A Warm Welcome To...Melissa Mae !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I just checked in this morning and noticed that I had a new Follower!  Her name is Melissa Mae, and her Blog is called: Ala Peanut Butter BANDwiches!!!.  She was Banded on December 28th, 2010 and has already lost 49 lbs!!  Go Melissa Mae!  So if you haven't already checked out her Blog, please do and say hi for me!  We can all use the support of other Bandster's!!  So....Melissa Mae, "Welcome to my Nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :) 

So Much Better!! :)

This is what I feel like right now!  So much more relaxed.  but I must say that this is not one of my paintings (but I wish it were).  This painting is called: Tropical Porch II - By: Vivian Flasch.

Hey Ya'll,

On the Band front, I followed the self imposed bland diet for 3 days, and it definitely helped with my Acid Reflux!  I haven't had any issues with it in the last 3 nights, thank you God!!  I started eating one non-bland meal a day yesterday, and so far, so good.  I am crossing my fingers that this will continue!  Now the question I need to ask myself....at my next Doctor visit, do I tell them about my past issues and risk them not giving me another Fill?  Or do I not, and go for another Fill as usual?  That is the million dollar question.....any thoughts on this??  I would love your input.

Other than dealing with my Band issues, I haven't done much of anything lately.  I need to start reading the CDL Booklet from the DMV, so that I can take the test and HOPEFULLY....pass it on the first try!!!  My goal for April is to pass this test before we move to Reno.  The reason for this, is that it is much easier to get in at the Carson City DMV, as it is a smaller office.  At the Reno DMV, the wait is much longer!!  Once I pass the written CDL test, I will have to start the behind the wheel, Truck Driving School! Eek!!

But other than studying for the CDL written test this month, I also need to go riding the Bike with Walt on the weekends while he is here.  I really need to become at least semi comfortable riding it by myself.  Because when we move to Reno, I will need to follow Walt on the Bike while he is towing the RV in the Truck.  The good thing is that I will be following Walt, so I won't have to worry about trying to drive too fast while trying to keep up with traffic.  Since this will be my first real time riding the bike out in traffic, especially by myself!  I feel that I should tape a sign to the back of the Bike saying.....BEWARE NEW RIDER, MAY MAKE SUDDEN STOPS OR ERRATIC MOVEMENTS! LOL  Yes, I did go through the riding school and passed, but that was a year ago!  Remember this???

Don't I look thrilled??  This photo was taken by Walt (sitting in our car with a zoom lens) of me on the bike.  This was the first time that I was to ride it around the course, and this was my first Corner!!  I wasn't sure that I was going to make it!!  LOL  This is how I will feel when I get on our HUGE Bike!  Don't forget, it is one of the largest Motorcycles you can ride.  It is a Honda Gold Wing.  I can't even ride it by myself without the training wheels on it, as I can't put my feet on the ground!  AND...it weights close to 1000 lbs!  So there is NO WAY that I could feel in control of it.  Which is why we bought the training wheels for it, since they essentially make it a Trike!!

Anyway, I guess I better go for now, I need to eat lunch, then start reading my CDL Booklet again!  Till next time....

Aloha My Friends  :)

The Day After....

Imagine this without the raisins, coffee, fruit or orange juice!!  That is what I ate yesterday.


Hey Ya'll,

Well, yesterday I started a 3 day bland diet to see if it brings down the inflammation of my Esophagus and Stomach.  I really need to get my Acid Reflux under control!!  Plus, sliming and or vomiting isn't fun either!  LOL

Yesterday, I only ate 1/2 cup of Oatmeal (I truly wasn't hungry).  Half for an early Dinner, and the other half for a late Dinner.  I ate the second half later, because I was up until 2 am and if I didn't eat something, I would have been scrounging around for something to eat even later, and would have chosen something bad for me!!  But this way, I ate the later meal at about 10:30, which gave it 3 1/5 hours to digest before I went to bed.  Which means that I only took in 150 calories yesterday!!  Because I eat my oatmeal plain, no milk, no butter, no fruit.

After I had been in bed for 1/2 hour, I had a couple bouts of Acid Reflex.  But luckily they were mild.  They were not the Acid tasting, Bile tasting Reflux's I usually have.  Nor did it taste like my food was trying to come up.  So I consider this a step in the right direction.  So other than those few Reflux's, I slept really well last night!  The first time in a long time..... :)  So lets see how today goes.  I need to try to take in more calories I know.  So I will start to drink my Protein drinks today and probably tomorrow as well.  After all, I need my Protein too!!  So, till next time.....

Aloha My Friends  :)

About Last Night.....And Thank You To Those Who Responded!!

This is a photo of my 10th painting for my Daughter Christa.  It is based on one of her photos of the Santa Cruz area on the California Coastline.  I didn't do it justice at all!  I found the rocks to be the most difficult thing that I have tried to paint YET!!!  I can't tell you how many times I redid them!  But since I wanted them to be her Christmas present, I finally had to accept them as they were....sorry Christa!

Hey Ya'll,

Well, since I have been having this ongoing problem with the Tightness after eating, as well as Sliming, Vomiting and Acid Reflux.  I tried another experiment last night.  But first off, I want to say that ever since my last Fill back on February 11th, I have been having problems.  I can eat and feel fine....for about 30 mins to 3 hours.  Then all of a sudden, I feel tight and start Sliming and or Vomiting.  And the biggest problem that I have had, is the Acid Reflux!  It can happen during the day as well as the night.  But of course, when it happens during the day, you are awake and can just swallow it down or spit it up!  Which makes the night time Reflux the worst!!!  The night before last, while sleeping, the worst incident of Acid Reflux I had, was bringing up (regurgitating) my LUNCH from the day before!!

