Happy New Year Everyone!!

Hey Ya'll,

Just wanted to make a quick post to say how happy I have been, since I found this bandster blog world.

Like everyone, I was struggling with my weight for so long.  It seems like I tried all the different diets out there, but always gained my weight back, plus a few more pounds.  I started to look into WLS earlier in the year, but I knew that my DH would be against it.  His philosophy was always, just eat less & you would lose weight!  Well, we all know that to be true.  That is all I needed to do, but it is easier said than done!

Then, I saw the commercials from Lap Band & Realize, saying that you weren't just having Surgery, then you are on your own.  It was a complete program where you join a family so to speak, & are continually followed on your weight loss journey by the Doctor, Nurse, Nutritionist, etc.

So I got up the courage to talk to my DH about it, telling him that it was more than just Surgery, it was a program for life!  He was desperate to see me become healthy, so agreed to accompany me to the first Seminar held by a local Surgeon.  We were both impressed & looking forward to continuing toward Surgery.  But found out the next day that our Insurance wouldn't cover this Surgeon, as he wasn't in a "Center Of Excellence" (COE).

I started researching other local Surgeons that were in what was considered a COE, but found that all of them, were charging a minimum of $3000, above what the Insurance paid which was to be considered "out of pocket, non negotiable, not covered by Insurance"!!!  I was getting depressed about this turn of events.  So my DH suggested that I look further out.  We had a friend that lived in Truckee which was the last big town, driving over the Sierra's on the way to Reno, NV.

So I used her zip code & looked up COE's within 50 miles of there & found the Group I ended up using in Reno, was a COE!!  AND THEY DIDN'T CHARGE THE EXTRA HIGH COST THAT THE OTHERS WERE CHARGING, JUST THE STANDARD COSTS!!!  So we called & was advised of their next Seminar, which was August 26th.  And the rest is history.

This was what I put most of my energy into, for the second half of the year.  Now it is up to me to continue the good work & not be one of the statistics where the Lap Band didn't help!!  I have been bad over the Holidays & gained back at least 4 lbs, but I am determined to lose it back & then some.  I just have to overcome my Head Hunger & Cravings!!!  This is the hardest part right now!  I am in BANDSTER HELL!!  I just received my First Fill & it hasn't given me any restriction so far.  I can only hope that the next Fill will help.  Otherwise, I will be REALLY struggling.

But I am looking for 2010 to be the best year of my life, as I WILL be taking control of my life & weight issues.  I am already feeling much better!  I can walk at least 1 mile without too much difficulty, even walking uphill!!!  So I want to thank all of you who have been giving me the support & encouragement that I so desperately need right now!!  I truly feel that we are a great big family, who gives & receives the encouragement when it is needed.  My hope is that some day I will be able to meet some of you.

So I would like to give a great big wish, that all of us has the best year in 2010!!  That we are all healthy, happy & have continued work in this tough economy. 

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

My Word For 2010 (Strength)

Hey Ya'll,

Just a quick boring post to say I am still here, but I've been busy preparing our taxes to send off to our CPA.  But I am trying to keep up with everyone's blogs as well.  I may not be commenting on all of them, but I am at least reading them!!

Now, I have noticed on several blogs that everyone is thinking up a word that they want to consider as their mantra so to speak for 2010.  I believe this all started with Sally.

Anyway, I thought about it long & hard & decided that my word would be Strength!  I will strive to have the strength to follow through with my new journey & not sabotage myself.  The strength to be there for my family & friends as needed & the strength to love myself enough, to see myself as others see me.

Well, I better go for now, I am surprisingly tired & will go to bed a bit early tonight!!  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Shout Out To Susieq!!

Hey Ya'll,

I was just checking in, & found that I have a new follower!!  Her name is Susieq (Free2bme-susieq4givn).  Welcome to my blog world!  I have been following yours as well.  So..."welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

We're Home :)

Hey Ya'll,

Well, we made it home!  We got lucky & made it before the next storm was to start.  The traffic was horrendous!  I am sure that we passed at least 125-150 Semi Trucks, which always slows the traffic down!  Plus so many cars that were afraid to drive under those conditions, but refusing to move to the slower lane to allow others to pass.  Anyway, the drive was slow & tedious, but we made it in one piece!!

For breakfast this morning, I had 2 scrambled eggs, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese & about 1/2 cup of oatmeal (thinned out).  This was at 9:30 & I am just now feeling hungry again, & it is now 3:58 pm.  So I guess I have at least some restriction again!!

