Tuesday, September 29, 2009

It's Started!! Yea!!!

Hey Y'all,

Just a quick note to say that I just got great news!  I heard from Sarai, my go to at the Surgeon's office & she has received the last of the information needed so we can send off for Surgery Approval!  So hopefully, we will have it approved & be able to set a date within a week or two at the most!!  Keep your fingers crossed the approval is fast & positive the first time!!!

And thank you Carolyn for your blog information!  It appears that I already had it & had signed on as a follower!  I just didn't put two & two together that Carolyn511 was The Dash!!

Hope everyone had a great day!!

Aloha :)

Hello To My 2 New Follower's, Yea!

Just wanted to say hi & welcome to my forthcoming nightmare!  Just kidding! :) Hello to Violet & Carolyn.  I am already following Violet's blog, but I can't seem to find the blog address for Carolyn's!  Carolyn, if you want to give me your blog address, I would love to view your as well.  Everyone have a great day!

Today I am doing a ton of laundry getting ready for our vacation to Cape Cod & New Hampshire!  This trip I want to do something that I have never done before, pre pack!! lol.  We don't leave until the 8th of October, but my intentions are to have us packed before the end of the week, wish me luck!

Two of the things that I must try to pack along with our clothes are; a huge Afghan (it would fit the top of at least a double bed if not a queen!) & an Oil Painting that I painted for my best friend in New Hampshire!  I plan on putting the Afghan in one of those bags that you vacuum all the air out of, to place in one of the large suitcases, & the Painting, I plan on placing cardboard around it, then wrapping bubble wrap around it as well & placing it in the 2nd large suitcase.  If I can do this & keep both pieces under 50 lbs, I will be thrilled!

Well, I better go, the laundry is ready to be moved.  Wish me luck!  Till next time.
Aloha :)

Hello Robyn

Just wanted to say hi to my newest follower, Robyn.  Thank you and all the other followers for following me and giving me the courage and strength to continue on this journey.  I am sure that I will need it in the future!  I will also, continue to follow your blogs and give support whenever I can. :)

Aloha :)

Monday, September 28, 2009

Update On 4 Week Pre-Op Diet

I forgot to mention that I found out exactly what my 4 wk pre surgery diet will be.  Thank goodness, it isn't 4 wks of total liquid, like I thought!!! :)  But, it still is 4 wks long.  :(

Week 1:
Breakfast: Protein Shake
Snack: Fruit, etc.
Lunch: 300 cal or less meal replacement w 1-2 cups veggies
Snack: same as above
Dinner: same as lunch
Snack: Protein Shake

Week 2:
Breakfast: Protein Shake
Snack: same as above
Lunch: Protein Shake and 1-2 cups veggies
Snack: saa
Dinner: 300 cal/less meal replacement w 1-2 cups veggies
Snack: Protein Shake

Weeks 3-4:
Breakfast: Protein Shake
Snack: 1/2 Protein Shake
Lunch: Protein Shake and 1-2 cups veggies
Snack: saa
Dinner: same as Lunch
Snack: saa

I think I will be HATING Protein Shakes by the end of this!!!  lol
Till Next Time,
Aloha :)

Hi To New Followers!

Hey Y'all,

I just wanted to say hi to my new followers.  I am sooo excited, I now have 5!  I love to read everyone Else's blogs too.  I will hopefully be able to set my Surgery date within a couple of weeks at the latest!  We are shooting for late November.

Aloha :)

Backyard Pictures for Gen!

Hey Y'all,

I just realized that you might wonder why I always open my blog this way.  No, I am not from the South, but a large amount of my family are, and I have just always liked this greeting! :)

Gen asked me if I had a pool in my backyard.  So here are a few pictures of our backyard.  We live in a Suburban area where the houses are fairly close together, so Walt and I wanted to make it as pleasant as possible.  We also wanted a large pool so everyone could have a good time.  I forgot to tell you that the pool is a saltwater pool, which is why you see the staining on the concrete, making some areas lighter.  
This is most of our patio area, with Walt's pride and joy, the outdoor kitchen.  We were setup for a barbecue.  
This one shows my favorite area of the backyard. My swing. I love sitting out on it in the evening looking up at the stars. Or at least what stars we can see in an area so lit up! :)










This one shows the rest of the pool. You can see the Hot Tub which is in the Gazebo at the far end of the pool.
Well, I hope you like the photos.  I know the backyard is small, but we do love our pool area! :)
Till next time,
Aloha :)
Hey Y'all,

I did one of those before and after pics for fun, I hope I look like this after 50 lbs weight loss, especially my chest.  But I think my head looks way too big for my body for some reason! lol I never noticed this before! :)


Sunday, September 27, 2009

Does This Help?