So last night, I changed up my bedtime routine, to see if I could eliminate the Reflex.  So when I went to bed at 1 am, I slept on our over stuffed chair.  I laid across it so that my Head and Shoulders was on one of the chairs arms and my Legs were draped over the other arm.  I placed pillows under my Back, Shoulders and Neck so that my Back, Shoulders and Head was at least in a 45 degree angle.  In this position, I only had one known Acid Reflex (I say this because sometimes I will have minor bouts of Acid Reflex that didn't wake me up.  But when I awaken, I have that "TASTE" in my mouth, so I know that I did have Acid Reflex during the night).

So feeling better, I decided to lay down on our bed, and sleep the rest of the morning there, so that I could relax my body.  I checked the clock so that I knew what time it was when I laid back down (6:30 am).  FIVE MINUTES LATER....I had another bout of Acid Reflux!  Then 10 minutes after that, another one!!  So sleeping almost straight up, did help A Lot!  But still did not completely eliminate them.  And I definitely had a much higher incidence of them, when I laid down in a normal sleeping position.  And before I forget, I hadn't had anything to eat since about 6 pm!  And I took a double dose of Prilosec OTC (making it Prescription strength) and chewed 3 Extra Strength Tums before going to bed!!!

I had a comment from Kathy - My New Beginnings, on my last post asking for help.  What she told me, scared me to death!  I am truly hoping that my problem isn't what her's is!!  She had the same symptoms as I have had, only she lived with them for about a year!  She slept on pillows to raise her Head up, to help with the Acid Reflux issues.  When she went in for another Fill, her husband coerced her into telling the Doctor about her Acid Reflux issues and having to sleep upright.

As soon as the Doctor heard this, "the Doctor said no, I won't fill you.  There is something wrong.  You are too tight.   I want you to have a swallow test (which is an Upper GI)".  When she went in for the Upper GI, she said, "I drank a yucky liquid and the X-Ray showed on the television screen how it progressed down my Esophagus, and instead of going to my Stomach, it went to a side pouch which had developed before going to the Stomach. It was a Dilated Esophagus.  He immediately Unfilled me and I went back after 3 months to see if it was better.  It was a little but not enough.  I am now on my 6th month.  I go back May 3rd for another test.  Run, don't walk to the doctor.  Have them check you too.  The last thing my doctor said to me was, if I hadn't healed completely by the next visit, he may have to remove my Band".

I am glad that I am not waiting for too many Months, or closer to a Year to act on this, so hopefully my issues haven't progressed to the extreme like Kathy's has!!  So I will be eating very easy to digest and swallow foods like Oatmeal, and drinking Protein drinks for the next couple of days, to see if this helps bring down the inflammation of the Band, and stop the Acid Reflux.  If I don't see a significant change for the good, then I will definitely be making an appointment to talk with the Doctor's office soon!  And so far today, I have only had a small cup of Chocolate Milk right after I woke up.  No food, no Protein drink since, and I am not even hungry.....and it is almost 4:30 pm!!!

Well, now that I have spilled my guts to you about this, I guess I should get off for now.  So, till next time....

Aloha My Friends  :)

 

This is a copy of Christa's sward winning photo.  She entered it in the local County Fair and won 1st place!  I really tried to reproduce it, but I failed!!

What A Day and BAND QUESTIONS !!

 

This is another version of my Lake Tahoe painting.  It is painting #9 and was painted in oil on a 2'x4' canvas.  I am happier with the Mountains reflection in the Lake this time.   Oh, and it looks much better in its Frame.  This was originally supposed to be our painting.  But after I started it, we decided to scale down to the RV, and where in the world would we put a 2'x4' painting in an RV???  LOL  So we gave it to Walt's boss.  He never even said thank you to me....oh well.  I guess that proves that he really didn't care for it!!  LOL

Hey Ya'll,

First off, on the Band Front.  Last night I tried sleeping on even more pillows to prevent the Acid Reflux.  I laid 2 king size pillows side by side so that I laid on them from about the waist to my head, then I placed a regular pillow at the top for my head.  It helped a LITTLE, but not good enough!  I still had Acid Reflux through the night.  The worst time it happened (at about 4 am), I was amazed at what was trying to come up.  It was what I had eaten for LUNCH!!  Shouldn't it have passed through my Stomach and been digested by this time????  This makes me wonder if I do indeed need to go have an unfill.....Walt wants me to stick to a bland diet for a few days to see if it calms down.  If not, then we will probably have to contact the Doctors office to get their recommendation.  Oh and did I mention that I am also having issues with being tight, and sliming almost every day now???  I can eat and feel fine, then an hour or two or three later, all of a sudden I will be tight and sliming.....What do you think??  Has anyone out there experienced this too?  And if so, what was your outcome????  Tonight I am sleeping on the sofa, so that I can be more upright.  If this works, then Yea!!!!!  I will keep you posted.

Well, the last two days have been nuts weather wise!  Yesterday, it snowed, but it was so windy that the snow was blowing horizontal, so it was barely sticking during the morning and early afternoon.  Then about 6:10 pm, the wind died down and the snow really started to fall!!  Within 30 minutes the ground was completely white!  By late last night, we already had about 3-4 inches of snow and by this morning we had 6 inches.  BUT...by this afternoon, it was almost completely melted!!!  Such weird weather.  LOL  We are supposed to have more snow tonight through tomorrow, then have nice weather for awhile...... :)

Since Walt will be going back to Sacramento Monday morning, we decided to do the laundry today.  But I wasn't lucky in having the laundry room to myself this time, so I only did 7 loads of laundry!  I will do the other 2 in a few days.  Well, I am tired and will get off for now.  Hoping to hear from you Bandster's that have had the same issues regarding Acid Reflux and not being able to eat much.  Till next time.....