Now I have to finish our taxes by the end of the week!!  I will be really working my fingers to the bone to do this, but we need them done now!

Here are a few of the pictures that I took while driving up to Reno, as well as from our Hotel rooms.

Now remember, these photos were taken from our car while driving!  Also, the amount of snow was much greater on our way home today.  Unfortunately, because of the fresh storm, the road was nasty & crap was all over our car & windows, so I didn't even try to get any photos.  I literally had to wash the car when we got home!!

If you enlarge the photo, you can see that they setup a small sledding hill for the kids behind a gas station!!  Kids of all ages, look forward to going up & sledding in the Winter.

The ski slopes at Boreal (the top of the Summit).

Another photo of Boreal ski area.  Not that I have EVER been there!  I have never even tried to ski!

This is the Rest Area at the Summit.  Good thing that we didn't need to go!  The parking lot was packed!

On the way down from the Summit on the Nevada side of the Sierra's.  However, we were still in California.

A photo of Donner Lake from the highway.

Just wanted to get a photo of one of the River's that run along side of the highway.  Too bad the signpost was in the way!

Another shot of the river.  It was really hard to get a good photo of it, since my DH was driving so fast, & it was hard to catch a photo, when the river was easily visible!!

A view from our Hotel room at Circus Circus.  You can see all the snow on the upper levels of the parking garages.

Another photo from Circus Circus showing the lights of Reno.  Trust me, this is the only time you could say it was pretty!  Reno is basically a desert, but at night when the lights are all lit up, it is pretty.

And a view from our Hotel room at Silver Legacy.

Well, I can't think of anything else to say at the moment, so I guess I will end it here.  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

Welcome To My New Follower, Shannon (Mom2Two)!!

Hey Ya'll,

I just wanted to say welcome to my newest follower, Shannon (Mom2Two)!!  I tried to find your blog, but was unable to find it.  If you have one, I would love to follow your blog too!  If you are interested in sharing your information, please let me know your blog information & I will definitely check it out!!  Other than that, I would just like to say, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Weather Update!!

Hey Ya'll,

Well, we thought we would get off easy this trip, but I just looked out the Hotel window & it is snowing here in Reno!!  It wasn't supposed to snow again until Wednesday!!  I hope we don't have too much trouble driving home tomorrow as we are in MY CAR, not the 4x4 Truck!!

Aloha My Friends  :)

I'm Filled!!!!! Yea!! :) :) :)

Hey Ya'll,

I went to the Doctor's office today for my first fill & had no problems!!!  The PA (or whatever her title is) said that my Surgeon is really good at REALLY stitching the Port in place so it would be highly unlikely that I had flipped my Port.  She felt it & said that it was still firmly in place.

That said, she said that I probably just stressed the sites where the sutures were placed.  Maybe stressing the Muscle where the sutures were.  So she wasn't at all worried about it.  Thank god!!!  I was sooo worried that I had done something stupid & messed myself up!!

As for the FILL, apparantly, one hand doesn't talk to another hand in some things at their office!!  Dr Kozar told me that they usually give 3-4 cc's at the First Fill & then 2-3 on the 2nd fill, then less with each subsequent Fill to try to find the "Sweet Spot" without causing the patient to be over filled, thus needing an unfill.

Well, the PA determined that I had 2 cc's in the Band from Surgery, so she gave me 1 cc today.  Waaa!  I was hoping for at least 2-3 cc's.  She said that the next fill, she would put in either .5 or 1 cc.  She is apparantly more conservative than Dr Kozar knows!!  But at least I got the Fill!!  There is never a guarantee that they will give a Fill as all you experianced Bandster's know!! 

So far, I can't tell any difference!  But my DH wanted me to be really, really careful & follow the rules at least for tonight, so I only had a bowl of Enchilada Soup (did not eat the Chicken) from Chili's Restaurant.  Do you know how hard it is to find soup from a Restaurant that isn't full of something?  At home it wouldn't have been a problem!  But I couldn't even go to a store & buy a can of soup since the Hotel room doesn't have a microwave!!  Anyway, I was good & only had the soup, but I am sure that I will be hungry long before bed!!!

While we were out & about, we drove back to Carson City to visit with Walt's dad at the Nursing Home while we were in the area.  He looked much better today & had more strength, but he still looks bad.  He definately had at least one stroke, but luckily, not too severe, this time!!  He wanted to go to bed after we had been there for about 45 minutes, so Walt helped him back to his room so he wouldn't fall.