Hey Y'all,

Gen, I am going to try to make a scale like whats on my report.  This is the best I can do here.  Just be aware that the Slow, Normal and Fast are actually under another I.  So my number falls just to the right of the first I left of Normal.  I hope this helps!  :)

Slow----I----I----Normal----I----I----Fast

And in case I didn't say it in an earlier post, the only sport I love and watch (if you consider it a sport, which I do), is NHRA Funny Cars and Top Fuel Dragster racing.  My guy in Top Fuel, Larry Dixon lost to Tony Schumacher in the final race! UGH!! :(  But at least Robert Height, who is one of my favorites from the John Force Racing team (Funny Cars) won today!! YEA!  :) 

Did I mention that I actually got to go to watch the NHRA racing in Las Vegas a few years ago, and got an autograph from Shirley Muldowney as well as my picture taken with her!!!  :)  This was the next to the last race she ran before she retired!  Boy, was I lucky.  If we had waited until the next season, I wouldn't have met her.  Anyway, I am rambling, I hope you don't hold it against me.  lol  :)

Till next time,
Aloha :)

Thank You Gen and Robyn

Thanks for your comments and well wishes for my Father-In-Law, he will need it.  And yes, my friends live in a beautiful location!  It is sooo quiet and peaceful there.  And the stars!  I wish we could see that many stars where we live, but not a chance! lol. 

As for the RMR test, Gen.  I had to lay on a chair/bed for about 7-10 mins to relax, then I had to plug up my nose with a plastic pincher and breath into a tube with my mouth for 10 mins.  Let me tell you, the nose pinch was painful!  I would have rather pinched it with my fingers, lol!  After the test, the technician came back in with a printout which showed my stats.

It didn't really give my number information to where I can understand it.  It showed a scale where slow was on the left and fast was on the right with normal in the center, with three sections between normal and each end of the scale.  My results were a bit closer to the first line on the slow side of the scale, meaning my Metabolism is a little slow of normal.  Anyway, I will list the actual number information in case you can find information that explains it to you.  I don't have a scanner or I would just scan the page and input it here! :)

Measured REE:............6.51 kJoule/day (1555 kcal/day)
Predicted REE:.............7.06 kJoule/day (1687 kcal/day)
Estimated TEE:............8.46 kJoule/day (2020 kcal/day)
V02:.............................226 ml/min (2.18ml/kg/min)
Fe02:............................15.28% expired oxygen
Minute Volume:...........6.05 Liters/min
Tidal Volume:..............492 ml
Respiratory Rate:........12.2 breaths/min
Test Duration:.............10.0 min

Note: Estimated TEE= 1.30xREE

So, what the hell is TEE? :)  I couldn't find anything that actually gave this information.  So, except for the pain from the nose pinch (maybe if I didn't have a big nose, it wouldn't have hurt so bad, lol), the test is painless. 

I hope this helped you!  Let me know if you have any other questions.  :)
Aloha Everyone :)

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Hip Hip Hurray!

Hi Guys,

Well, yesterday I finally finished my pre-requisites for pre surgery approval!  Yea!  My RMR showed that I am a little below normal, meaning that my Metabolism is slower than the "average" female of my age, height and weight.  This also means that I have to take in fewer calories than the "average" woman, etc, in order to lose weight!  Ugh!

My 2nd test, the H Pylori came back negative, yea!!  So this means that I do not have the bacteria that "could" cause Ulcers.  So this is a really good thing.  :)

In my defense, let me say this, since I had to be fasting for the H Pylori test, I hadn't had anything to eat up to this point, (1 pm).  But my sweetheart of a husband, walked around the block to a Quizno's and bought us a sub sandwich.  So by the time I was out of my 2nd test, we were able to go into the room they were going to be holding the Steps 2 Success Class.

We proceeded to eat the sandwiches in front of the other, future Lap Banders in the room, waiting for the Class to begin!  I did feel strange eating a big sandwich in a room full of people, waiting to get information on Lap Band surgery, but, what the hay, I was starving by this time and getting a headache!  So I ate most of it and gave the rest to my husband!  So I was partially good! :)

Once we were out of the Class, we drove from Reno back up to Truckee to stay the night with our good friends Nadene and David at their home.  David barbecued some fantastic steaks for dinner!  The reason we didn't stay in Reno like we usually would have, is because they were having a huge Harley Davidson happening for the whole 3 days!  Let me tell you, we saw some gorgeous bikes!  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of them.

