Hello to Shelley !!!

Hey Ya'll,

I was checking in again, and found that I have a new Follower!  Her name is Shelley, and her blog is called, "Shelley Shrinks".  However, she did not have WLS like the rest of us.  She is from Australia and has been on the Weight Watchers program since January 09, and in this time she has lost a bit over 74 lbs!!  So Shelley, I would like to welcome you to our world of Weight Loss Surgery.  I am fairly new, having only been banded since November 19th, 09, but if you have any questions, just ask.  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

A Big Shout Out To Bonnie!! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I just checked back in and realized that I had another new Follower!!  I started to Follow her blog last night.  She is currently in the Pre-Op Stage, jumping through all of the necessary hoops to reach her goal of Surgery !!

Her name is Bonnie and her blog address is, "Wishing and Hoping and Praying for a Band".  Please everyone, check out her blog and give her the support we all know she can use.

Bonnie, I just wanted to say that I have tried several times to leave a comment in your blog and I am still not able to.  Could you check it out and see if it can be fixed?  I would love to comment on your blog and I am sure that others would too!!  LOL

So, all I have left to say right now is, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :) 

A Shout Out To Julie!! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I just realized that I have a new Follower named Julie!!  I am not positive, but I believe her blog is, "The Wonderful Adventures Of Julie And Sammy"!!  Is this true Julie?  If it is, then I began Following your blog last night.  If this isn't you, then would the real Julie please advise me of your blog information so that I could check it out?  That is assuming you want another Follower!!  LOL  Anyway, so "welcome to my nightmare".  Till next time.

Aloha My New Friend  :)

PS) I just got a confirmation that I had the right Julie!!  So welcome Julie!  And as to the reference to "welcome to my nightmare".  It was part of a song lyric from Alice Cooper (yes, I am that old!).  And it just seems to fit my journey to overcoming my addiction to food!!

New Survey To Take :)

 

This is for all you dog lovers out there!  It reminded me of ET trying to blend in with all the toys!

I found this survey on Jen's blog, "It IS All About Me!".   It looks fun, so I am also filling it out!

Here is what you are supposed to do, change all the answers so that they apply to you.  Have fun and be truthful!

1. What is your occupation right now?   Retired (but working every day for my DH)

2. What color are your socks right now?   Black

3. What are you listening to right now?   The movie, "Fools Rush In" but since it has taken me so long to finish, I am now listening to "The Happening".

4. What was the last thing you ate?   Cheeseburger from Carl's Jr with my DH.

5. Can you drive a stick shift?  Yes, since I was about 12 yrs old.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?   My DH, Walt.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?   Yes, she is one of my blogging friends :)

8. How old are you today?  54

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on tv?   NHRA Drag Racing!!   You could check out my last post to see this for yourself!!

10. What is your favorite drink?   Caffeine Free Diet Coke, but since I can't drink soda much anymore, I drink Sugar Free Cherry Kool-Aid

11. Have you ever dyed your hair?  Yes, but not with Permanent Hair Color, just the Wash In kind.

12. Favorite food?   Do I have to choose just one?  I love Mexican, Italian, etc,

13. What is the last movie you watched?  Apocalypto

14. Favorite day of the year?  Christmas and Thanksgiving!

16. What was your favorite toy as a child?  My bicycle as a kid and my dirt bike as a teenager.

17. What is your favorite season?  Spring and Fall, not too hot or too cold!

18. Cherries or Blueberries?   Neither!  I prefer Strawberries!

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?   Sure, it would be fun to learn more about my fellow bloggers, but make sure you let me know you are e-mailing so I will go check it!

20. Who is the most likely to respond?   I am not expecting anyone to respond, but I do expect some will take this quiz in their own blogs.

21. Who is least likely to respond?   I agree with Jen, people who don't read my blog :)

22. Living situation?   Currently in our home with my DH.

23. When was the last time you cried?   A week ago Friday at my FIL's Memorial. 

24. What is on the floor of your closet right now.   In my office, a ton of Sh**.  I can barely open my closet doors!  In my Painting Studio, a bunch of painting and crocheting crap as well as our luggage.  In our Master Bedroom Closet, nothing!  It is well organized! 

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?   Kelly and Nadene, if I were sending this out as an e-mail.  But since it is in my blog, no one.

26. What did you do last night?  Nothing special, my DH was away for the night, so I did some editing of photos I uploaded, crocheted, listened to TV and posted in my blog, which was really relaxing for me!

27. What are you most afraid of?  Fire, I always joke that I must have been burned at the stake in another life!!  My DH agrees I must have been a witch in another life.

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?   Cheese!

29. Favorite dog breed?  My favorite dog as a teenager was a Boxer (very smart).  But I like small dogs the best like Terriers, etc.

