Phat jeans, Skinny jeans, Every inbetween jeans

Ok, so I have come to the realization that my once skinny black jeans have become my old black phat jeans, and that my Christmas present too myself blue jeans are my favorite jeans, while my really nice white jeans also look really good as well!! I'm excited!! Although I'm sure the sales ladys in the clothing stores I usually shop are probably excited when I walk through the door. No, I didn't go out and spend a huge amount of money for them~ I mean why would I when in a few weeks I'll be into another size? BUT...I did have to have something that I felt good & looked good in right? So paying $15 is not the end of the world. Trust me, if I could find ones that looked great & felt better at the Salvation Army, well they would be mine!! But I haven't been able to find anything that appeals too me there.

The photo I posted is of me. Yes yes!! All serious & blue eyed.

This holiday weekend has been a bugger. Boring more like, but I have enjoyed catching up with friends & family during my lulls. The next 3 days here at work should go by fairly fast & then I am so looking forward to my days off!! Cleaning house, spending time with kids & who knows what other wonderful things may happen.

I do plan on checking out something a friend of mine shared with me. Protein bullets? You can buy them over the counter, liquid capsules, although apparently they contain collagen, so I may have to touch base with my nutritionist & see if its something she recommends. Of course I would not use it frequently, but only now & again, when I know I haven't obtained the right amount during a day. I'll keep you posted. ;)

I had a lovely salad today for lunch. Turkey, cheese, mushrooms, peas, little lettuce and a bit of fage yogurt mixed in with crushed boiled egg. Might not sound like a lot too you, but it was divine let me tell you!

It's gently snowing outside here. Looks peaceful, however I know that its VERY cold out. Looks better from this nice cozy seat I am in. Happy that I wore a sweatshirt today to stay warm.

I'm happy!!

PEACE

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!! May you be blessed this holiday season & throughout the New Year!

My children & I celebrated our Christmas last night. It went over well, as I told them I put a special call into Santa since I had to start back to work on a 7 day & we needed to celebrate a few days early. ;) They were happy with the things they recieved & played til their hearts content. It made my heart happy to see them happy & that was my Christmas present :)

Onto the weight loss subject. I lost 10lbs from the last week I worked, during my week off. WOW. What did I do? I can't really say, because I did eat & I did eat healthy, I drank more water, & I recall a day where it seemed I ate more than normal, but I still lost! I know I did not go out walking, as Michigan weather has been snowy & cold, but I did walk during shopping trips to the mall & the stores. Some of you have asked me what is a typical day in eating like for me, so I thought I would share :)

Breakfast: 1/4 c of Special K/ or sometimes Kashi Go Lean Cereal with just enough fat free skim milk to cover the bottom of the bowl. & sometimes I will eat just a South Beach Living high protein cereal bar. (10g to 14g of protein)

Water 16oz glass after I have waited a half hour for my pouch to digest.

Snack: Yoplait fat free light yogurt. (5g protein)

My fav flavors: Strawberry, Key Lime, Peach Harvest

Water 16oz glass again after waiting for my pouch to settle.

Lunch: beef stir fry with veggies (protein anywhere from 14g to 19g)

Water

14 oz Chocolate Muscle Milk Light 20g protein

Snack: ritz crackers (4) with Simply Jiff creamy fat free peanut butter.

Supper: 2oz of pork chop with a sauce or gravy. Few veggies, carrots, green beans.

Water

And if I feel like something later in the evening its usually the ritz crackers with peanut butter.

I feel great today. I 'feel' like I look good & have been told several times that I look great.

I met a pretty amazing man. We're excited to see where things could possibly go. He's a breath of fresh air. Intelligent, well spoken, kind, caring, strong, a good father, and someone I could definately see myself spending more time with. So we shall see. He shares an interest in the whole paranormal realm & is fascinated with my abilties. We can talk for hours and not get bored. I'm happy :)

Thank you God for all the gifts you have bestowed upon me.

Wishing you all the best in life & love!!

PEACE

Tired with a Twist of Yawn

Tired today. Combination of little sleep & the fact that its my last day of my week on. **Yawn** It's soooooo cold outside! And I don't think I had enough protein yesterday.
Are you all ready for Christmas? I still have shopping to do. Procrastinator here. I meant NOT be this way this year. I think it was in my New Yrs resolutions somewhere last yr, but alas; here I am again, scrambling to finish the wonderful joys of shopping. It wouldn't have been so if I hadn't of moved into the new place. Time hasn't allowed for me up til now to be able to go 'just Christmas shopping', without the kids. I have to work Christmas Eve & Christmas Day both, great for the pockets, but not so much for the heart. This is the third Christmas I have worked in a row, just the way our rotations fall, and I recognize my kids are only little once. Last yr Santa came early and I'm thinking he will again this yr. ;)
I'm hoping to get a lot of things accomplished on my days off.
I have support group on saturday. Yay!! I'm so looking forward to connecting with others. Then maybe shopping & possibly meeting someone for lunch. Then maybe out later in the evening to watch a friend play/sing in a band.
Hope you are all well!
^i^

Is this Heaven?

I am in heaven this morning. It's wonderful. I am drinking a 12 oz cup of fat free, sugar free, decaf french vanilla, hazelnut latte. YUM! I didn't know how well I would like it or how well it would go down, since my primary drink of choice is H2O. BUT, I think I found my nice lil splurge every once in awhile. Seems nice to drink something a little different and that warms the insides from this crazy cold weather we are experiencing!