This morning, we left Truckee, and drove back through Reno and the huge throng of Motorcycles to go have lunch and spend the day with Walt's parents.  We just found out that his dad has Cirrhosis of the Liver!  :(  So we wanted to see them while we were that close.  They live about an hours drive South of Reno.  After our lunch we drove to their home and talked for a few more hours, then we turned around and drove back into and through Reno, heading home!!!  We were tired of driving this leg back and forth.  But we were glad to see everyone!  Keep good thoughts for my Father-In-Law, he really needs it right now.

So we finally arrived home about 8:30pm and we are exhausted!  But really glad to be back home.  So, on Monday, I will talk to my go to person at the Surgeon's office to see if my Upper GI results have been received.  If so, then they can send off to my Insurance for Surgery approval!  :)  Cross your fingers for me.  I am posting a few of the pictures I took while gone.






This is our friends, David and Nadene's house, isn't it beautiful and peaceful?











This is Nadene and Walt, isn't she the best?












This is blurry, I'm sorry, Walt needs to get new glasses I think!
















My sweetheart, what would I do without him?
















Can't you just imagine sitting out on this deck reading a great book?











This is Nadene and David, don't they make a cute couple?  We are really lucky to have friends like them.















And now the FOOD shot!  It was fantastic!












This is Walt and his dad.
















 
And Walt and his mom!













So this is the end of this post, hope everyone had a great weekend!  Till next time.

Aloha  :)

Thursday, September 24, 2009

New Followers

I'm sorry, I didn't acknowledge my 2nd and 3rd Followers!  I want to say hi to both Robyn and Dawn and thank you for joining in on my journey!  I am following yours as well! 

Robyn, I think that you and I are at about the same time frame of getting approved.  I have the last 2 tests and my Steps 2 Success Class tomorrow.  Then, so long as my Upper GI information has been received, then we can send off to the Insurance for approval by Monday!!  Keep your fingers crossed that the UGI test results are back! :)

Dawn, you appear to be a couple of months or so behind us, but it appears that you have been on this journey much longer than myself, as my Insurance doesn't require a 3-6 month Nutritional Evaluation, thank God!!  But, on the horrible note, my Surgeon Requires that all his patients do a 4 Week Liquid Diet!!  I will be finding out the exact requirements of the diet both pre and post at tomorrow's Class.  I will keep you posted.

Which is why I will not schedule my surgery until at least the 3rd week in November as I am going on vacation to the East Coast in a couple of weeks to see my best friend from 29 years ago.  We lost touch for about 19 years until I finally relocated her about a year and a half ago, and I want to be able to totally enjoy this vacation!!  No diet restrictions!!  Anyway, this way I can start my diet as soon as we return from vacation if need be.

Well, I better go for now.  Lots of work to do, and so little time...
Aloha :)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Scary Pictures!

Hey Y'all,

Well, I finally broke down and decided that it was time to let my husband Walt take some before pictures of me.  They were taken in my bathing suit.  Now before you start bad mouthing my choice of bathing suits, just remember that, I AM MIDDLE AGED, and I am entitled to wear the old ladies suits (oh, & by the way, this suit is a size 22!)!!!  :)  Soon, I will take some pictures in my underwear a bit more close up.  But for now, I figured that this would be scary enough! lol

This is my favorite spot in the back yard.  I love sitting here in the early evening, looking up at the stars.
This shows some of our new backyard landscaping.  We love Palm Trees and we have 4 different varieties of them.  We can't wait for them to grow to their full height.
The front view.  The Surgeon said that I am a true Apple shape, which is supposedly the worst health wise.  But at least I am fairly well proportioned.  Until the last 40 lbs, I didn't look too bad.  But now I can barely tie my shoes.
This one I hate to even show!
And now the right side :)
Check out that stomach!!
Aren't photos of the back side sooo flattering?
And check out that ASS!!  Boy, do I need to lose some inches!

Well, that is all for tonight, I will take my measurements in a few days.  Till next time,

Aloha :) 

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Happy Birthday Walker!

