, it stayed at 157. So, 7 lbs to go and then comes the maintenance part. I can't even imagine what it will be like to not be trying to lose weight! It's been my life's work. I've never actually ever got to my goal weight before in losing weight. And to be honest I'm not sure how I'm going to feel when I get there.
In other news, my scale blessed me with a new number this morning...157. Well, first it was 156.5...down a whopping 3 lbs from yesterday, but after the happy dance a couple of times, it stayed at 157. So, 7 lbs to go and then comes the maintenance part. I can't even imagine what it will be like to not be trying to lose weight! It's been my life's work. I've never actually ever got to my goal weight before in losing weight. And to be honest I'm not sure how I'm going to feel when I get there.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
White pants...
Well a couple of days ago I wanted to return the jeans I bought at Kohls that were just too long, so naturally I looked over the racks while I was in there. Since I'm in new territory with the weight loss, none of my previous clothes that I had kept fit that great anymore, so I thought I should get myself some new crop pants. And yes, there in the rack tucked away past all the blue jeans, twills, and cargo pants, were a small section of white crop pants. And they had a 12...do I dare?
Well, along with the dozen or so other pairs I tucked the white crop pants under my arm and headed for the dressing room. I found several pair that were worthy of gracing my new bottom before I tried the white pair on. Finally, the last pair to go, and there they were...mocking me. Really, do you think your ass is going to look any better in these than before? Luckily I had enough confidence in myself after several successful pairs to go ahead and try them on. And viola! They fit! Not only do they fit, but they actually don't make my butt look like it should have a yield sign on it! So, I am the new proud owner of white crop pants. The first pair of white pants/shorts/crops since like...high school?
Major NSV. Major. Now I need a tan. Former pear shapes unite!
Well, along with the dozen or so other pairs I tucked the white crop pants under my arm and headed for the dressing room. I found several pair that were worthy of gracing my new bottom before I tried the white pair on. Finally, the last pair to go, and there they were...mocking me. Really, do you think your ass is going to look any better in these than before? Luckily I had enough confidence in myself after several successful pairs to go ahead and try them on. And viola! They fit! Not only do they fit, but they actually don't make my butt look like it should have a yield sign on it! So, I am the new proud owner of white crop pants. The first pair of white pants/shorts/crops since like...high school?
Major NSV. Major. Now I need a tan. Former pear shapes unite!
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