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Warm Welcome To...Kiwigirl !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I just checked in, and realized that I have a new Follower!! She goes by Kiwigirl, and the link to her blog is: Shrinking Violet.  She was banded on February 18, 2011, so she is a newbie to Bandland, and has already lost at least 25.5 lbs!!  You go girl!!  So if you haven't already checked out her blog, please hop on over and give her the love and support we all need!!  So Kiwigirl....."Welcome to my Nightmare"!

Aloha My New Friend  :)

I May Have Figured It Out!!

My Plumaria Flower painting.  It was my 8th Oil Painting, and I completed it in May 2010 to gave to one of our friends, who is also one of Walt's co-workers.  She is one of the sweetest ladies that I know!!

Hey Ya'll,

On the Band front, I would have to say that my main issue lately, has been with Acid Reflux.  I have it almost every night, and it isn't fun.  Lately I have also had some problems with delayed restriction.  Is this normal??  Which is why I am glad that I canceled my Fill appointment for this Friday.  I think that it would make me even more uncomfortable than I already have been.  But it seems like lately, almost everytime I eat, I have had delayed restriction.  Meaning that about 30 mins to an hour after eating, I feel tight, and at least slightly slimy.  Sometimes outright stuck!   

Anyway, as I said in an earlier post this week.  I have been suffering through Insomnia again!!  And add to that, my issues with Acid Reflux, and being tighter than normal for no apparent reason that I can think of, and I have been a mess lately!  But this morning I had one of those light bulb moments (picture a light bulb over my head), where I may have come up with why I have been having troubles with Acid Reflux.

A while back, Walt had repositioned our RV so that it isn't totally level, and yes, he did this on purpose!!  It tilts ever so slightly towards the left.  His reasoning behind doing this, was to make sure that the waste tanks drained easily and more fully, since they are on the left side of the RV.  Unfortunately, the head of our Bed is on the left side of the RV!!!  Meaning that our Heads are slightly tilted downwards too.  And thus, my Acid Reflux is worse!!  I am going to try sleeping on two pillows tonight (a standard Tempurpedic pillow, with my regular pillow on top of it).  And if that doesn't work, then I will try sleeping on our Sofa tomorrow night, so that I am partially inclined.  If this works, then I know that I need to sleep on a wedge pillow again.  Which I don't look forward to.

We had wedge pillows before, for this exact reason.  But the pillow wasn't comfortable to me.  It was too hard, and I found it hard for me to sleep on my side on it (I am primarily a side sleeper).  Plus by morning, I had always slid way down, and was half on, and half off of it!!  But hey, if it helps with my Acid Reflux.....then it will be worth it using it again!!

Now for the Insomnia problem.  The worst night was the night before last (Monday).  I was in bed by about 2 am, but I didn't get to sleep until 8 or 8:30 am!!  This was partly because of the Insomnia, and partly because of the Acid Reflux.  Then Walt woke me up at about 10 am.  Oh what fun....NOT!  But last night both Walt and I went to bed by about 1:30, and I was actually able to get to sleep in a decent amount of time....however, today we tried to lay down for a nap together, but it was too soon after eating lunch, and I kept having problems with Acid Reflux, so we got up.  :(

Well, I gotta go for now.  Got loads to do....till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

This photo shows the original photo that I based the painting on, and my free had sketches.  The smaller one is the first sketch made to scale.  The larger one, was made to fit the canvas.

And this photo shows the sketch transferred to the canvas.  I traced the outline of the flowers from my larger sketch, then free handed the interior of the flowers to begin.

A Warm Welcome To...Mom To 4 Redheads !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

After checking into my blog this morning, I saw that I had a new Follower!  She goes by Mom To 4 Redheads, and her blog link is: Canadian Girl With A Band.  She was Banded on January 12, 2011 and has lost 39.5 lbs so far!  She is doing great, but like all of us, she can use some support.  So if you haven't already checked out her blog, please jump on over and say hello!!  So M24R's...."Welcome to my Nightmare"!

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Insomnia, And An Accident! Oh My!!

Hey Ya'll,

Well, this last week has been rough on me, sleep wise.  I have been suffering from Insomnia again!  Each night it has been later and later still, before I managed to get to sleep.  Yesterday, I didn't get to sleep until around 6 am, and this morning it was almost 8:30!!  Then Walt woke me up around 10 or 10:30.  But for some strange reason, today I didn't have the usual sleepy period, where I felt the need for a nap to make up for the lost sleep.  It is now going on 1:30 and I am still not sleepy.....so here I sit at the computer.  But besides working on the computer, I am also making another Crocheted Bear for our daughter Kat.

Now for the Accident part of my post title.  Yesterday while Walt was driving on the freeway to the Trucking School for practice he had an accident.  He was in the fast lane driving next to the concrete retaining wall, when the vehicle next to him started to move over into his lane, forcing him into the concrete wall!  Because it had snowed over night, the road was slushy, and he lost control of the Truck when he had to maneuver out of his lane to keep from being hit!  The Truck made a 180 degree turn, then fish tailed a couple of times, forcing the Truck to hit both the front as well as the back.  And on both side of the rear bumper at that!

Luckily, he wasn't seriously hurt (we think, sometimes you don't know immediately), and his was the only vehicle involved (thank God!).  And thank God that no one hit him from behind once he came to a stop in the middle of the freeway!  He said that the road was fairly busy for that time in the morning on a Saturday (this happened about 6 am), so he was really lucky that no one was that close to him from behind that wouldn't be able to maneuver around him!  Just think how much worse it could have been if it were a weekday!!