Hey Y'all,

Well, we got home a bit ago from Walker's 9th birthday party, and I finally finished downloading my photos taken at the party. Most of my photos didn't take very well.  But Christa took a bunch with her more sophisticated camera.  So hopefully hers turned out better than mine!  Anyway, we had a great time, with great food.  Let me tell you, we had some watermelon that was sooo sweet!  We could have made a meal out of just that!  And Walt and I almost did! :-)

Just eating all this fantastic food, made me think about how my life is going to change in a short period of time!  But I am still looking forward to it.  However, I realized after I got home, that I didn't have anything to drink the whole time we were there!  So hopefully, I will be able to go drink free without tooo much trouble once the surgery is done.

Walker was sooo excited, and could barely wait for dinner to end so he could open up his presents.  His favorite gift was, his new bike.  Walt and I bought him a bike ramp to go with it, so I'm sure that he will be on it all day tomorrow! :-)  

Well, here are some of the photos I took tonight.  Try not to judge them too harshly, I am NOT a very good photographer.  :-)

This first photo is of Christa and Walt, Walt was making sure Christa's camera wasn't in her face!












This one is of Christa, Emily and myself.







This photo is of Christa, Walker and I, we had to hold him down to make sure we got this picture.






This is Christa's husband Mark, doesn't he look much better without the Abe Lincoln beard?






This was Emily's gift to Walker, she had saved a $1 bill from her gifts, and gave it to Walker in a hand made card, he really loved it!






This was the clothing part of our gift to Walker, doesn't he look really impressed?  What kid wants clothes instead of toys?






This is Mark and Walker with his new bike.  He was thrilled with it!











Isn't Emily cute?












This is the new bike ramp for Walker's new bike.
















This is Walt, again holding Christa down for a photo!
















 
And another one!















And this is my new car.  I've always wanted a blue car :-)











And last but not least of the photos, the look on Christa's face, tells it all!  MOM!  Would you PLEASE stop taking my picture?  HA HA :-)











Hope you enjoyed Walker's birthday party photos.  Till next time.

Aloha

Lunch With Step-Children

Hi Y'all,

Just a quick post to say that I had a great lunch with my Step-Son Russ, my Step-Daughter Kat and her husband Elliott.  We went to the Olive Garden, one of my favorites!  Then, after lunch, I went shopping and purchased my Grand Sons birthday presents for his birthday party tonight!  I took two photos of Kat and Elliott (Kat just about had a fit as she hadn't put any makeup on :) ) and Russ just out and out refused to take his picture.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos, I will post again tonight after the party & post a few more photos if they turn out.

Kat refusing at first! :-)












She finally gave in :-)  Aren't they a cute couple?













Well, until next time,

Aloha

Monday, September 21, 2009

Birthday Lunch!

Hi Y'all,

Today was a great day!  We took our daughter Christa, & our two adorable grand children, Walker and Emily, to lunch for Emily's birthday.  We had to miss her birthday party because of the Seminar we had to attend in Reno for the Lap Band.  So we had promised her a lunch, wherever she wanted to go!  She decided she wanted to eat Mexican Food.  Yum!  So we took her to a local Mexican Restaurant called Lorenzo's.  We had a really nice lunch and didn't leave for quite a while!   I think we were one of the last of the lunch crowd to leave.

Tomorrow is Walker's 9th birthday, so we will be attending his birthday party (just for their immediate family and the two sets of grand parents) tomorrow night.  They always have at least two parties, one on the actual birthday with the parents and grand parents, and one with the friends.  Well, as usual, I still don't have his gift yet, so I will be shopping tomorrow for sure!

I hate shopping in the heat!  We have been in another heat wave of about 100 degree days for 3 days again so far!  :-(  I absolutely hate the heat!  The only thing that makes it bearable is either staying inside where it is climate controlled, or swimming!

Someone made a comment at the Support Group Meeting I attended on the 14th, that they were always hot (like me)!  Will this improve?  Many of those who had already gone through LBS, stated that they too, had always been hot, but, are now almost always cold!!  Is this true?  I would rather need to bundle up than be overly hot all the time!  Please tell me it is true! :-)

Well, I took a few pictures of us at lunch, but they were taken extra fast and some are a bit blurry, so please accept my apologies in advance!

The first one is my daughter Christa, I had to beg her to let me take the picture!  





The second picture is of Walker and Emily, waiting to order the food.


The third picture is of Walker and Emily playing peekaboo with the menu!  Sorry, like I said, it is a bit blurry.