Cara: I noticed that you mentioned in a comment to me that you didn't know what the Sierra's were that I keep talking about having to drive over.  The Sierra's is a mountain range that border's California & Nevada.  This particular section that we have to travel, is famous for a group of Settlers that were stranded for 6 months with little food in one of the worst Winters on record there.  The group was called the Donner Party.  They were a group of emigrants (some rich, some poor) that headed out West, by Covered Wagon.  They were stranded by a snowstorm at the end of October 1846, at what was to become called Donner Lake.

Of the original 87 pioneers, 39 died and 48 survived. Five died before reaching the Sierra Nevada, 14 at the lake camp, eight at Alder Creek, and 12 while trying to escape the mountains.  Some of those that survived, resorted to Cannibalism to survive.  The last of the survivors were rescued & brought down to Sacramento by April 1847.  If you are interested in Historical reads, this book is fascinating.  It is called, "Ordeal by Hunger The Story of The Donner Party".  It is written by, George R. Stewart & first published in 1936.

Ok, I am finished with the history lesson.  I guess I will get off for now so I can read up on everyone's blogs.  Till next time.  OH BY THE WAY, IT IS NOW 7:51 & I AM STARVING!!!!  We ate at about 4:15.

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Shout Out To TessieRose!!

Hey Ya'll,

Just checked back in after running around all day, & noticed that I had a new follower.  Her name is TessieRose (Band Me Baby)!!  I just wanted to say thanks for following me, I have also added your site to follow as well!  Be sure to keep us posted on when you get your Surgery Date, I will be sitting on pins & needles for you!!!  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Some New NSV's To Share :)

Hey Ya'll,

Well my DH & I spent all day driving around the Reno area today!  We got lucky, the snow stayed away from Reno.  It snowed all around us, but stayed clear here!

So, now for the main event!  I wanted to post some NSV's that I keep forgetting to post about.  First one is...I am back wearing my "ancient", size 14 jeans!!  I haven't been able to wear them for 2 years at least!  I wouldn't have even tried them on yet, but my 16's are practically falling off me.

The second NSV is....I am losing in my chest area!!  Finally!  I was praying that I would lose there, but was afraid that the twins would be the last to go!!  I noticed last week, when I realized that I was actually wearing my bra all day long without it killing me, then when I checked the size, I realized that I was wearing the smaller size that I had been avoiding!!  So I consider that a double NSV! 

But the biggest NSV is probably....still the bra!  But a different bra.  I usually don't wear my good tighter, firmer bra, unless I am wearing certain top, or going to the Doctor, or something special.  So on Christmas Eve, I put on the fancier bra, & it was of course looser....but the cups was too big!!!  I was afraid that it would look funny on me!  I can still get away with wearing it, but not for too much longer!!  So I have gone down a cup size as well!!!!!  Yea!!

So tomorrow, I go in for my "First Fill".  I am going to describe the problem I had with my Port a few weeks ago & will report back as to what she tells me.  I just hope that she can do the Fill with no problems.  Otherwise, I probably did flip my port.  Wish me luck, cross your fingers, etc!!!!

Oh, I almost forgot!!  I came this close...to getting stuck at dinner tonight!!  I ate half a chicken breast a bit too fast & realized almost too late.  I was checking out the route to the closest bathroom, when it went down!!  Don't want to do that again!!!

Well, I better go for now.  Till tomorrow.

Aloha My Friends  :)

We Made It Up!! Grumble, Grumble

Hey Ya'll,

Well we made it up over the Sierra's today!  I really, really, don't like driving over the Sierra's.  Especially when the traffic was so heavy & my DH is driving!!!!!  He very nearly gave me a Heart Attack a couple of times!  He always promises to drive reasonable & within a reasonable speed (for me).  But it never fails that he always gets frustrated by someone driving much slower than he wants to & then, he won't get off their bumper until either he is able to slip between cars & cut them off as he passes them, or until they finally get the hint & moves over!!  While I sit there trying not to look at them as we pass, shaking my head in disbelief & embarrassment.