30. Favorite day of the week?  Any day I don't have to work and can do whatever I want to!

31. How many states have you lived in?  (1) I was born and raised in California!  I am a 2nd Generation Californian on my Mother's side of the family and I am not sure about my Biological Father's side, but I believe I am at least a 3rd Generation on his side.

32. Diamonds or pearls?   Diamonds baby!!

33. What is your favorite flower?  Carnations

34. What is your favorite color?   I like so many colors, but I would say that Pink and (Blue) are my favorites!

35. What hobbies do you like to do?   I like to Paint in Oils, Crochet, Read, and Blog.

Done! That was fun...

What Can I Say, I Am A Drag Racing Fan!! :)

 

I am actually NOT feeling this way about my DH today!!  But this photo is on my calendar for February, and I forgot to post February's photo until today!

Hey Ya'll,

Today has been very strange.  Today my DH went to a Super Bowl Party at a friends house in Clear Lake, CA.  This is about a 2 hour drive away and since I decided not to go, Walt decided to ride his Honda Gold Wing motorcycle!  He had planned on riding home after the party, and because of this, he planned on drinking only a couple of beers early in the day, so that he would have plenty of time to be totally sober for driving.   

But, I got a text from him a short while ago, and he is staying the night!!!  He decided that since it is a long winding road, where deer and other animals walk across the road, especially at night.  He decided that it would be best to stay the night, and drive back in the morning.

So this means that I have had the house all to myself, all day and will have it all night tonight!  Don't get me wrong.  I love my DH very much, and we do most everything together.  But I do like the occasional time when I have time to myself.  This is why I was playing with my photos today.  I decided that I needed a vacation day today!  Which means that tomorrow I must get cracking again!!

By the way, I just started to Follow a couple of new blogs today and I made a comment in them to let you know that I was Following you.  However, I was not able to leave a comment on Bonnie's blog, "Wishing & Hoping & Praying For A Band".  So just in case you decided to check out my blog, please know that for some reason, I was unable to leave a comment today.  I will try again later to see if it is fixed.

Well, since I don't have much to say, except that I will be going back up to Reno on the 17th for my 3rd Fill (Lord, please let this Fill be the one that gives me Restriction!!!).  We will be driving up in the 4x4 just in case it is snowing over the Sierra's again, and we will drive up the morning of the 17th.  We will be staying for 2 nights this time, as I have a coupon from the Hotel, two nights for the price of one!  This way Walt can go spend a day with his Mom and help her with his Dad's papers, etc. and we will be driving home on the 19th.

Oh!!  And one last thing!  I just found out today that NHRA Drag Racing is starting up again!!  It starts in Pomona, CA next weekend!!  I can't wait for it!  This is the one "sport" that I actually watch & follow.  Maybe this will be Ashley Force's year to win the Championship!!  I'll keep you posted.  Did I ever mention that Walt actually took my photo with Shirley Muldowney (aka Shirley Cha Cha Muldowney), as well as my getting an autograph from her at the end of the last Season she raced competitively?

This is a photo of Shirley being towed back to the pits after a qualifying run.  She is sitting in the car waving to the crowd.  Her cars color was always Hot Pink, gotta love it!

This is Shirley and myself.  I would like to apologize for the bad photo.  There is a sun spot on my hat and part of my face.  I attempted to remove it, but I may have made it worse!!  Now remember, this is Oct 2003 and she is now 63 yrs old!!!  Can you imagine racing a Top Fuel Dragster pulling approximately 8 G's during takeoff acceleration at age 63?  I wouldn't even want to try it!

And this photo was obviously taken at night to show the raw power they give off.  Look at the plumes of fire coming off these cars!  These plumes of fire is shooting at least 5-6 feet out and the white smoke in the upper left hand corner is what's left of the smoke they produced during the burn out prior to the start of the race!!

Now, just to REALLY bore you to death, here is a short accounting of how fast a dragster could go in 2001 compared to a really fast Corvette!  This is copied from an article I found on NitroFuelers.com.  

Putting all of this into perspective: You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter "twin-turbo" powered Corvette Z06.  Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged and ready to launch down a quarter mile strip, as you pass.

You have the advantage of a flying start.  You run the 'Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph.  The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment.

The dragster launches and starts after you.  You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums and within 3 seconds the dragster catches, and passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter mile away from where you just passed him.

Think about it;  from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 mph and not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race course!   That, folks, is acceleration.