He told the Highway Patrol that he wasn't hurt, and the Truck is still drivable.  But his Neck, Shoulders and Back are now hurting pretty good.  If it continues getting worse, then we will take him to the Doctor for testing.  Our biggest fear is that he might have Whiplash.  I really, really hope that this is not the case.  I have had Whiplash so bad, that I almost broke my Neck!!  Which is why I have so many problems Neurologically now.  :(  So I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.  Please keep him in your thoughts, that he wasn't hurt more than just strained Muscles and Bruising.

Other than this, not too much is happening.  However, on the Band front, I have decided to cancel my next Fill appointment, that was to be this coming Friday the 25th.  I will reschedule for about 3 weeks out.  I am thinking that I am really close to the sweet spot, because I am having some issues with Acid Reflux and Verping (a sort of regurgitation/burping during the day when you are awake and aware of it happening).  Although mostly just the Acid Reflux, thank goodness.  So I am afraid that if I get a Fill right now, I won't be able to handle it and I will become overfilled again!!  And I don't want that for sure.  So I will wait until mid April and go for it then.  I am just so worried that if I push it, and continue having Acid Reflux while I sleep, then I will begin having some major issues with the Esophagus and erosion or Cancer down the line, and I do not want that!

I am also starting to read the DMV booklet for the CDL License again (talk about boring).  I had to stop reading it before so that I could finish the taxes.  Walt passed his written test the first time he took it (of course).  But I am afraid that I may have to take it a time or two, or maybe three!!  LOL  My Memory isn't what it used to be.  But I am not too concerned with the written test.

The tests that I dread are the oral and practical tests!  Trying to verbally tell all the things that need to be checked etc before starting out on a run to a DMV representative.  Then, IF you pass this portion, you get to get behind the wheel in the Big Rig, and start the driving portion of the test.  Which also includes passing the skills like being able to back up straight, as well as backing up into a certain position, like you would have to do at a loading dock.  Anyway, I am NOT looking forward to this!!  LOL  We shall see how many attempts it takes for Walt to pass this.  If he can't pass them the first time, then I am totally screwed!!  LOL

Well, I better go for now, time to get to other things....till next time....

Aloha My Friends  :)

Welcome Kenda, My Newest Follower !!

Hey Ya'll,

I just checked in and noticed that I have a new Follower!!  Her name is Kenda, and her blog is: My Quest 4 A Life 2 Love.  Kenda is in the Pre-Surgery phase of her journey, and can use all the help and support we can give her.  So if you haven't already checked out her blog, please jump on over and introduce yourself!!  So Kenda...."Welcome to my Nightmare"!! LOL

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Same Ole...Same Ole!! :)

Click on the photo to enlarge it.  Hopefully it will look better enlarged.....?

This is a photo of my 7th Painting.  It was completed in December of 2009 just in time to give to my Mom for Christmas.  As always, I paint in Oils.  Roses are my Mom's favorite flowers.  I painted the Vase in Burgundy, as I remember that was the color of one of her favorite Vases.  I just wish that I had painted the background a different color.  Maybe in Creams??

Hey Ya'll,

Well, my hubby Walt made it home yesterday, just in time to go to lunch.  So we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant here near the RV Park.  They have this plate that I absolutely love.  I love, love, love Enchiladas and Beans.  Normally I would order a 1 Beef and 1 Cheese Enchilada Plate with all Beans and no Rice on the side (I have NEVER been a Rice person)!  LOL  Well, this particular restaurant has a combo plate that has 4 Enchiladas with Beans and Rice!

BUT!  This combo has 1 Beef, 1 Chicken, 1 Cheese and 1 Been Enchilada!  Yes, I said a Bean Enchilada!!  I have never had a Been Enchilada before we found this restaurant, but I love them!  So when we go there I always order this plate, but I usually substitute it with 2 Been and 2 Cheese Enchiladas, with all Beans and no Rice!  Luckily my Walt is as gassy as I am!!  LOL  BUT!  I only eat 1/2 of each type of Enchilada (making it a total of 1 Enchilada eaten), and about 1/4 of the Beans.  Then I take the rest home and I have 3 more meals!!

Then we spent a good part of the rest of the day, cuddling and making kissy face!!  Walt likes to go to bed much earlier than I do, and usually he does, and I stay up.  But last night he wanted me to go to bed with him until he started to fall asleep.  At that time, I got up to watch TV as usual.  Then, he woke up at about 1:30 to use the Bathroom, and told me it was time to go to bed, which I did.  Unfortunately, I wasn't sleepy yet, plus I was having issues with pain, so it was about 5 am this morning before I finally got to sleep!  Then he woke me up around 8 am wanting to play some more!!  LOL  What can I say, when he is gone for any length of time, we like to "cuddle" for a few days!!

Today, we both stayed in our PJ's until about 2:30.  And we wouldn't have gotten dressed then, except that I remembered that we needed to go pick up our mail where we have it delivered.  I had ordered a new Ink Drum for my Printer, and it had arrived today.  So since they are technically closed on Saturdays, I told him that I would get dressed and go with him.  So we did, and while we were out, we decided to eat an early dinner.  We went to our local Pizza Hut and got a pizza for each of us!!  Of course I could only eat one slice of mine.  Plus we had ordered the Cheese Sticks which is really a lite Cheese Bread with Marinara Sauce, YUM!!  So I had 1/2 of one of those too.  And you can bet your bottom dollar that Walt will eat most of my left overs as well as his!!

And get this....we thought our winter weather was about done for the season.  After all, we are in the Desert!!  But it started to snow tonight at 5 pm on our way home!  We already have a light dusting of snow on the ground that is sticking, and we should have at least another 2-4 inches drop over night.  I just love it when it snows!  So long as I don't have to actually drive in it!  I love to look out at it, and watch it fall......