I absolutely hate it when someone does it to me (and so does he, but it is different when it is HIM), so I know what it is like, & I won't drive like that.  I tried to reason with him, that with the amount of traffic on the road today, we might as well just sit back & enjoy the ride & have a good talk!  But NOOOO, he just can't help himself!  Which is why I absolutely HATE to drive in those conditions with him.  God knows that I love him, but sometimes I just want to wring his bloody neck!!  LOL  By the way, the speed limit was 65 MPH & we were driving about 80-85 most of the way!  Which in itself, drives me up the wall & he knows it.

Anyway, I just wanted to rant about it for a minute, to get it off my chest.  We ended up having to stay at the Circus Circus tonight since we waited until yesterday to add tonights stay to our trip.  The room we have is actually much nicer than I expected it to be, but the main con to this Hotel is the kids!!  Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but in this environment, the parents just let them run wild!  And unfortuantely, we have a family in the room next to us with a bunch of kids that we can hear running all around the room & jumping on the beds!  Definitely not attempting to be quiet!  I just hope they go to bed at a reasonable hour!

Tomorrow we transfer over to the other Hotel for the last 2 nights.  And the whole town is full of people & families with kids running all over!!  I am not sure why they would come to Casinos with kids.  Hopefully, they will be leaving tomorrow!!

We were surprised to find that Reno still has a lot of snow!!  Usually, they get snow, then it melts away fairly quick.  But they still have at least a foot of snow & it is supposed to snow again tomorrow!  And it is really cold up here.  It was in the 20's at about 3:30 pm.  So if they had more moisture in the air, it would have snowed today!

After we got into town & checked into the Hotel, we drove over to the Convalescent Hospital, to visit with Walt's dad.  He isn't doing well at all.  He looked much worse than the last time I saw him & I thought he looked horrible then.  He apparently has had at least one, if not two mini stokes in the last week, & he can barely do anything for himself, he cannot even walk.  And his speech is much worse.  The last time I saw him, his arms had many purple markings on them, but today, there wasn't a place on either arm that wasn't totally purple from bruises, etc.

So if it doesn't snow here too much, we may try to go back to Carson City tomorrow again to visit for a bit.  His dad is very week & doesn't feel up to visiting for more than a few minutes at a time.  We were there about an hour today & he was having trouble staying in the chair!  He wanted to go to bed & sleep.  Unfortunately, every time his dad has an episode & has to go into the Hospital, he ends up more & more weaker & recovers less & less.  We are only hoping that he makes it a bit longer.  But somehow, I hate to see anyone suffer & since he has Cirrhosis of the Liver, his days are numbered.  My grandfather died of this when I was a young girl.  And I wouldn't wish this disease on my worst enemy!! 

Well, I better go for now, I will try to catch up on everyone's blogs.  I will post more later.  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

Christmas Eve Update

Hey Ya'll,

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write up our Christmas Eve.  Everyone started showing up at 5 pm & we had a really good time!  Everyone was here except my sister Sheryl & her husband Issac.  We had two different types of Enchilada Pie.  Walt & I made the ones with the red sauce, my Mom made one with green sauce (my dad's favorite).

My daughter Christa made our families favorite Baked Beans (made from a recipe we received from our cousin Terry back in Arkansas) & a German Chocolate Cake from scratch (yum, my favorite).  Robin, my sister-in-law brought her famous Brownies & Carolyn (Walt's ex-wife) brought a tray full of homemade cookies.  I did fairly well (much better than I would have in the past).  I only had one helping of the Enchilada Pie & Beans, as well as one small piece of Cake & one Brownie!  I was satisfied, but not overly full.  In the past I would have eaten myself sick!!  Probably mostly on the Cake.

As I said earlier, we had a really good time talking with everyone.  The kids couldn't wait for the time to open presents.  By the time everyone left, it was about 10 pm'ish.  So then Walt & I went for our walk.  We ended up only walking a half mile last night as I had stood quite a long time during the night & I was hurting by then.  But we DID still do our nightly walk!!

Today Walt & I went to the local Indian Casino to eat at the Buffet.  Our daughter Kat is one of the Manager's of the Buffet, so we don't have to wait in line like everyone else.  We just walk up the exit & she seats us & takes our payment to the cashier for us (and gives us a discount as well)!!!  Walt really likes this special treatment.

I did really well today if I must say so myself.  For my meal, I had about 3-4 ozs of lean moist Ham, some Scrambled Eggs & a spoonful of the Mashed Potatoes.  Then for dessert, I had a small slice of Creme Pie & about a 1/2 scoop of Peppermint Ice Cream.  All in all, I had mostly protein to eat & I wasn't even close to being full!!  Just really satisfied.