Awesome
JW / Hilliard

Popular Hot Rodding
Oct, 2001

And they have only gotten faster since then.  Well, I better go for now, till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

What A Night!! :)

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist!!  I have been eating a LOT of beans lately, and this is how I feel!!  LOL

Hey Ya'll,

Well, I survived last night!  Once we got outside, my DH said that we could just go for a short half mile walk.  He just wanted to get me out of the house for a bit.  But once we started walking, I decided to go ahead and walk a full mile anyway.  I am sure he was thrilled that I did.  And ultimately, I am glad I did too!  As soon as we started to walk, DH noticed that I was not in the best of moods.  I told him that I was just really tired & feeling overwhelmed!  I also told him that I had just posted a Bitch Post about him to get it off my chest.  He just laughed and said that he hoped it helped.  It did!  Of course, as soon as we got back home, he had to go onto the computer to read it!!  LOL

As for the laundry, I ended up washing 11 loads!!  I couldn't go to bed until the last load was in the dryer, so it was 4 am when I finished.  But because I was so involved in the laundry, I had forgot to get my Bi Pap Machine setup.  So I had to tiptoe into the bedroom and setup my Machine trying not to wake DH!  So it was actually 4:15 when I got into bed and sometime after 4:30 when I got to sleep.  I had e-mailed DH just before I went to bed, to let him know how late it was, and begged him to let me sleep in a bit, as I had been up for over 17 hours and had worked, most of the 17 hours as well!  So he let me sleep in until 12:15 pm!!  This gave me at least 7 hours of sleep.

My DH just got home from getting some parts for the truck, so I need to go & start working again!!  Till Next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)   

Not Much Happening Here!!

 

This is how I feel right now!  Skinned & pissed off!!

Hey Ya'll,

Sorry for the drama!  Not too much happening here, unless you take into account that I have at least 6 projects either underway, or that I am about to begin on!  I have sooo much to do that I am literally spinning.  I have trouble focusing at times like these.  My DH is under the impression that more is better.  He feels that the more he can pile on me to do, the less trouble I can get myself into!!  Unfortunately, when I have too much to do, I just start shutting down...too much to do & not enough time to do it in, means that I am not getting anything done well, or timely.

Right now the only thing that I have to look up to is the crocheting projects I have going.  I am currently making a Baby Afghan for my Niece.  She is due on April 1st & it is a boy!  The other project I am getting ready to start is another Afghan for my Step Daughter Kat & her Husband, Elliott.  These projects gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day!

Today, on top of one of the projects I am trying to finish for DH, I have been doing laundry!!  I have just put in the 6th load of the day & I still have at least, 4-5 more loads to do before I can go to bed!  Luckily, I stay up late anyway.  So I plan out the loads that are louder, like my DH's Levi's, to be done earlier so that they are not clanging in the dryer after he has gone to bed....maybe I should rethink this, in the future & make sure that he doesn't get any sleep either!!!!  LOL  (NOT!!)

Anyway, here it is just about 8:30 pm & I still haven't had the time to eat dinner.  My DH is not letting me get out of doing our nightly walk, even though I am probably getting more exercise by doing all the laundry!  So I am now waiting for him, so that we can get this walk over with, I can get back & eat something, & continue to "do the laundry".  I better get off here, I am becoming Debbie Downer for sure tonight!!!  Sorry for the bitching on this post.  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :) 

A Big Shout Out To Jordan (Fat Bastard Banded) !!

Hey Ya'll,

I just checked in & realized that I had a new Follower!  His name is Jordan, his blog name is: Fat Bastard Banded & he is expecting to be banded in March or April!  Please check out his blog & give him some support!!  His blog address is: http://fatbastardbanded.blogspot.com/.  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

It Was Bound To Happen Eventually!!!

 

Have you ever had one of those days?  Of course you have!!

Hey Ya'll,

Sorry to take so long since my last post.  But with so much going on, and sooo many hoops to have to jump through for a while, I feel really stressed and over loaded.  I have so many things to accomplish, that I feel like I am running around in circles and not getting anything done!!

Anyhoo, I want to tell you about my recent horrible experience!!  As you all know, if you have been reading my blog, we just had my FIL'S Memorial on Friday.  But we had so much food left over!  We of course took it home to eat on.  So Saturday night, I had some of the Chicken to eat.  Unfortunately, I chose some of the worst pieces for a Bandster to eat!  Some of the pieces were fine.  They were from the center of the Chicken & more juicy.  But the other pieces (these were all small pieces), were from the edge of it, where you get the seasoning, hence more flavor.  But it is also the driest area!

After eating them, I realized that I had made a mistake & shouldn't have eaten them!  I was stuck!!!  It hurt.....a lot.  Then I thought that it was going to pass through.  It kind of went back & forth, until finally, it went through!!!  So I thought I was safe!

Then, later on that night (remember that I am up really late every night), I got hungry again.  I remembered that there was One Donut Left, from Friday morning!  I couldn't resist it!  I figured, it would go down easy, like a slider food.  Right?  I WAS WRONG!!!

TMI ALERT!!!  Don't read if you get nauseous easily!! 

