A Big Shout Out To Drazil !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I was just checking in and noticed that I had lost one Follower, but gained another!!  So I have evened out!  To whoever decided not to Follow me anymore, I am sorry if my blog was not what you expected it to be.  To Drazil, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WANTING TO FOLLOW ME!!

Anyway, my new Follower is....drum roll please....Drazil!  And her blog is, It's Just Me, Drazil & Sheniqua....  Please check out her blog, it is gorgeous and hilarious!!  So Drazil, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

A New Do Tomorrow!!

 

This is probably what I will look like tomorrow!!

Hey Ya'll,

I am getting ready to go to bed but I wanted to make a quick post regarding what I am doing tomorrow!  I am finally getting my hair cut!  Walt hates my hair short, and I hate my hair long!  I have very thin, fine hair that doesn't look good no matter what I do.  The only time it looks decent is if I have my hair styled professionally.

My whole life, I have never been what you would call a girly girl.  I never wore makeup.  At first because I just didn't want to mess with it, so I always told my friends who asked in school, that I was allergic to the makeup, and they left it alone.  When I did start to wear it in my 20's, I quickly found out that I was indeed allergic to it!  And I was wearing the Dermatologist preferred, no perfumes, etc type of makeup.  Not an inexpensive brand by any means!

Anyway, I finally convinced Walt to let me cut my hair again.  It will definitely be above the shoulders.  But how short, only my hairdresser knows!!  It won't matter anyway, because I Can't Work With My Hair!!  And since I am losing it by the handfuls right now, I don't want to further damage it by getting a fresh perm, so it will be what it will be.  But at least it won't be in my face all the time!!  If I get up the nerve, I may post a photo of it.  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Warm Welcome To Kim !!!

Hey Ya'll,

I have another new Follower!!!  Her name is Kim and her blog is, My Pursuit Of Skinnyness.  She is in the final 2 weeks, until her Surgery on March 11th and her Surgery is to be done in Denver, CO.  She could use our support right now, please check out her blog and give it to her, like no other group can!!!  So Kim, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

I Would Like To Welcome Carmen !!

Hey Ya'll,

I was just checking in after painting today and found that I had another new Follower!  Her name is Carmen, and her blog is, I'm With The Band.  She was just banded on February 23rd, and could use some support.  Please check out her blog and welcome her to band land!!  So Carmen, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

A Big Shout Out To Mary/Cat !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

Just checked in and saw I had a new Follower!  Her name is Mary (Cat) and her blog is, Band Me I'm Ready.  She is in the early stages of getting approval, as her Insurance requires a 6 month Nutritional/Diet program first.  So she could use the help and support to keep her spirits up during this long wait, so please check out her blog and give her some support!  So Mary, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Help A New, Pre-Op Bandster!!

 

We can all be there for her, right?

 Hey Ya'll,

I was just reading the comments from the latest posts I made last night, and found a comment from a new blogger.  Her name is Marie and her blog site is, The Unknown Bander.  She has been going through a ton of stuff for 3 years, trying to get banded!!  She is finally about a month from Surgery and has just began blogging.  She could really use our help and support, so please check out her blog!!  :)  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends :)

Back By Request, My Paintings :)

Hey Ya'll,

I also had requests from a few of you to see my paintings.  I posted them wayyy back in December, but I am re-posting them so that no one has to go searching the hundreds of posts to find it!!  LOL  So, without further ado, here they are!  Please remember that I am a beginner & I only began painting about 1-1.5 yrs ago & I have only completed 7 Paintings & I would like to think that I get a bit better with each one (with the exception of one).  I also am in the process of painting 3 others.  I will post a photo of each for your critique.

This is my first completed painting, which my Mother and Father-In-law wanted as soon as they heard that I was painting it.  I loosely based it on a photo from a Calendar.