However, on a bad note, I did finish off the slice of Cake that I kept from last night.  I had to make my daughter Christa take home the rest of the Cake as I would have continued to eat it until it was all gone!!  Which is definitely not part of my new diet/lifestyle.  This Cake is super high in calories/fat/sugar, etc, etc, etc.  But it is soooo good!!

So tonight, Walt & I took a bit longer walk.  This time we made it a full mile, but I was hurting the whole way!  My hips was really feeling it (I think that the cold finally started to hit my hips again), but I made myself go & I still did not take my walker with me.  Sometimes I wish I did, so that I could sit occasionally.  Maybe I will start taking it, that way I won't have an excuse to not do a longer walk, as I can rest if needed!  Good idea Debi!!!

Tomorrow morning, Walt & I will be driving up over the Sierra's to Reno again.  We had originally planned on going up on Sunday, but it is supposed to be storming, meaning snowing in the mountains.  The storm isn't going to hit until later in the day tomorrow, so we figure we have a window to drive up in my car (more comfortable) before the storm, as it isn't supposed to be storming on Tuesday when we are coming home.

We are going up to Reno to the Doctor's office for my first fill.  Now remember, I overdid myself 12 days after Surgery to setup our Christmas decorations & was hurting really bad for a couple of weeks afterwords.  I was terrified that I may have flipped my port as that is where all the pain was centered around.  But I decided not to call the Doctor & see whether the pain eased up or not.  Luckily, it did start to ease up a few days later.

So I guess I will find out Monday if they are unable to find the port, etc.  I will still tell them of my stupidity & see what they say about it.  Cara "The Dash", is having the same problems right now, so I want to be able to tell her what they tell me regarding the pain & what it was or could have been.  Also, we will be taking our Lap Top computer with us, so I will still continue to blog while away!!

Here are a few of the photos that I took of our Christmas Eve dinner.  Unfortunately, I forgot to have someone take some pictures of me with my camera!!  My daughter Christa took some with her camera, so I will try to get a copy of them to post later. 

Our Tree with some of the presents around it.

I forgot to remove my Granddaughter Emily's pink jacket.

Christa not happy with my candid shot!  Here is a photo showing the Enchilada Pies & the cookies.  Plus the Baked Beans in the crock pot at the end.

Walt scarfing down his food!  My brother Kenny dishing up some Baked Beans (yum).  His future son-in-law Mike, with his back up against the refrigerator.

My favorite Uncle Emery, dishing up his plate.

The famous Cake in the back on the left side & Robin's Brownies (3 plates of them).

My Niece Tiffany in foreground with dark sweater (Tiffany is my sister Sheryl's daughter), my Dad, then Robin & Carolyn (Walt's ex).  With Cara on the right & her boyfriend Mike on the left.

My sister-in-law Robin & my Mom.

My nephew Garrett, Mike (Cara's boyfriend) & my niece Cara.  Garrett & Cara are my brother Kenny's children.

My son-in-law Elliott & my step-son Russ (in green).  Russ likes to be antisocial at big gatherings unless he has been drinking!!  Then he becomes the life of the party!

Kenny & Garrett

Christa, Emily (6) & Walker (9).

My niece Tiffany's son, Christian (Charlie).  He was not happy about having to wait to open the presents!!

My Daddy.  Carolyn on the right.  She had knee Surgery about a week ago.

I just realized that I didn't take any photos of Christa's husband Mark!  Well, I kinda got him in one photo, but it was blurred so I didn't use it.  I also didn't take any photos of my step-daughter Kat.  She arrived late from work.  By then, I was pretty much done taking pictures & I forgot to take one of her!!  Sorry Kat & Mark!!

Well, I better go for now!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Happy Holidays My Friends

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hey Ya'll,

Well, the day is almost upon us.  For those on the other side of the World, it is already here, & for those on the East Coast, the day is just dawning, & for me, I am just now getting ready to go to bed.  I hope that everyone has a beautiful day with family & friends to help you celebrate it.  I hope that 2010 brings everyone their inner most hearts desire, & I hope that 2010 keeps everyone safe & happy.  Sorry, but I am not very prolific!

Here are the last of my photos of Christmas Decorations from our walks.

 
Very bright & colorful!

Cinderella Theme.

Donald Duck

Snow White

101 Dalmations

Mickey & Minney.  Next door to the 101 Dalmatian house.

