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^

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!! I hope this day finds you content & blessed with 'enough'.

I love this photo I posted. It's from the Chapel of Thanksgiving in Dallas Texas. No, I have never been but if I were traveling that way, this would definately be marked on my 'to visit' list. What a beautiful blessing & what an inspirational vibe I get from it!

I attended a support group meeting this last wkend. Glad I went, I was a little late getting there but it was nice to connect & get information. It lifted my spirits. I had my 3 month post op Dr appt at the weight management center. I have met 44% of my end goal weight already! Yay me! Today I weighed myself & discovered I have now lost a total of 77lbs. Wow. My labs are all doing great, except for my TSH which I've had existing problems with even before surgery. It's just a matter of adjusting the medicine. My body seems not to be absorbing it for some reason. But I feel great!

I've been in the process of moving from one place to another. Whew. Exhausting. Why do I keep stuff? I think I got that from my mother. I got rid of all my 'fat clothes' thus far & clothes that the kids have grown out of, took it all to the Salvation Army. I had a hard time with it at first, but it sure felt great when I dropped it off & didn't have to worry about hauling it all round anymore!! I have another 7-10 medium boxes full of stuff to go yet, but no time since I am back to work already today. Hopefully I can get a friend of mine to drop the stuff off for me, so that I can be done with it!!! I have run across things I haven't seen in almost 2yrs. 2yrs you say? And just why am I hanging on to it if its been packed away 'out of sight, out of mind'? Thats the question that eludes me.....SO I think I will be parting with said 'stuff', because I obviously do not need it. I am VERY excited to have ALL my Christmas stuff in boxes sitting in my new bedrm because this yr I feel like going all out with decorating. I've been Ms Scrooge the last few yrs, not because I don't love Christmas, it's actually my favorite holiday. (all the smells, the good friends, family, the sparkly lights, the abundance of Angels) but because I haven't had the 'space' to be able to display anything. So the kids are going to love it this yr for sure! And mom in heaven, I'm sorry I just couldn't keep some of the things I thought I would always hang on too because they were yours. I realized the memory of you is way better than any material thing could ever be, like the few sweaters I had that were yours, or the darn 5" black & white tv you & dad used to take camping with you when you went. You will be pleased to know however, that someone else will love your old sweaters & get use out of that ole tv set!!! So, in some small way I'm paying things forward, I know how much I love those second hand shops!!!

PEACE

Well....Get on with It!!!

I'm happy. For the moment. Wait, maybe I started this out wrong...let me start over. I had a great day til I came into work this afternoon. Don't get me started. Lets just say that my boss is the kind of boss that tries to find anything she can to make my day miserable. (and she has the nerve to tell me that I don't have a positive attitude! Go figure!) I came in late after scheduling someone else to work my shift for me, so that I could go to a Dr appt in East Lansing at the Weight Management Center.
My labs look pretty good, although my tsh levels are up & my med will need to be adjusted. I have lost 1 3/4 more inches from my hip area & nothing in the waist...ummpppfffhhh. But my BMI starting out was 53.2 (wow) and I am now at a 41 BMI. Yay!! I am going to try and post my before picture here within the next few wks & also a current picture of my success, so be on the look out!!! I'm in the process of packing up my house to move to a new place (very excited) so I may not get to it straight away, but it will be here soon!
So a curious thing I've noticed. That some people just don't have the 'drive' to achieve certain goals & I KNOW for sure I USED to fall under the same catagory. It saddens me when I see or hear this & sometimes I just wanna reach out & hug but I know deep down we have to want it bad enough to be able to make those changes happen, or else it just can't be done. I saw this quote recently & it hit home:

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." Lao Tzu

Every new day is a chance to tranform yourself.