Again.....I was stuck!!  But in the past, I was always able to pass it through.  So I elongated my body trying to stretch out my Esophagus so it could slide down easier (thus getting rid of the pain in my chest) & hopefully pass through the Band into my lower Stomach!  Usually this works, but this time....it wasn't.  Then I thought, maybe if I could bring it back up?  I have read on others blogs that if they could bring it up, it was a great relief.

Luckily, my plate was still sitting on my desk next to me.  I leaned over it & opened my mouth & out came a few pieces of the donut with a lot of clear slimy gunk!  Sorry, I don't know how else to describe it!!  It was clear liquid, but kind of slimy!  So I went into the bathroom thinking that maybe I could bring up some more.  I was blowing my nose like crazy & I spit out some more gunk in the sink, but not too much more.  I kept doing this until I finally began to burp!  Once the burping began, I knew that I wouldn't be expelling any more gunk & it was going to pass through!!!  

So I guess you could say that I have had my FIRST PB EPISODE!!  What an accomplishment!  I am glad to have finally experienced it, yet I am hopeful that I will never have to experience it again!!!  Of course, this is wishful thinking and I KNOW that it WILL happen again!!  It is inevitable!!  But I can do my best to not let it happen again.  And luckily for me, it was a relatively easy PB compared to some of the others I have read about!  Mine only lasted about 10-15 minutes, whereas, others I have read about lasted hours!!!

So, yesterday was Walt's 55th Birthday.  Our Daughter Kat & her Husband Elliott took us to dinner at the Claim Jumper restaurant.  The dinner was excellent.  But it was sooo much food!  I only ate about 1/3 of my meal.  So I have food for lunch & dinner tonight!  Then we came home & our other Daughter Christa & her Husband Mark & our adorable Grand Kids, Walker & Emily came over with Walt's Birthday present & a home made cake!!  We knew they were bringing a cake, so we stopped at the store & bought some ice cream to go with it.  So because of this, we had a really high calorie day yesterday!  I haven't even stepped on the scale, I am sure that it is up, not down!!

Well, I better go for now, I need to go to the store.  I am out of my Sugar Free Kool Aid!!  This is my water intake, so I have to go.  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

Survived The Memorial, Now Walt's Birthday!!

 

This is how DH and I feel today!!  Exhausted!!  Tomorrow is Walt's 55th Birthday!!

Hey Ya'll,

Well we managed to make it through yesterday, barely!  The Memorial turned out really nice & we had a nice turnout.  Walt & I arrived at the Church at noon in order to start getting the Reception Hall setup for the dinner.  This took almost 4 hours to do, and we finished with just about 15 minutes left to get ready to go into the Chapel for the Memorial.  Luckily, our Daughter's Christa, Kat & Walt's Sister Susan arrived to help us out!!  Without their help, we would not have finished in time!!


Obviously, once the Memorial was over, we moved the group over to the Reception Hall for the dinner.  This too turned out well, but of course, we easily had at least twice as much food as was necessary!!  But we figured, it is better to have too much food, than not enough!!  And you never know exactly how many will turn up.

But just as I feared, my Mom wasn't feeling well enough to make it!!  She can barely walk anymore & is in constant, severe pain.  Because of this, I am actually glad that she didn't try to make it.  It takes her most of the day to get ready when she does occasionally leave their house to go to the Doctor, etc.  So she would have put on a brave face & tried not to show her pain, while all the while, wishing she were in her own bed!  But I do know that she really wanted to be there, and had intended to be there.  My Dad did come though.  He came with my Brother Kenny, & Sister-In-Law Robin.  My Dad always liked my FIL very much.  My DH, Walt told me that when he was at the Pulpit saying what his Dad meant to him, he could see that my Dad was crying too!!

The dinner went on for quite some time!!  The majority of the guests didn't leave until about 7:30-8 pm!  Then, came the daunting task of cleaning up & getting everything repackaged & ready to take home!  Luckily, Christa & her husband Mark, Kat, Susan & Carolyn helped out!!  Even with so many of us doing the clean up, we still didn't leave until almost 9 pm!!  Then, Christa, Mark & the kids followed us to our house as they were helping out by taking some of the supplies in their van too, due to the rain!!  Walt & I drove there in our truck to accommodate my painting table, so we could use it as an additional table for food, etc & it was too long to fit in my Honda CRV.

After getting to our house, we ended up looking at photos & talking for quite some time & they didn't leave until about 11:30!!  I must say that we were all physically & emotionally exhausted!  But we really did appreciate all the help we got.  We couldn't have done this without them all!!!