My second painting, that I gave to my Step-Daughter Kat.  This was loosely based on a painting I saw in our local Aaron Bros.  Everyone that saw it, says they liked my version better.  I have since tried to get Kat to let me redo the Palm Fronds, but she will not have it!  She likes it the way it is.

My third painting.  It was based on several photographs of Lake Tahoe taken by my Mother-In-Law & seamlessly pieced together by my Father-In-Law.  The photo took 2nd place in Nevada Magazine.  It should have taken first.

My fourth painting that I loosely based on Kat's painting, with some changes.  This painting was for one of my BFF's Kelly.  

My fifth painting.  Also based on the Lake Tahoe photo.  I like the mountains & rock in the foreground better, but I didn't do as well on the reflection in the lake, & I think the colors in the original painting matches the photograph better.  I am still trying to learn how to do reflections!!  This painting was for our friend Jerone, who was our Flight Instructor.

Here is a photo showing the actual Framed Photograph of Lake Tahoe on top, then the two paintings based on it.  Christa's in the middle, & Jerone's on the bottom.  Here you can really see the difference in the colors between the two paintings.

My sixth painting that I painted for my other BFF Nadene.  She requested a Butterfly, so this was my first attempt at something other than water & sand!!  I wanted to test paint a Rose that I placed in the right hand corner, for Mom's painting.

And of course, my Mom's Rose Vase.  It is my seventh painting.  This one I used photographs of different Roses & pieced them all together.  I know the leaves are horrible, but what the hell, I am not very good at leaves yet.  I forgot to take a photo of it in its frame before we gave it to my Mom.  I chose this background color as it is one of her favorite colors.  And Roses are her favorite flowers.  I Love You Mom <3

This shows some of the sketches I did of a few of the Roses, and the actual sketch of the Rose Vase that is taped to the wall.

This photo is of the the sketches I have made for our friend Aggie's painting.  Walt said that Aggie wanted a painting of flowers, since I love Plumeria Blossoms, I have chosen to paint them.  I just hope she likes it.  And I hope it turns out at least half as well as it has the potential to be.

And this is a painting in progress.  It will be for my Daughter Christa.  It is based on her photograph that she took of the California Coastline, North of Monterey.  The photo is of course on the left, and my painting is on the right.  I still have manyyyy hours left on it.  But someday it will be finished!!  I promise Christa!!

And this is the start of my latest painting (or work in progress).  It will also be based on the Lake Tahoe photograph, but much larger!  About twice the size in fact.

So far, I have yet to get to keep one of my paintings!  Anyway ya'll, I need to get to bed soon, so I need to get off here and start getting myself working towards bed.  Hopefully I will be in bed by 3:30 this morning, which will be earlier than the last two nights!  Till next time....

Aloha My Friends  :)

By Request, Photos Of Some Of My Crocheted Items

Hey Ya'll,

I have had some requests for pictures of my Crocheted items.  So here is some of my work.  Some good, some not so good, but something I enjoy doing, and I am getting better at it.  Especially since I only had two short courses of instruction about 33 yrs ago!

This was an Aran Afghan pattern that was supposed to be done in a single color, I chose to make it more difficult, and work it in two colors!

This Afghan I made for my BFF, Nadene.

From this point on, all Afghans made were done with double yarn which made them very large, and heavy!  Also, all of the Afghans made after the Aran one, were made by request of the person and they chose the pattern and colors!!

I made this Afghan for my SIL, Mark.

Another view, it was folded in half length wise, meaning that it was almost big enough to fit the top of a Double bed at least!  As are most of the Afghans made with the double yarn.

This one was made for my DD, Kat.  It too was doubled over.

Another view of Kat's Afghan showing the detail.

This one was for my DD, Christa.

A bit closer photo.

This one was for my DS, Russ.  It was in Purple and Peach.  He picked out the colors, and no, he swears he is NOT GAY!  Definitely not the two colors that I would have put together!!  LOL

A closer look. 