Oh, and the best news of all.......we heard from our CPA yesterday, that he had received our taxes and they looked great!!  He only had a couple of questions that Walt was able to answer over the phone.  Thank You God!!  And he says that we should expect a refund this year.  Which of course we will apply to our first Quarterly pmt that is due next month!!  After all, we are self employed.  :(

So now I can start to research our upcoming trip to Hawaii (assuming we get the time there...), and crocheting again.  And whenever we buy me a small 2'x4' collapsible table (they sell them at Sams Club), then I can start painting again too!!  This is because my small back office is too narrow to be able to paint in comfortably.  It is hard enough to walk between my chair and the Bathroom door just to go to the bathroom, without having my Easel being setup in there.  I can just imagine my being so nervous that Walt would accidentally bump into it trying to walk past.  So I will have to paint in the Living Area.  Even in there, it will be a bit tighter than I like, but....at least I will be able to paint!!

Well, I better go for now, got lots to do....and so little time!!  Till next time.....

Aloha My Friends  :) 

This shows my sketch taped to the wall, and yes, it is a free handed sketch, I did not trace it!!  And if you click on the photo, it should enlarge the photo and you can see the free handed sketch of two of the Roses I did and the sketch on the canvas.  I did trace out the outline of the Roses and Vase, then free handed all of the lines inside.

This is another of the free handed Roses.  This one looks weird because the photo is taken from above looking straight down into the Rose from the top!  I just fell in love with it and had to include it as one of the Roses in the Vase.

And here is a photo showing the top two Rose Buds.  They look much better in the painting than in this photograph, I promise! 

A Big Shout Out To Petra !!

Hey Ya'll,

I just logged in and saw that I had a new Follower!  Her name is Petra.  She is originally from Germany, but is now living in the UK with her hubby and two children.  Like Jo, she is not Banded and is on the WW'S diet and exorcising program.  And she is doing fantastic, so jump on over to her blog, The Constant Battle With My Inner Devil, and give her the support we all can use!  So Petra, "Welcome to my Nightmare"......

Aloha My New Friend  :)

A Warm Welcome To...Jo !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I want to give a big welcome to my newest Follower!  Her name is Jo, and her blog is called: ((((The Tortoise)))) formerly 282.5.  She was not Banded, nor has she had Gastric Bypass Surgery.  She has opted to lose her weight through WW'S, and she is doing fantastic!!  She has lost 80.5 lbs to date, and would have lost more, but she has had some major setbacks with her health in the last 2 yrs.  She is back on track now and losing again!  YEA!!  I have not had the time to read her entire blog as yet (she has made 677 posts!!), but I have read bits and pieces of it, and all of her 2011 posts.  So if you haven't checked out her blog, please do as she can use all our support!!  So Jo, "Welcome to my Nightmare"......

Aloha My New Friend  :)

What A Relief!! And OMG! What A Horrible Sunday!

This is a photo of my 6th Painting.  I painted it for my other BFF Nadene.  She loves Butterflies and Dragonflies.  Well, I am not a big Dragonfly person, but I do love Butterflies, so Butterfly it is!!  It was the first time that I attempted to paint a living thing.  And this was my first flowers as well.  The rose in the corner wasn't too bad....the others, well....LOL  And NO!  This is not a Paint By Number!!  LOL

Hey Ya'll,

Well, I can finally say that the taxes are done and sent off to our CPA!  Now I just hope and pray that he doesn't have too many questions for me regarding them!  Every year I totally stress myself out doing them, and every year I worry that this would be the year that our marriage ended because of them!

Walt and I have been getting along quite well for several weeks without a hint of an argument or problem.  Until Sunday.  However, I must say that Sunday started out being a perfectly fine day, then....it turned out to be one of our worst days.  And I had every intention of blogging about it Sunday night, just to get my feelings out, and my problems off my chest.  But I didn't, I decided to wait until yesterday to do it, so that I could cool down a bit.  Then yesterday came and even though I was still upset, I knew that I wanted to make up with Walt.  So I did the right thing, and e-mailed him a long letter (he was in Sacramento working) telling him about how I felt, and apologized for my part of the problems we had on Sunday.

I got a call shortly after I sent off the e-mail from Walt, and we talked for almost an hour.  You see, on Sunday I was going to take a shower and then we were going to spend some time enjoying ourselves before starting the day (wink, wink).  But because we can't use our shower in our RV at this time, I had to get dressed just to walk over to the showers at the RV Park, then redress to walk back over to the RV.

So I decided that I would rather go to the store first to do our shopping while I was dressed, then come home and spend as much time in bed as he wanted to.  Well, Walt took this to say that I didn't want to make love until that night, as he felt that I was afraid that he would want to make love both that day and night, and that I was trying to get out of one of the times!!!  Well, I told him that that was not the case at all!  If only he had asked me point blank, instead of ASSUMING that that was my intention.  Because of his assumptions, he closed himself off (which he tends to do) and became upset and angry all day, so that nothing I said or did would be right.

Then I had to go and make it worse by getting snippy with him, when he came through my room to go to the bathroom one too many times!!  Now remember, the second Bathroom is back in my small "Office".  And the Office is so small that with my Office Chair in there, I have to turn it sideways so that we can slip between it and the door to get into the Bathroom!  And because we aren't using the front main Bathroom right now, due to a leak somewhere in the system.  My back Bathroom is the only we can use.  And I do understand this, and when you gotta go, you gotta go!

But!!!  This particular time, he came through AGAIN, Just To Blow His Nose!  Now in my defense, let me say this.  We have 2 boxes of Kleenex in the Living Room, with a trash basket there as well to throw them away in, so in my defense.....why couldn't he just blow his nose there???  Instead of forcing his way through my Office again?  And remember, he had been coming through all--day--long.  And I was frantically trying to wrap up the taxes.  And everytime he came through, I had to stop and change my position, then wait for him to finish, so that he could get back out!!!  Am I wrong in thinking he could have blown his bloody nose elsewhere???  Sorry, I just needed to get this off my chest.