I am going to insert some photos now for your viewing enjoyment, but unfortunately, most of them didn't turn out so well!!  And the photos that I was in, I had wanted Walt to take them where they showed more of my body.  Not that I like what I look like, but at least we can start to see any changes in my appearance.  But he forgets & always takes the photos from the chest up.....oh well, here goes.  Oh yea, I almost forgot!  He had changed out of his nice suit without telling me.  I had wanted to have a nice photo taken of the two of us, nicely dressed first!!!  Then, he not only changed, he didn't put on the other nice shirt.  He stayed in just the under shirt, until just before we left!!  So all photos of him are in his undershirt!!  Wahhhh!

You can really see in this photo how my poor Walt & his Mom, Shirley are haggard.  Walt's Nephew Matthew was with them in this photo as well.

 Again, this is Walt & his Nephew Matthew.  If you enlarge the photo, you can see the stress in Walt's face.  He was all red & blotchy in the face all day long.  In fact, many people asked him if he was ok.  They were concerned his Blood Pressure was sky high.  Which of course, we had no idea if it was or not.

Kat & Carolyn (Kat's Mom, Walt's Ex-Wife)!!

My "Sister" Carolyn & I.  Sorry it is out of focus!  It is a point & shoot camera, but photos taken of me by my DH almost always turns out, out of focus!!  This is where I had wished he had taken a longer shot that showed our legs!!  He was far enough away to do it, so I assumed he did until I downloaded them today!!

I only included this photo because it shows a bit more than my chest & face!!  This is my Daughter Christa with me.

Again, Christa & myself.  I 'm not really that much taller than her, but I was wearing shoes with some heal!!  I am actually only 1 inch taller.  Because of these "new" shoes, my feet were killing me by the time we left!  Both Walt & I had been on our feet for most of the day!!!

One of Walt's Sister's, Elizabeth (Betsy) & her Daughter, Maria.

Another of Walt's Sisters, Susan with Carolyn & myself (we call ourselves "The Sisterhood").  I didn't get a photo of Walt's other Sister, Carol as her family left before I could get to my camera.  It was locked away in a closet & I didn't get to it before the guests had left & only a few family members remained.  Damn!

Walt with Betsy & Maria!

Maria with Susan's youngest Son, John.  Her other children had already left.  That open door behind them is the closet where my purse was locked in at.

And last but certainly not least, my Daughter Christa, her husband Mark & my Grand Kids, Walker (9) & Emily (6).

Well, I better go for now, I am tired & have tons to do!!  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Shout Out To DL Swims !!!!

Hey Ya'll,

I just logged in real quick, before we needed to leave for the Memorial, & noticed that I have a new Follower!  Her name is, DL Swims, and her blog address is: "A Journey To Embrace".  I started Following your blog last night, but it will take me a day or two (or three) to read it from beginning to end!  So everyone, please check out her blog and give her the support, that we all need!  Well, I have to go, so..."welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Randomness Questions from Athena's Melting blog :)

Hey Ya'll,

Well, to keep my mind off of what is happening tomorrow (my FIL'S Memorial), I am taking this quiz that I found on Athena's blog, "Athena's Melting".  It is cute & not too time consuming!

Randomness:

FOODOLOGY

*What is your salad dressing of choice?  Honey Mustard

*What is your favorite sit down restaurant?  The Outback (I'm a Meat & Potatoes girl)

*What is your favorite fast food restaurant?  Carl's Jr

*What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?  Spaghetti with Meatballs

*What are your pizza toppings of choice?  Pepperoni and Pineapple (I love the sweet with the spicy)

*How many televisions are in your house?  5

*What color cell phone do you have?  White with Purple inside

"PATTOLOGY":

*Are you right-handed or left-handed?  Right

*Have you ever had anything removed from your body?   Uterus

*What is the last heavy item you lifted?  I'm not allowed to life heavy items (Spinal Condition)

*Have you ever been knocked unconscious?   No

*Have you ever fainted?  No, but have come close many times!  So many times in fact, I know the symptoms & sit or lay down before it is too late!

DookOLOGY:

*If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?  Depends, if it is from a long illness, maybe, if from an accident, probably not.

*If you could change your name, what would you change it to?  Christa, which is why I named my Daughter, Christa!

*How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?  4

*Last person you talked to?  My DH, Walt

FAVOLOGY:

*Season?  Spring and Fall (usually not too cool or hot)

* Holiday?  Christmas

*Day of the week?  It used to be Saturday, but since I am retired, any day is a good day!

*Month?  Any month that is not too hot or too cold!

* Color?   Favorites are Pink & Blue, but I love lots of colors!

* Drink?  In Soft Drinks, it is Caffeine Free Diet Coke, other wise it is Sugar Free Cherry Kool-Aid

CURRENTOLOGY:

*Missing someone?   My Grand Mother

*What are you listening to?  TV, also known as, white noise.

*Watching?  Listening to the movie, "The Happening".

Worrying about?   Will I EVER get RESTRICTION?  Life, Death, Finances, etc, etc, etc.