Winnie The Pooh

Well all, I need to go to bed!  I will post more tomorrow on how our Christmas Eve dinner went with photos!!

Merry Christmas To All!!

Aloha My Friends :)

My Ouwie!!

Hey Ya'll,

Just a quick post to say that I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas Eve!!  I took a photo of my leg showing the site where the Dermatologist had to remove more of the skin from around the suspected mole.  Hopefully, it will heal better than the one did on my lower abdomen!!  It is still dark & ugly looking.

 Till Next time, (in a minute or two!!).

Aloha My Friends  :)

Merry Christmas Eve Everyone!!! :)

Hey Ya'll,

Well, we have been busy getting our house ready for tonight's Christmas Eve dinner!  Whew!!  I am almost ready & the family will start arriving in about 5 minutes!!  I will post photos later.  So I just wanted to say........

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!!!

A Shout Out To Amy!!

Hey Ya'll,

I noticed that I had a new follower!  Her name is Amy & her blog is: "Babbles Of A Bandster".

Anyway, I wanted to say thanks for following me in my quest for weight loss.  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)
Merry Christmas

New Quiz Copied From Mountain Laurel's Blog

I found this on Mountain Laurel's Blog & thought I would answer it too.

1.  Wrapping paper or gift bags?   I hate to wrap, so I much prefer Gift Bags!

2.  Real tree or Artificial?   Artificial, I am allergic to the real ones unfortunately! 

3.  When do you put up the tree?   Within days after Thanksgiving.   As soon as I can get my DH to put it up for me (which includes the lights). :)  I decorate it all by myself, tho.

4.  When do you take the tree down?   I like to leave it up at least until New Year's Day. 

5.   Do you like eggnog?   Not particularly, but my DH loves it!

6.   Favorite gift received as a child?   Probably my new bike.
 
7.   Hardest person to buy for?  My Grand Kids

8.   Easiest person to buy for?  My Mom

9.   How do you decorate your tree--matchy-matchy or hodgepodge?   My tree is a hodgepodge of new & old, home made & store bought.
 
10.   Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?   We open on Christmas eve.  When we were kids (and when my daughter was young) we saved some to be opened on Christmas morning from Santa.
 
11.   Favorite Christmas song?   I love Christmas music, & it is hard to choose just one as my favorite, but I love The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole.  I usually try to listen to just Christmas music during the whole month of December.

12.   Favorite Christmas Movie?   Again, so many good ones.  I will think of many too late to put in here though!!

13.   When do you start shopping for Christmas?   I usually start buying them as I find something I know that someone will like, so it could potentially start now for next year.

14.   Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?   No

15.   Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?   Ham, Turkey, German Chocolate Cake made from scratch, Coconut Creme Pie.

16.   Travel at Christmas or stay home?   We stay home & host the dinner at our home.
 
17.   Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?   Doubt it.

18.   What do you want to do for Christmas this year?   Spend time with family.


Have a great Christmas!!

Hello To My 3 New Follower's!!

Hey Ya'll,

I just paid attention to my blog & realized that I had 3 new follower's!!  This is fantastic as I like to consider each & every one of you a new friend!

I would like to welcome:
Jenny R "Life's Little Journey"
Aimee "The Fat Theory"
Kristen "I'm With The Band"!!

I have already been following Jenny & Kristen's blogs & I just found Aimee's the other night!  I would like to welcome all of you to my blog.  Please feel free to advise me in any way you would like.  I like any & all criticism, so...."welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friends & Merry Christmas  :)

I Hate Wrapping Presents!! And...Bad News :(

Hey Ya'll,

Today I did some running around trying to get Walt's Prescription for his Antibiotic filled!!  Apparently, this particular Antibiotic is in high demand right now!  I almost didn't find a Pharmacy that had it!  I was told that everyone is running out of it & they are on back order to get it from their suppliers!  So I lucked out after several attempts.

Then I went & found myself some ear muffs & a ski mask so I can go walking without freezing my face off!!  So I can't wait to be able to try them out!  But since my DH is STILL downtown in Sacramento working, not to mention he was supposed to go for drinks after the last meeting, then drive the hours drive home!  We probably won't go walking tonight.

Well, I have delegated today/tonight to get all our Christmas presents wrapped!  I hate to wrap presents.  And I always wait until the last minute to do it!  But I won't be able to do it tomorrow as we will be making our Enchilada Pies for our Christmas Eve dinner & I have some last minute decorations to put out tomorrow as well!