I've learned that I was an emotional eater. I did it to pacify my feelings, when in reality it was only hurting me. I have learned that I am the Captain of my ship...and I am the ONE in control. It also helps to have a positive attitude & a support group of friends, or co-workers, or even family. I haven't gotten tired of people walking past me or stopping me to say "wow you look great!!" I'm not sure that I could ever get enough of that, because for once it feels really good to be accepting of a compliment that I KNOW I have worked hard to achieve to get this far! I still think of myself like I did when I was at my heaviest and I probably will for a long time yet. I'm still a little self conscious about 'my space'. The dietician told me today "you'll think that way for a long time yet, then one day you'll be walking past some store shop windows & catch your reflection & you'll stop and say "wow, thats me!" " I can believe that.
I hope that you're all doing well & achieving your goals one small step at a time!!! ^j^

Thankful

Today I am thankful. Not for any one specific thing, but for many things in life. I'm thankful for my children & our good health. For the many blessing God continues to bestow upon us. For a job, that even though I still love but am not so 'happy' with.

I am doing well. Sitting here eating a 1/3 c of Smart Start Toasted Oat cereal with low fat skim milk, just enough milk to cover the bottom of the bowl & get the cereal wet. Lost 1lb over the weekend. Have been doing a lot of walking lately & I have noticed an energy increase!! Yay!!

Some people have asked me what I take for my multi-vitamin. I take Optisource Post Bariatric Chewable. I get mine thru the weight loss clinic I attend, although WalGreens does carry it as well!! http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Post-Bariatric-Surgery/Post-Bariatric-Surgery-Formula/ID=prod403359&navCount=1&navAction=push-product . There's the product information on it if you'd like to check it out! It definately beats having to take several vitamins a day, & I eat a small little something with it to off set the citrus taste. I have to take one chewable tablet 4 times a day per Dr orders for post bari patients.

Friends & I went and seen Paranormal Activity the movie, in theaters. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the filming is a lot like how the movie 'Blair Witch' was filmed & I was not impressed with this movie much. The scare factor was there a few times, but I would'nt see or rent this movie again. Once is enough. And according to reviews I have heard about the movie 2012, I probably will not go see that.

The holidays are just around the corner. I am scheduled to work Thanksgiving & Christmas this year. Working Thanksgiving just gives me the excuse to not be around all that wonderful food, plus get time and a half & holiday pay on top! I'm a little sad about working Christmas, although my kids could celebrate any day I'm sure. I haven't even started shopping yet, so I think I need to kick it in gear this next week off and get some of it done.

I hope you are all well!!

PEACE

Chili, my Friend

I love mittens! Alas Mother Nature has turned her cold shoulder and I've had to pull out the mittens & hats for everyone. Did I tell you I love mittens? Of all sizes & shapes, all colors & styles. My hands get cold so easily & I hate to think of my kids hands ever being cold. So our basket overflows with the soft gentleness of hand warming fuzzies.

I am doing great. Weighed myself today. Lost another 5lbs from last thursday. What?! How'd that happen? I expected 2-3, happy with 5, but wow. Guess it's all the walking I do when I'm at work? So total weight loss is officially 70lbs. Whew! The weight management team said it could be a yr before I lost 100lbs..I'm thinkin..NOT. When I lose another 10lbs, I'll have lost the equivalent of my daughter & youngest sons weight combined. Woah.
Today I had chili (my bestest) for lunch. I drank plenty of water today throughout, and I had a fat free yogurt for breakfast. For dinner tonight (while I'm at work) I had a Lean Cuisine dish of Turkey & mashed sweet potatoes, 13g of protein. Which reminds me, I need to take my chewable vitamin!

I haven't hardly any scrubs that fit me nicely anymore. YAY! Well, not yay because if I want to wear them, then its either wear them & almost walk out of them, invest in new, or keep wearing the street clothes that I am finding I've kept in my closet that suddenly fit again & look good. Had a lady I work with today offer to bring in a few things for me since she lost her weight in the past yr or so & she has sizes I am fitting into right now. So, that'll help a bit. I am going to have to break down & buy new bras. NOT one of my favorite things to do, but it has to be done.
I have to admit though, I'm liking the 'new me' I see emerging from behind the layers that have disappeared. But most of all I love the feeling that I'm huggin my kids closer to my heart than ever before!!!
Hope you're all well and that this finds you with a smile on your face!
PEACE ^j^