Yesterday I ate; a caramel peanut butter south beach living diet bar for breakfast (12g of protein). I had a cup of cheesy broccoli soup for lunch & for supper, with 2 crackers per cup. Then in between here & there I ate almonds, maybe 15 total throughout the day. Then later in the evening I had a few pieces of thinly sliced cooked beef with about 1/3 c of brown rice & sauce. I lost another 5lbs since last week, making total lost now 85lbs. My jeans are fitting a bit loosely today, & I feel great, & it feels good to feel like I 'look' good. Thats a lot for me to say in that last statement. We are all our own worst critics, but though I may have always been told 'you have such a beautiful face' that didn't always make up for how I felt 'inside'. But I am starting to enjoy ME.

"Happiness is not in our circumstances, but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are." J Sheerin

"When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilties." Deepak Chopra

PEACE. ^j^

My Glass Runneth Over :)

Well, not really. Trying to drink drink drink, water that is. I know I didn't drink as much as I should have yesterday. Today I am determined!

Stopped into a GNC store yesterday looking for unjury, the clerks had no idea what I was talking about. Funny!! They work there & didn't know what it was until I shared what it was. 2 'buff' guys. Funny. So I wasn't afraid to share with them that I was post bariatric & had recently lost 80lbs. Of course right away they pointed me to some choices in whey or soy protein powders. They did show me an option that I might consider, which is another 'tasteless protein' powder that I could mix up in anything. So, who knows, maybe my face will grace their store again if I can't find unjury anywhere near me. I do have a few other health food stores to check out.

We have a huge winter storm headed our way. Ugh. I hope Mother Nature is kind to us because I really hate driving on bad roads. And I am supposed to start my 7 day rotation at the hospital thursday. The snow/freezing rain is supposed to start tonight and go thru thursday. Yay. Not. I have a hard time staying warm as it is, let alone Mother Nature & Jack Frost conspiring to make what some people would call "hell freeze over". No, no, thats not my thought about life...I just think it sounded funny! I LOVE LIFE!!!! I think I might have to invest in long johns this year though. Shhhhh...

Well, I must begin my day. Organizing my kitchen & finish sorting through clothes. Then I shall relax.....ahhh.

Ok peeps, have a great day & stay blessed!!

^j^

Sunday Sunday

I need a smoothie. **Laugh**, no really, it sounds so good right now & I haven't had 1 since last week sometime. It's a 'want', not a 'need' but at least its a healthy 'want' right? Wish I could have had 1 to start my day out.

Wanted to share this photo. Do you see the Angel? Sometimes we forget when life gets too busy that all we need to do is look 'up'! And sometimes we get pleasant surprises when we do! I've always been fascinated by clouds anyhow. When I was a child my mom would take a blanket & lay it out, or sometimes we would just found a nice comfy spot in the grass & lay down & looked at the clouds & find shapes that made for great imagination & conversation!

I also need a new pair of blue jeans. Ugh & YAY! Ugh because I can't afford it, yay because I am getting closer everyday to my goal! I'm wearing a shirt today that I never thought I would feel comfortable in, but this morning when I put it on..it was 'me' and that feels pretty good. :)

I'm going to look for some 'unjury' today. Protein, that is. A friend of mine found some that is virtually tasteless, so it can basically be added to a wider variety of foods & drinks. I'm excited about that prospect, so that I can achieve a better balance of protein throughout the day.

I celebrated 'cookie day' with my adopted family, many friends, new & old yesterday. Have done it now for the last nine years & enjoy it every year! We gather & bake christmas sugar cookies, frost them, sprinkle them in all the sugary splendor! We all bring our own containers and usually decorate plenty extra for others who can't get out this time of year, or just to spread some cheer. There is a rule during this decorating frenzy, 'if the cookie breaks while your frosting it, you have to eat it'. Of course after a few; the greatness of this rule wears off, but going into it the kids love it! I wasn't sure how I would do this year, not being able to eat any of these tasty treats, but it didn't phase me at all. I did not eat any cookies, though they smelled delicious & looked very sinful! I did catch myself going to lick the frosting off my fingers but decided against this, as I did not want my pouch to hate me! We had fun and filled our 2 small buckets, enjoyed conversation & had a delightful time. Came home and I made my famous spaghetti & meatballs that went over fabulous for dinner, we hunkered down & watched "Horton Hears A Who" for the zillionth time and all was well in the world.

Sitting here with a small tray of colby-jack cheese & THE BEST crackers ever, Triscuit 'Cracked pepper & olive oil'. YUM! A bit of protein with some crunch added! (cheese & crackers).

Alas, I have to get this day in gear, places to go, people to see.

PEACE ^j^

I'm Finding My Way

Drank a good amount of water today. Didn't eat as much protein as I should have but a friend of mine shared some cool protein snacks stuff & also told me about a store in Grand Rapids MI that caters to health foods & high protein snacks & meals. Cool stuff.

Met with my bariatric surgeon yesterday & one of his interns. Asked me questions & felt & looked at my incision sites. All is well he said! I have lost a total of 80lbs now. Wow. I feel great. I can finally kind of see the changes that everyone visibly sees in me. I have been a little concerned thinking that maybe I am losing too fast but all my labs keep coming back normal other than my TSH, which will have to be adjusted by medication. So Dr Y told me again "everyone is different, everyone loses differently." And he seems comfortable with the results I am seeing. In fact, I haven't felt this great in a long while.

Kids & I will put up our Christmas tree in the next few days. Its the traditional 'cookie day' on Saturday at my 'adopted families home'. The kids are excited & so am I. Its just a nice cozy tradition & makes me feel 'a part of something'. I'm so greatful for them. Our extended family by choice!

Kids & I got all moved into our new place. I love it! It's SO much better than our old house. Now I just need to finish unpacking & putting things away. I've gotten rid of a bunch of toys & clothes & know there is more that I can 'unload' to Salvation Army.

I am asking my Angels to help us with our new place & allow it to be a very positive change & for it to be a properous change.

Hope you're all doing great and enjoying life!

In light & love!!

^j^