Now for the bad news.  Walt's Dad is not doing very well.  He was diagnosed with Cirrhosis of the Liver a couple of months ago & the Doctor's are having to drain the excess fluid every two weeks (at up to 10 liters each time).  Last Tuesday the 15th, they did an Operation where they placed a Shunt (or stint) (?) in to help with the fluid buildup to try to prolong his life & give him a more comfortable existence.

We just found out that he went back into the Hospital on Sunday with severe dehydration as well as other problems.  Yesterday he was not doing very well at all & they weren't sure he would make it.  My Mother-In-Law finally called us about a half hour ago to advise us of this.  She said that the Hospital gave him 2 more pints of blood which helped, but he appears to have lost most of the control in his legs.

So, since he is "out of the woods" so to speak, he is being moved to a Nursing Home tomorrow until he can get to the point that he can "take care of himself".  He does not want to go, but the Doctor told him that if he went home right now, he could fall & injure himself as well as my MIL.  My FIL is 84 & my MIL will be 80 next month!  It isn't looking too good right now.  We are hoping that he survives until next year at least.  But he is deteriorating pretty fast now. 

Well, so much for the downer posting.  Just keep good thoughts coming our way.  We can use them.  I will leave you with a few more photos taken on our walks.

This is another photo of the house that did the huge display of the Nutcracker Suite.  Full on music (radio station & all) plus all the lights were synchronized with the music.

These house likes Bugs Bunny!!

Well, that's all for tonight, till next time.

Aloha My Friends & Happy Holidays

Holly Cow....That Hurt!! And OMG!!!

Hey Ya'll,

First of all, I have a question for all you bandster's out there.  Where have you been able to buy the UNJURY UNFLAVORED PROTEIN POWDER?  I looked in Walmart today & couldn't find it.  Any other suggestions?  After reading many of your blogs, it appears that many of you use it & say that it gives you the extra protein you need & that it truly is tasteless!  I could definitely use this!! 

Well, I received a call from my Dermatologist last week regarding the biopsy she did on the mole she removed on my leg.  She said that although it wouldn't be considered Cancerous, it is definitely in a growing stage that could turn into skin cancer down the road & that the Pathologist recommended complete removal of it & the skin surrounding it.

So today was the day to get it done.  I wanted to make sure that I got it done before the end of the year, so my Insurance would completely cover it.  As I have already met my Maximum Out Of Pocket for the year.  So they were real accomodating in working me in so quick! 

But the numbing shots hurt like hell!!!  But once it started to numb up, it was great!  So now I have a big chunk of my leg taken out!  She told me, don't worry I am only taking a small area surrounding the original mole area.  But then that is what she said when she removed another mole on my abdomen for the same reason!!  It is a huge scar about an inch & a half where a mole once was!!!!  Oh well, it's better to get them removed than to have problems down the line!  And did I say that the pain is finally starting to set in?  She really numbed it up good!  That was at 1:30 pm & it is now 12:01 am & I am just now feeling it!!

Now for the OMG news.  My DH has been experiencing some problems lately, that he has finally decided to have checked out.  The Doctor is running some tests to try to narrow down what is causing his problems.  The first tests was some blood work.  The next test is a CT Scan.  Then hopefully we will get some good news, that the problem is a minor one & not a major one. 

As with many symptoms.  They can be caused from any number of things, ranging from minor to something major like Cancer.  So I am trying to keep this in mind & not let the worst case scenario take over my thoughts.  It is probably something minor, so this is my mantra for now, it is something minor!  I will report more as we get information.

Tonight we weren't able to go for our walk because of the minor surgery on my leg.  The Doctor said to take it easy on the leg for today, then I can walk again tomorrow!  So I started painting the background on my next painting.  I'm not sure though, I may need to paint a second coat on it.  But at least it is started!!

Well, I better go for now.  I need to read up on some blogs so I don't get too far behind.  Tomorrow I need to wrap all the Christmas presents.  As well as get my DH's prescription filled & I want to try to locate that Unjury Unflavored Protein Powder.  I guess I will try CVS Pharmacy next.  And I still need to go to the Sports Store to find me a ski mask for our nightly walks, so my face doesn't freeze anymore!!  So I will leave you with a few more photos that we took on our walks.

I love all the colors they used in this presentation.