*What's the last movie you saw?  At the theater, "Old Dogs", on TV, "Apocalypto" (which is fantastic by the way).

*Do You Smile often?   As much as I can

*If you could change your eye color what would it be?   My hair is Blond (kind of, if you don't count that it is getting darker each year, AND GRAYER!!) my eyes are Blue, but I always thought that Blonds with Brown eyes were special.

*What's on your wish list for your birthday?  Probably either Painting supplies or Crocheting supplies.

*Can you do push-ups?   Not even if my life depended on it!!

*Can you do a chin up?   Ditto from above!!

*Does the future make you more nervous or excited?   More Nervous

*Have you been in a Car wreck?   Yes, totaled 2 cars!

*Have you caused a Car wreck?   No!!

*Do you have an accent?   Sometimes...I start speaking like my Southern Family members.  Also if I am in an area long enough, where there is a strong accent spoken, like the East Coast, I will begin to pick it up & talk like they do!!

*Last time you cried?   When my FIL died.  I cried most of that day & part of the next day as well!

*Plans tonight?   No!!  But then again, it is 10:45 pm!  Actually, my plan is to try to get to bed by 1 am since we have so much going on tomorrow with my FIL'S Memorial.

*Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?   A few times.

*Name 3 things you Bought yesterday?   Food for the Memorial

*Met someone who changed your life?  Yes, my amazing Mom, my Step Dad (he raised me from birth & never made me feel like I wasn't his daughter by birth), my Daughter Christa (from the moment she was born), my Grand Mother (Mama Myrt), and my DH, Walt.

*For the better or worse??   For the Better!!

*How did you bring in the New Year?  In my pj's reading blogs.

*Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?  I always felt like I belonged in another time, or at least that I had lived in another time!!  But I do like the conveniences of the present!!

*Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?  Yes

*What songs do you sing in the shower?  I don't!

*Have you held hands with someone Today?  Yes, my DH!  We always hold hands!!

*Who was the last person you took a picture of?   My DH, of course.

*Are most of the friends in your life new or old?   I have new and old friends.

*Do you like pulpy orange juice?   Yes

*What is something your friends make fun of you for?   That I always know where the Bathroom is, where ever we go!!

*Last time you ate peanut butter and jelly?   Before my Surgery

*What were you doing 12 AM last night?  Crocheting (finishing my hat I started while driving up to Reno last weekend)!

*What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?  Boy that Bacon sure smells good!!  My DH was cooking Bacon for the meal after the Memorial tomorrow.  But I usually think, it is too early to get up!!!

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow & an even better weekend!!! 

Aloha My Friends  :)

It's Hot In Here!!!!!

This is how I feel right now!!

Hey Ya'll,

Well tomorrow afternoon, is the Memorial for my FIL.  What this means is that, my MIL arrived yesterday & stayed the night last night with us.  She will also be staying the night with us tonight as well.  Now under normal conditions, having a MIL stay with you wouldn't be so bad.  But my MIL, bless her heart, is a bit on the crazy side & can only be tolerated in small doses.  LOL

Don't get me wrong, I love her, but she is not an easy person to be around for very long.  Last night, we forgot that she likes to have her house temperature set at around 80-85 degrees, even in the Summer!!  So she didn't "sleep very well".  So this morning, my DH informed me that he was raising the house temperature to about 68 degrees!!  We normally keep it at 58-63 degrees at night.  This means that I will wake up totally stuffed up in the morning!!  I can't sleep well if it is too warm!  So we have two totally different sleeping preferences under one roof.  And of course, we will give our guest her preference.

Luckily, she will be staying the following two nights at my SIL'S house (Friday & Saturday).  Then she will go stay at her Sister's house on her way home.  Like I said, I love her, but it is hard having her stay here.  It totally disrupts our routine.  Normally, we don't have any problem having guests stay with us.  But she is extremely eccentric & things must be the way she likes it.  We are just so glad that she didn't bring her dog with her.  We would not have allowed that dog to stay in our house!!

And for you dog lovers out there, don't take this the wrong way.  We both love dogs, but this particular dog is unlovable to anyone except to my MIL & now, deceased FIL.  This dog hated everyone else & would actually bite you when you tried to visit them, if they didn't keep her on a leash or in her crate!!!  She did bite my DH once & my BIL quite a few times!!  So the photo is me.  Not very happy & trying to hide in my office as much as I can!!

I also wanted to say that my DH & I are planning on making a major change in our lives.  It will take about 4-6 Months to fully execute, but we have a lot of steps to go through to do this.  I will elaborate further at a later time.  Please just be aware that because of this, there are a lot of things that I need to get accomplished between now & then, so most of my time will be taken up doing those things.  Meaning that I will not have enough time in the day to be able to fully keep up on everyone's blogs!!  This is the part that I hate! 