This photo is of my sweetheart, Walt and I.  Looking at this photo makes me sad that I have allowed myself to get to this point.  I can't wait for the surgery to begin my new life.










Well, fellow blogger's, I better go for now.

Aloha

Sunday, September 20, 2009

What's Next

Hey Y'all,

Photos at the end of the post.
I would like to say I'm sorry to my 2 followers, because I haven't posted anything in a while.  I will try posting a couple of pictures if possible.  There hasn't been a lot happening since my last trip over the Sierra's.  But I do have one more trip to make before we can send off for my Surgery approval from my Insurance Company.

My next trip to Reno is next Friday, the 25th.  I am scheduled for two different tests and I must be fasting before the tests (surprise, surprise).  The first test is an H Pylori test.  I believe this test is to determine whether or not I have an ulcer.  The second test is an RMR test (Resting Metabolic Rate).  "It represents the calories your body uses to maintain vital body functions (heart rate, brain function, breathing)".  Meaning, "it is the number of calories a person would burn if awake, but at rest, all day without activity or exercise".  Does this make any sense?

Once I am done with the two tests, I have about 1/2 hr before I need to sign in for a 2 hr, Steps 2 Success Class.  This is the class where the Nutritionist goes over what to expect in your diet both pre & post-surgery.  Among other things as well I believe.  I will post after this day to advise.  This will be a long day & don't forget that I haven't eaten anything yet!  But we are planning on staying at a friend's house in Truckee for the night, on our way home, so that should be fun! :)

But for really good news!  I reconnected with my best friend whom I had lost touch with about 19 years ago, when we both moved away from So Cal.  I finally found her again!  She is living in beautiful New Hampshire and my husband & I are flying back to the East Coast to visit with Kelly & her family next month!  Hence, why I don't want to set my Surgery date until late November or later.  I have to go on a 4 week liquid diet prior to Surgery & I really just want to be able to eat normal & enjoy this trip!

We will be staying a week on Cape Cod (Kelly and her husband Rick will stay at least a night or two with us there).  Neither my husband or I have ever been to the East Coast & always wanted to see it, especially in the Fall, when all the beautiful Fall colors are out.  Then we will drive up to where they live in New Hampshire for another 4 nights.  A town near them has an annual Pumpkin Festival which actually put this town in the Guinness Book of World Records!  This town in called Keene.  So we are really looking forward to going back & visiting them!  I am sooo excited that I can barely contain myself!  :)

This photo was taken of my husband & I at the top of the Palm Springs Ariel Tramway in late January 2009.  I have probably gained 10 lbs since then.

This photo was taken of my fantastic husband Walt & my sweet Step-Daughter Kathlyn (Kat), at the rehearsal for her wedding 04/14/08.

This one is of Walt & my beautiful Daughter Christa on the left & Kat's BFF Courtney on the right.

This one is of my Step-Son Russell (Russ), their mother Carolyn & Kat.  Yes, Carolyn & I get along great!  In fact, we joke & call each other sisters, much to Walt's horror sometimes! :)
This photo is of Courtney (Court), my Daughter Christa & my beautiful Grand Daughter Emily!  Emily was one of the Flower Girls & the only one to behave perfectly!
This one is Kat & Elliott on their wedding day, 04/15/08!

Our sweet Emily in her Flower Girl dress.  She was still 5 yrs old here, she just turned 6 in August.
This one is of Christa, her husband Mark (thank god, he shaved the Lincoln beard after this photo was taken!), my handsome Grand Son, Walker (he was still 8 in this picture, he will be 9 on Tuesday the 22nd), and Emily, isn't she just adorable?
This photo was taken during our vacation with friends at a fantastic resort in Mazatlan, Mexico in November 2007.  The woman sitting next to me is Dorene, our friend's Mother.
This one was taken last June right after my Best Friend Nadene & her Mom, Virginia & I arrived in Las Vegas!  Can you spell HOT?  It was like 110 degrees in the shade!  This photo shows off my tattoo I got last year, unfortunately not it's best shot.
This is a better picture of the tattoo.
Here is a different view.  Can you tell I like things Tropical? :)

This is Nadene & Virginia in Las Vegas 2008.

Well, I guess that I've probably bored you to tears by now.  Isn't it funny how most of us who are overweight, rarely allow pictures to be taken of us?  Well, I will begin having my picture taken more often now.  I will definitely have some "before pictures" taken before I begin my 4 wk pre surgery diet for posterity!

Till Next Time,
Debi