Then once they were "done", I gave them to Walk to look over, to make sure that I had everything in the right place, and to see if he thought that I should take something out, or move to another place, etc.  Of course, there were some problems.  And of course, because he was aggravated with me, and mad to boot, then it was the F Bomb this, and F Bomb that, and I was F Bomb worthless, slow, etc, etc, etc.  Which is also why I was so upset, and just wanted to walk away...........and never look back.

But like I said, I gave myself time to cool down and remember why I Love Him!  So when he called me, we talked for about an hour.  We discussed our issues from Sunday, as well as other things that I had mentioned in my e-mail to him that I have been concerned about.  Like will we be able to stay together 24/7 without killing each other??  Walt is talking about quitting his current line of work (which pays very well, but he is sick of doing), and both of us getting our CDL's and going on the "Road" driving cross country together with both of taking turns driving.

We would be "living" in one of those Big Rig Trucks and as you know, there isn't much space in them, especially if you are living in them!!  So talk about no privacy.  And where do we go if we are having "words"???  There is no where to separate ourselves in order to cool off!  Anyway, these are just some of the things that I worry about.

But I am DONE with the taxes except for answering any questions our CPA may have for us.  My stress level has dropped significantly.  I have spent the past two days doing absolutely nothing!!  I even found that I needed to go to bed and take a nap each day for awhile.  I guess my body was more exhausted than I realized, and my body wanted to rest once the stress level dropped.  But I have been Stuck for the last 3 days when I tried to eat.  I guess it is due to the stress I have been under, and hopefully it will ease up now that the stress is lowered.  I am tired of slimming and having acid reflux at night when I try to sleep.

Now before you think the worst of Walt from what I said above, I have to say that when he isn't in one of his moods, etc, he is a very good husband, lover, best friend, etc.  He is very loving and kind, so long as you don't cross him.  Anyway, I digress.  So that I could continue working on the taxes (as he hates to do them), he did 9 loads of laundry for me on Saturday!!  Normally he helps me get the clothes to the laundry room, and get them started, then I finish them and he helps me getting them back to the RV and put away.  But this time he did them himself.  He can be such a great help.  And did I tell you that he does the cooking???

Now to switch subjects TOTALLY....in my past, I used to go to Rock Concerts a lot.  One of the Concerts that I could have gone to and didn't, and now kick myself for not going when I could.  As I can never see them now, was Queen.  I loved them, and the only reason I didn't go was because the only seats that I could have gotten was nosebleed seats.  But I was a seat snob back then, and I didn't want to pay that much to sit that far back.  Now with Freddie dead.....I could never see them in Concert with Freddie, ever!

The reason that I say this is that since about 1990, my music tastes have changed and I now mostly listen to Country, with some Rock and Roll still mixed in.  With a love of Classic Oldies as well, since I grew up listening to it with my Mom.  But another group from my Rock and Roll days that I have never seen and are one of my favorite bands is, Def Leppard.  I would love to see them in Concert.  And to watch Rick Allen play those drums one armed would be something!!  The seats range from $149 for practically front row seats, to $32 for the very back in the grass!

The problem, is that Walt will not spend the money on tickets for a Concert.  And I really don't blame him.  Also, I can't fault his reasoning.  After all, we are going to Hawaii this year (assuming that we can get a week there (we are still waiting to hear about this)).  And we do have to save up our money for our trip.  Especially since if we end up going with our daughter Kat and her husband Elliott, we will be paying for part of their expenses (she expects it!), as well as our own expenses.  Plus the Concert is on September 11th, and since we don't know when we are going to Hawaii yet.  My luck, I would get the tickets, and then the Hawaii trip would be THAT WEEK!!  So I will wait.

Maybe we will luck out and get Hawaii a different week, and Kat will buy my ticket for a birthday present!!  Well, a girl can dream can't she???  Just because Walt won't spend the money, doesn't mean she wouldn't.  Kat is like this.  She is so sweet, that she would think of something like this, knowing that I want to go.  Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.  BUT, I am not going to hold my breath either.  Given the choice of going to Hawaii or to the Concert.  Well.....Hawaii wins hands down!!  I can always listen to Def Leppard on CD!! LOL

Well, now that I have ranted about my bad day on Sunday.  And gave a little more about myself and my fascination with Def Leppard, I should go for now so that I can get this posted!!  Keep your fingers and toes crossed for us that we get a week in Hawaii!!  I can really use the time to relax and enjoy one of my favorite places on Earth!!  I am placing a few more photos below showing how stressed I was.  By Sunday evening my rash was to this level.  Luckily it wasn't my worst breakout, but any breakout is painful, and this was definitely painful.  Till next time.......

Aloha My Friends  :)

Welcome Adorkbl, My Newest Follower !!

Hey Ya'll,

Well I have a problem, since I changed my layout, it is ridiculously hard to edit it, if I made a mistake or have updated info I would like to provide!  So I have discovered that it would just be easier to make a new post.....So here goes.

I have a new Follower, and thanks to Jen from Oregon, I now know her blog information.  So I would like to say welcome to Adorkbl.  She was banded on 1/17/08, and like many of us, has had many ups and downs since her banding.  Her blog link is: Banded Kryptonite.   And Adorkbl, I too have a major weakness for Ice Cream and can totally relate.  So everyone, jump on over to her blog and give her the support we all need!!!  So Adorkbl, "Welcome to my Nightmare".....

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Welcome Adorkbl, My Newest Follower !!