This one was for my BFF, Kelly.  Her favorite colors are purple, so I made it in two tones of purple.

Closer look at the stitches.

This one was for my SIL, Elliott.  His favorite color is Blue.

A better view I think.

My first pair of slippers, that I made for my Mom.

My Granddaughter Emily's Hat.

A hat for my Grandson Walker.

A hat for our friends son, Sam.

A hat for someone who used to be our friend, David.

And this hat and scarf was made for my BFF, Nadene.

So that's it guys!  You are probably sorry you asked!  LOL  I forgot to take photos of a couple of the scarfs I made and another pair of slippers and hat, though.  What did you think of the bears being my model for the hats?  Well, I better go for now, I need to get back to work!!  Till next time....

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Reprint Of My 3 Month Photo Comparison's

Hey Ya'll,

This is a reprint of my 3 Month photo comparison post, for any who didn't see it the first time around.  This way the photos are shown with the new Measurements in the prior post. 

 

3 Month Photo Comparions :)

  

This is me at 3 Months Post-Op.  Comparison photos, below.

  

  

Well Ya'll,

Here you have my 3 Month Post-Op photo comparisons.  Unfortunately, it was a bit too cold to wear the same outfit that I wore in the Pre-Op photos as they were taken in late October!  I will try to wear the same outfit in my next set of photos, so the real comparison can be seen.  Because of this, I'm afraid that you can't see much difference.  

But, I must tell you that the pants that I am wearing in my new photos, are a size 14.  Pre-Op I was wearing size 18's!  And I didn't realize how baggy my behind area is in these pants!  And here I thought I was looking good in these pants!  LOL.  My top is now a bit too big I think.  If you look closely, you can see where my top shifted to far to the side baring my bra strap.  And you would think that my DH would advise me of this so that I could correct it!  Yea right!!

By the way, this has nothing to do with this, but I just saw a commercial on a particular product which I had tried a few weeks ago, and decided that I just had to warn you about it!  The product is called V8-V-Fusion.  It is supposed to give you a serving of Fruit and Vegetables in each serving!  Well, I love V8 Juice so I thought I would try it.  I figured, it could help me get in some more fruit & vegetables without too many calories.  Well....I hated it!!  My DH had to drink it for me.  He didn't really like it, but he didn't dislike it as much as I did, and we hate to just waste money, so he drank it!!  Some may love it, I just wanted to give my opinion on it.

 

  

  

Give me the news, good or bad what you honestly think.  Can you see any improvement?  Well, I will be posting another post a bit later.  It will be longer though, so I decided to separate the subjects into separate posts.  So, till later.

Aloha My Friends  :)

3 Month Post-Op Comparisons :(

 

Is it safe to look?

Hey Ya'll,

Well, I am only about 10 days late in posting my 3 Month, Post-Op Measurements.  At least they are finally being posted!  I haven't lost much weight since Surgery, but at least I have lost some inches.  Not too many, but a loss is a loss, right?  Well, without further ado, here they are!!

                                 Before        Month      Month       Change Since

                                Surgery           1               3                Surgery

Breast                        50.0"          47.5"        47.5"              -2.5"

Under Breasts           43.0"          40.5"        40.0"              -3.0"

Waist                         48.0"          42.5"        42.5"              -5.5"

Hips                          50.0"          47.5"        46.0"              -4.0"

Upper Arms     
(L)                            17.5"          16.0"        15.0"              -2.5"
(R)                            17.0"          17.0"        16.0"              -1.0"

Forearms         
(L)                            11.5"          10.5"         10.0"             -1.5"
(R)                            12.0"          11.0"         11.0"             -1.0"

Upper Thighs  
(L)                            26.5"          24.5"         24.0"             -2.5"
(R)                            27.5"          25.0"         24.5"             -3.0"

Calves             
(L)                           16.5"          15.5"          15.5"            -1.0"
(R)                           16.5"         15.75"        15.75"          -0.75"