This would be a good presentation if it weren't for the unsightly green metal box in the front yard!  We used to have one of these in the front yard of our last house.  We always threatened to wrap it up like a Christmas present!!

A cute one for the kids.  You can't tell by the photo, but the propeller on top actually did spin.

This is usually one of the best houses in the neighborhood that my DH & I drove to for one of our walks, where at least 3/4's of the homes decorate.  The man was still putting his decorations out.  He always dedicated the left side of the garage (of a three car garage) to a Santa's Workshop with moving animation!!  He was still setting it up, so unfortunately I don't have a photo of it finished!!

Well, that is all for tonight!  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends,

Happy Holidays!!  :)

A Shout Out To Tina!!

Hey Ya'll,

I just noticed that I have a new follower named Tina!!  Tina your picture is in silhouette so I am not positive of your blog information.

I am guessing that you are Tina from "Tina's Big Band Baby" blog.  I left a comment on your blog last week.  Please let me know if this is your blog so that I know if I welcomed the right person!!

If you are not this Tina, I would love to know your blog information so that I could follow you too!!  Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for following me & I would love to follow your blog, if I am not already following you!!  So..."welcome to my nightmare".

Merry Christmas!!

Aloha My New Friend

Cute Cookie Rules :)

If only this were true!!  I received this cute cookie rules e-mail this morning & thought I would share it with you!!

 

Cookie Rules...  1.      If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookie is the test and thus calorie free.  2.      If you drink a diet soda after eating your second cookie, it also has no calories because the diet soda cancels out the cookie calories.  3.      If a friend comes over while you're making your Christmas cookies and needs to sample, you must sample with your friend..  Because your friend's first cookie is calories free, (rule #1) yours is also.  It would be rude to let your friend sample alone and, being the friend that you are, that makes your cookie calorie free.  4.      Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to your feet and eventually fall off as you move.  This is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.  5.      Any calories consumed during the frosting of the Christmas cookies will be used up because it takes many calories to lick excess frosting from a knife without cutting your tongue.   6.      Cookies colored red or green have very few calories.  Red ones have three and green ones have five - one calorie for each letter.  Make more red ones!  7.      Cookies eaten while watching "Miracle on 34th Street" have no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.  8.     As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process of breaking Causes calorie leakage.  9.      Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate have no calories since the calories Rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to their plate.  We all know how calories like to CLING! 10.     Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories.  It's a rule! So, go out and enjoy those Christmas Cookies - we only get them this time of year!

One Of My Favorite Movies!

Hey Ya'll,

First off, I would like to apologize for making so many posts in one day!  I know it can be hard to keep up when we make more than one post a day!  But sometimes I can't help myself!! 

I just finished watching one of my all time favorite movies today.  It is: "Somewhere In Time" with Christopher Reeve & Jane Seymour.  It is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen & such a great love story.  But my favorite part of the movie, is the music.  I absolutely love the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody they play in the movie as well as the end title theme, Somewhere In Time.  I could listen to it for hours, which drives my DH up the wall!!  He usually likes to watch "chick flick" movies with me, but this is one movie he refuses to watch & I don't have a clue as to why!!

Well, I finally got caught up with all of the blogs I am following except for three of my newest ones.  But when you follow as many as I do (about 96) then, if you miss a couple of days or so, then it is almost impossible to get caught up unless you want to take literally hours to do nothing but read & comment occasionally!

Well, time to hit the tax books again!!  Hope all is having a great weekend!!  For those of you on the East Coast, I hope that you enjoy your snow!  If you are in the areas that are being slammed by the storm & having major problems as far as being able to get out & about, I hope it clears up enough for you to be able to finish any Christmas shopping needed, in time for Christmas!!

Here are a few photos from our walks in the area.

This house was amazing!  You can't really tell by the photo.  but they totally decorated the entire front of the house & yard.  They have a sound track playing of the Nutcracker Suite & the lights are all synchronized to the music.  So it was really hard to catch it when all the lights were lit up, which was not frequently enough or long enough.  But I managed to capture a few photos where most of the lights we lit up!!  Of course the photos don't do the presentation justice!!

These folks really like Green!!

This photo doesn't do this presentation any justice either!!  You really can't tell how many lights they have, but if you blow it up, you can see that they not only put lights in their yard, they also put up lights on the Street Light!!

And a cute Snowman Family!

Well, that is all for now, till next time!

Aloha My Friends

Happy Holidays  :)