Hey Ya'll,

Well, I just checked back into my blog after a marathon day of finishing our taxes!  But more of that in tomorrows post.  Tonight I want to give a warm welcome to my newest Follower!  Her name is....I don't know.  But it comes up as Adorkbl.  Adorkbl, I would love to Follow you too, but I am unable to find your blog!  If you are willing, please leave me a comment so that I can follow it back to your blog!  So Adorkbl, "Welcome to my Nightmare".....

Aloha My New Friend  :)

My Comments Have Been Fixed!!!

Hey Ya'll,

First off I want to thank Jen from Oregon, letting me know that my Comments had somehow gotten screwed up since I changed my Layout!!!  I am soooo embarrassed about this!  This has never happened to me before!

I checked my blog today, after I got out of bed as usual, to see that I STILL didn't have any Comments!  Then the thought popped into my head, making me realize that something had to be wrong, as my fellow bloggers have always made comments on my paintings, etc.  So I tried to leave myself a comment, and....I COULDN'T!  So I went in and figured out how to make my blog allow them again!  Like I said....I am sooo embarrassed! 

So PLEASE feel free to comment!!!  I love comments!  LOL  Well, I gotta go for now, my hubby is on his way home!!  :)  I want to shower for him so that I smell my best!  Till next time.....

Aloha My Friends  :)

It's Been One Of Those Days.... :(

This is my 4th Painting.  It was completed in June 2009 for my BBF Kelly.  I based it off of my 2nd Painting, that we gave to Kat, but with some changes.  I think that the Palm Trees and their Fronds are better (but still not great), and the foreground still needs some work.  And....in case you haven't noticed, I like Seascapes/Landscapes :)

Hey Ya'll,

Well, today was one of those days that I just should have stayed in bed.  To begin with, I woke up with a Headache.  And as soon as I got out of bed, it started to increase in intensity, until I realized that I was either having one of the worst Headaches EVER, or I was having a Migraine day.  Either way, it was not a good day.

So I took a bunch of drugs and went back to bed, after placing sheets and pillow cases over the windows in the Bedroom to help darken it up!  I just got out of bed a short time ago.  And although I am still not feeling great, I am at least able to function again!  The wind has been blowing wickedly hard here for the past two days, so maybe that has something to do with it!

Anyway, after I got up, I turned on my computer to check my e-mails, and of course I had one from Walt requesting that I call him at our daughter Kat's house.  Well, to make a long story short (I think), Walt drove off to Sacramento on Tuesday morning, and left his Cell Phone.....HERE!!!  So he hasn't been able to call me much.  And the last two nights, Kat has been going out after work until late at night, so he has to wait until she gets home so that he can call me on HER Cell Phone!  LOL  I attempted to call him on their House Phone tonight after I got up, but apparently I have an old phone number for them, and I can't reach him.  So he will have to wait until Kat gets home tonight to call me.

The biggest problem with today, is that I have lost a whole day of being able to work on the taxes.  I am really close to finishing them, but I am not quite there yet.  And let me tell you, once we get past all of this, I am going to start keeping all of our tax info, or anything that MIGHT be able to be used for taxes, in Spreadsheets as we receive it, so that I will have it already at hand at the end of the year!!  I am sick and tired of taxes, so the quicker I can pull them together from now on, the better!!

Well, I better go for now, I am having trouble concentrating, and I am probably rambling.....till next time.....

Aloha My Friends  :)

Do You Like My New Spring Layout??

Hey Ya'll,

Well, I think I finally got my new layout figured out!  LOL  Hopefully this time it works the way it is supposed to!  Above is a photo of my 3rd Painting.  I finished it in April 2009, just in time to give to our oldest Daughter Christa for her Birthday.  It is a painting of Lake Tahoe, based on a photo taken by my Mother In Law.  Her photo won 2nd place in the Nevada Magazine.  I hope that you like it.

Well, Walt is leaving in the morning to drive back to Sacramento again.  He sure isn't looking forward to it!  He hates to sleep alone, and misses me the whole time he is gone!  Bless his heart, as I do him....Oh and did I tell you that his ex-fiance was drunk over the weekend and started texting Walt again???  I can see that this is going to get ugly.....luckily my Walt loves me, and is not interested in being more than a friend to her. :)

Well, my work on the taxes will definitely be done within a day or two, thank god!!!  I am so tired of taxes.  And I have come to the conclusion that I have to stay on top of all the paperwork, and that I need to enter everything into spreadsheets on a monthly bases, so that next year I won't have nearly as tough a time as I had this year.

Well, it is getting late and I have to watch this movie that I borrowed from our Daughter Kat titled, "The Twilight Saga-Eclipse", as she wants Walt to bring it back to her tomorrow.  I have had it for several weeks and hadn't had the time to watch it.  So till next time......

Aloha My Friends  :)

Sorry For The Whacked Out Templet Last Night!!

Hey Ya'll,

I just wanted to say that I am sorry to anyone that tried to view my Blog late last night, from about 11 pm-2 am.  I was attempting to change my Layout to something more Springy.  But PYZAM kept over lapping what I was trying to do!  So I was getting two different images overlapping and it wasn't working!!  So I finally managed to get it back to this layout at about 2 am!  I will try again in another day or two to change it again!!

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Big Shout Out To Jen !!

Hey Ya'll,

Well, it has been some time since I have had a new Follower!  In fact, I had lost 3 recently (but who's counting??)!  So I am really happy to welcome my newest Follower!  Her name is Jen and this is Jen's Blog link: Jen Is Gonna Lose It!.  Jen was Banded on July 30th, 2009, and is doing fantastic!  Get this, she has lost over 90 lbs so far!!!  OMG!  Now if only I can lose the last 30-40 lbs.....Jen, you are my hero!  So Jen, "Welcome to my Nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Still Working On The Bloody Taxes!! :(

This is my 2nd Painting.  I little bit better than the first, but still a long way from great!  LOL  It was completed in Dec 08.  Believe me, it looks better in its frame!