I will be lucky if I can read most of them on a daily basis.  But to actually be able to read them & most importantly be able to comment on them, will be next to impossible!!  So please be aware that I will do my best to try to keep up, but I may not be making many comments for awhile!!  I love you guys & hate to not be able to let you know that I am still here in blog land!!!  Well, I have to go for now, we need to go.  Till next time!!!

Aloha My Friends  :(

We're Back !!! Found A Great Distraction !!!

Hey Ya'll,

Well we made it back from Reno easily today.  It was originally supposed to snow quite a bit today, but luckily it stopped shortly after we left.  At first they had chain restrictions on for anyone driving over the Sierra's, unless you were in a 4x4 or AWD with snow tires.  But they lifted the restriction about the time we got to the Summit so we were lucky, again!  We were expecting snow all the way back!!

However, I forgot to mention in my earlier post from Saturday, that I found a fantastic distraction for while we are driving the Sierra's.  I had brought my crochet bag with me so that I could do some crocheting if I got bored, but Walt had packed it in the back seat area of the truck!  But since we were in such horrible traffic on the way to Reno over the Sierra's.  Meaning that at that time, we were completely stopped (as in NOT MOVING)!!  I had made the comment that I wished I had my crochet bag up front with us. 

When I mentioned that I wished that I had thought to keep my crochet bag in the front with me.  Walt, bless his sweet heart, got out of the truck, opened the rear door & handed me my crochet bag!!  So I began making myself a hat!!  I just wish that I had thought of this years ago!!  Walt wishes this too!!  It was the most relaxing trip we have made yet!!  I was too busy keeping my eyes on my work, that I barely noticed the road at all!!  This helped me, by not making myself a nervous wreak & helped Walt, by me not constantly riding his ass for driving too fast, etc.  He has decided that he wants me to bring something to crochet every time we drive any distance in the future!!  LOL

Well, I better go for now.  I am really tired all of a sudden.  I am afraid that I am now 2 days behind in reading your blogs & by tomorrow, it will be 3 days behind!!  Walt has so much stuff for me to do, that I may not get caught up for some time now.  We're talking weeks or worse!!  But I will at least try to read the blogs even if I don't have much time to actually comment on them all!!  You know how it is, once you get behind, you are always behind!!  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Shout Out To Maree !!

Hey Ya'll,

I wanted to give a big shout out to Maree!!  Her blog is actually a dual blog with her sister!!  Their blog is called "Sisters Banded Together".  And they were banded together!!  Maree is from New Zealand.  They were banded in November 09 about a week before me, & I would like to say thanks for Following me!!  I have started Following your blog as well!!  Everyone please check them out!!  So..."welcome to my nightmare".

A Warm Welcome To Jordan !!

Hey Ya'll,

I wanted to say welcome to Jordan!!  First off, I would like to thank you for Following me, & if you would be willing to provide your blog information, I would love to Follow you as well!!  So..."welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

It's Done !!! :)

Hey Ya'll,

Well, today we walked over to the Surgeon's office from our Hotel.  Luckily it is only about 2 blocks away, so we thought it would be a nice walk, as it had stopped snowing here in Reno by then.  After leaving the Doctor's office, we took a long walk back to the Hotel so we ended up walking about a mile today.  And this is not counting the walking inside the Casino, back & forth to our Hotel room.

Anyhoo, after I was weighed, the Nurse said that I was below "The Number", so she was really happy!  Meaning that I was officially under 200 lbs.  I was a bit over 200 lbs the last visit, & in fact, I was afraid that I had gained weight since my last visit.  I lost 3.8 lbs, so that means that I lost almost a lb a week!!  Considering how much I have been eating, I was sure that I had gained weight!!  So I am doing the happy dance right now!!!  And this is fully clothed, except for my shoes, which I always take off to weigh myself.

The PA seemed happy about this as well.  She was so happy about it in fact that she was only planning on giving me .5 cc's today!  But when we told her that I had NO RESTRICTION, & could eat anything I wanted including bread, steak, etc!!  Walt said how about 4 cc's.  She just about had a heart attack.  So I said how about 2 cc's.  She said, how about 1 cc, LOL.  I agreed to the 1 cc after she said that she hates to give too much at one time, as the stomach tends to swell after a Fill & she is afraid that with me living so far away, it wouldn't be good if I needed an Unfill.  So we agreed, & this now puts me at 4 cc's in a 10 cc Band.

However, it is obvious that from now on, I will not get more than .5 cc's at a time, because I will be getting much closer to what they consider the "sweet spot".  Which she says can be anywhere from about 4-6 cc's for most people.  When we asked how soon I could schedule my next Fill for.  At first she said 4 weeks from today.  Then Walt said what if this Fill isn't doing me any good?  So she agreed to let me set my next Fill for 3 weeks away.  So my next Fill is Tuesday the 16th of February.

So far I can't tell any difference, yet again!!  I know that I am supposed to be on liquids for the first 24-48 hours.  But, since I was eating the day after Surgery, I went ahead & ate dinner tonight.  I just made sure to eat items that I knew would be easily swallowed & tolerated.  I was able to eat at least twice the amount that I should be able to eat, before I felt satisfied.  But of course, I still ate way less than half what I would have eaten pre-band!!  So again, I have to try to control my portions through will power as I appear to not have any Restriction!!!  Unless of course it kicks in later, which as we all know, is a possibility.  Lets hope so!

While we were out & about getting dinner, we were trying to decide where to go eat.  We didn't want to leave the Hotel so we were choosing from all the restaurants, buffet's, etc.  Walt wanted to go towards the El Dorado's choices, but I knew that if we went that way, I would want a piece of my favorite cake they make there!!  And I told him this.  In which he replied, if I let you get cake, does that mean we can have sex???  I tell you, this is about all he has had on his mind lately!!  I told him that 2 nights in a row was enough!!  I am not a spring chicken anymore!  LOL

Anyway, if anyone is still reading this, I would like to request that you go check out a new blog I found today!!  Her name is, Banderific Beauty & her blog address is: banderificbeauty.blogspot.com.  She is being Banded on February 11th & could use our help & support.  She is feeling a bit lost as her friends are tired of hearing her talk about the Band & she has questions.  Well, I should get off here, my DH wants to use the computer too!!  Till Next Time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Shout Out To A New Follower, Banderific Beauty !!!

Hey Ya'll,

I just got back from the Doctor's office a bit ago & noticed that I have a new Follower!  Her name is Banderific Beauty & her blog address is: http://banderificbeauty.blogspot.com/ (My Journey Into A New World).  Her Surgery is scheduled for February 11th!!  So everyone please pop on over to her blog & give her some support!!

She has some questions that I am sure between all of us, we should be able to answer for her!!  LOL.  I tried to start Following your blog Banderific Beauty, but I have since found out that your site is undergoing some problems & I would have been your 7th Follower, so I will attempt it again later tonight!!  But rest assured, I will be Following your blog as well!!  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

A Shout Out To A New Follower, Work In Progress (Nerolid) !!!

Hey Ya'll,

I just spotted a new Follower, her name is Nerolid!!  I would love to Follow your blog as well, assuming that I am not already Following you!!  If you would please respond & provide me your blog address, I would love to check it out!!  So..."welcome to my nightmare".  Till next time.

Aloha My New Friend  :)

P.S.) I just found out that her blog address is: http://shesaworkinprogress-workinprogress.blogspot.com/

She will be banded soon, so please check out her blog & give her the support she needs!!!

Tomorrow Would Have Been A Beeautch!!

Hey Ya'll,

Well, we are back in Reno again, and we have just returned from eating dinner.  So now we are back in our room nice and comfortable in our pj's, and I just checked the weather for the next couple of days, to see when the best time would be to head back over the Sierra's home.  Walt wanted to drive home right after we get out of my Fill appointment.  But that wouldn't be until at least 1:30 if not 2 pm.  And I really wasn't looking forward to driving over that late as the roads could get icy later in the day, as the temps start dropping and the roads get all shaded over from the trees and mountains.

So...luckily for me, the weather looks to be the worst tomorrow!!!  I first checked our area at home, as it is the pre-programed link.  And it showed Heavy Rain!  So, if it is raining heavily where we live, then the Sierra's is usually pretty bad.  So next I checked weather for Truckee as it is the only big town going over the Sierra's, on I-80 near the Summit, where the snows are worse.  Truckee is in California, but it is on the Nevada side of the Sierra's.  And Truckee is expecting Heavy Snow!!!  Which means that the Summit could potentially be even worse as it is a bit higher in elevation, and the storms are usually worse on the California side!!! 

So....Walt agreed that it would be too rough to drive over (Assuming they even allow it.  Often, when it is snowing this bad, they close the roads to traffic).  Tuesday is still supposed to be snowing, but it is listed as Snow Showers (which is what it was when we drove here), so it should be ok with a 4x4.  But in case they upgrade the storm on Tuesday to be worse, we still have a room reserved for Tuesday night & Wednesday is supposed to be clear of rain or snow!!!

So, other than watching the weather constantly for any changes, not much else is happening.  Except for Tomorrows 2nd Fill Appointment!!!  Yea!!  Cross you fingers & toes that the NP gives me a decent Fill!!  I am only at 3 cc's & it is doing NOTHING for me!!  LOL  I will keep you posted tomorrow as to what I got.  So, till tomorrow.

Aloha My Friends  :)