Hey Ya'll,

Well, I have been working feverishly on the taxes, and I am close to being done.  But it is so hard to work on them when Walt is home.  He wants all my attention, but then wants to know why I am not accomplishing much when he is around!!  LOL  Well, I am really close to being done, so if I don't finish them before he leaves for Sacramento, then they will definitely be done by the time he returns!

Today we had planned on going into town, and picking up the mail.  Then doing some light shopping for necessary items, then returning home and working.  Me on the taxes, and Walt on his work related project.  But.....Walt talked to his mother, and found out that she was in the area and agreed to meet us for lunch.  Take a huge guess where she wanted to eat.....if you said at a Buffet, then you would be right!  So we met her at the local Casino's Buffet.

Luckily, both Walt and I ate very responsibly today!  I ate only about half of what I would have normally eaten, even after the Band!!  So I am pleased with myself.  Even Walt only ate about half of what he would have eaten there.  So all in all, it was an expensive lunch, but at least we didn't over eat!

We are still waiting to hear about getting a week in Hawaii through our Timeshare before the year is out.  We would like to get the time in September, so that one of my BFF's could go with us.  But like I said before, she is under such restriction as to when she can go, that it is highly unlikely that we will be able to get a week at that time.  We will probably end up going sometime in October or November.  Which is fine with us, we are not locked into when we can go.  But it would have been nice to go with her.  So if we end up going in October or November, we will probably ask our Daughter Kat and her husband to go with us as they have never been there.

We also found out today that Walt's mom is going to go to Hawaii the last week in December! LOL  She has a Timeshare on Kauai that she has access to Bi-Annually.  So she has decided to go this year, and is now looking for someone to go with her.  The last time she was there was in 2000!  Can you imagine having a fantastic Timeshare in HAWAII and not using it????  Her Timeshare is also a 2 Bedroom/2 Bathroom Condo like ours.  I told her that I would love to go with her.  But then I realized that we are probably not going to be able to save up enough for me to go to Hawaii with her, AND on our own trip!!  That would be paying for Airfare twice plus expenses!  Well, I can dream can't I???  LOL

I just checked into the price of Airfare for a direct flight from Sacramento.  And found out it will cost us somewhere between $700-$982 each (depending on which week we went), and if we flew First Class (which we love to do, when we can afford it), it would be $1420 each!  So....we have to start saving now!  LOL  But I checked into the cost of Airfare for December for Walt's mom, and was surprised to learn that it wasn't that much more expensive to fly in December.  It would be about $960 each.

If we are unable to get the time needed in September, so that our friend would be able to go with us, then we are hoping to get a week during one of the lower priced weeks to fly, in Oct or Nov.  Really, the only bad days for us to fly cost wise, would be departing from Sacramento on Sept 23rd, and returning from Hawaii on Sept 25th.  For some reason, that particular weekend is the most expensive time to fly during the months of September-December!  Go figure....And flying First Class costs the same, no matter what day you fly.....just saying..... :)

Anyway, I am lining up Appointments for the time I will be in Sacramento again.  I will be there from April 11th (PM) and we will be leaving either Thursday or Friday (14th-15th).  So I am planning on getting my hair cut again, since my Hairdresser is there.  And I am hoping to be able to get together with our Daughter Christa, the Grand Kids and my Mom, for lunch while I am there.  Since they are all in the same area, I am hoping to do all of that on the same day.  We will be house sitting at our Daughter Kat's house.  They will be spending time in Monterey, for their Wedding Anniversary.  And she has said that I could use her car while there, so I can go visit my Mom, etc without having to wait until Walt gets home from work.

I am also hoping to meet up with Tracy, from Banded Adventures while there, as we would be close enough to be able to meet up.  Tracy if you read this, let me know if you would be available for Dinner while we are there.  I left you a comment in your last post letting you know which days we are there.  Hopefully this time we can actually make it!!  LOL

And today, Walt told me that he really, really is tired of driving from Sacramento to Nevada every week.  And if his job continues as is expected, then we will probably move the RV back into California nearer his work.  My family would be happy to hear this, so we shall see.... 

Well, I better go for now, till next time.....

Aloha My Friends  :)

I Did It!!! :)

This isn't great, but it is my 1st Painting.  Luckily they get better with each one I paint!

Hey Ya'll,

I can't believe it, I finally broke my all time low since my Surgery by 1.2 lbs!!!  I am now only 3.5 lbs away from the 160's!!!  I am getting so close that I can now taste it.  I haven't been in the 160's for YEARS!!  I have been fighting my band too much, rather than working it like I should have been.  But that was in the past.  I am going to do my best to eat like I should have been eating all along!  If I do, then I should have no problem losing another 25-30 lbs by mid September, right???  That would be an average of 1 lb a week, which should be doable???  That would put me in the lower 140's and close to goal, if not there!  I currently have my goal set at 130 lbs.  But I may not want to go that low, only time will tell.  But I think that if I can get around 140 lbs, I will be very happy!!  :) :) :)

Part of my problem has been that I like to GRAZE!  Especially at night.  And I like to have something to either chew or suck on.  And I have had so much trouble finding anything that is either really low in calories or sugar free, so I end up eating great during the day, then consuming too many calories at night.  But my sweetheart Walt, has found me some sugar free candy while he was in Sacramento yesterday.  And don't tell me that I should be munching on vegetables!  Unfortunately, I am not a vegetable lover!  :(  But half the battle is admitting the problem, the other half (and the hardest) is changing the old habits!  But I vow to do my best!

Nothing else is happening here but tax work, so I will end this for today, I just wanted to shout out my happiness!!  Till next time.....

Aloha My Friends  :)