Ankles             
(L)                           10.0"           9.0"            8.5"             -1.5"
(R)                            9.0"            8.5"           8.25"           -0.75"

Neck                        18.0"          17.0"         16.5"            -1.5"

Total inches lost to date is, 32!!  Not great, but not too bad either.  After all, a loss is a loss!  LOL  

Well, I have been very busy lately with tons of paperwork!!  Every time I begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, my DH piles a ton more requests on me!  Sometimes I think that I will never make it to the end of the tunnel!  But!  I do know that the worst of my never ending chores will be done within 3-4 months!!  Thank god!  Now lets hope that I make it till then. :(

For down time, so I can relax from the never ending work.  I am still working on my Nieces Baby Afghan as well as my Step Daughters Afghan.  Plus, I have begun another painting.  I am still working on Aggie's painting, but I needed to start on my next painting, so that I can finish it before we potentially move to a place where I won't really have the space to work on it.  

This painting will be my largest painting to date and is another variation of my MIL'S Lake Tahoe Photo.  This painting will be about 2'x4'.  It was supposed to be our painting, but if we downsize like we planning on doing, then it will be wayyy toooo biggg forrr ussss!!  LOL  So we are planning to give it to DH's employer so they can hang it in their office.  Aggie, if you are reading this, don't tell Barry as it is supposed to be a surprise!!  Because who knows, Walt may not be willing to give it up!!  Anyway, I better go, I have a TON of work to do!!  So, till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

 

 

A Big Shout Out To Robin !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I was checking in and found a new Follower!!  Her name is, Robin and her blog is, "Robin's Band Theory".  She was banded on July 22, 09, but has just started blogging!!  She lives in the beautiful State of Colorado and has lost 64.2 lbs so far!!  The best part is....I was lucky enough to be her 13th Follower!!  But she could use some more great Follower's!!  So please check out her blog and give her the support we all need!!  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

A Big Shout Out To Aimme Jo !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I just checked in and found I had a new Follower.  Her name is, Aimme Jo and her blog is: "This Life, This Lap Band, This Experience".  She has been banded since Aug '09 and doing great!!  Please check out her blog and give her the support we all need!  So "welcome to my nightmare", Aimme Jo.

Aloha My New Friend  :)

New Look, What Do You Think?

 

Nothing special, just thought it was cute!!  :)

Hey Ya'll.

I have spent a good part of today redoing the look of my blog!  I can't tell you how many different times I redid it!!  But I wanted something different for a change.  However, if it is too difficult to read, let me know and I just may change it back!! 

I know how hard it can be to read blogs sometimes, when the colors or font isn't right.  The worst for me, is when the font is barely readable because the background color is too dark.  For me, my blog font is almost too small for me to read without my glasses right now!!  But the font is as large as I can make it.  But I do love the background photo.  The flowers in the header portion, is a photo that I took myself.

Well, not too much happening right now except for the ever consuming work that we are doing right now to try to get to our goal.  I will explain more at a later post.  But it probably won't be for another 3-4 months.  I am crocheting again at night.  I am making some Christmas gifts as well as making my Step Daughter Kat, another Afghan that she requested.  It is actually going pretty fast and will be finished in a couple of weeks at most.  Now remember, I am only working on it late at night for a few hours each night.

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

Aloha My Friends  :)

This Is Unbelieveable, Another New Follower, Nazran!!

Hey Ya'll,

Just checking in and saw that I had another new Follower.  His name is Nazran, however I don't know his blog address.  If you would like to provide your blog information, I would love to check it out!!  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

I Can't Believe It! Another Shout Out! This Time To Maria!!

Hey Ya'll,

I would like to say welcome to my newest Follower!  Her name is Maria, but unfortunately that is all I know.  She came in with a Silhouette picture and no blog information when I tried to pull it up!  So Maria, if you would like to let me know what your blog address is, I would love to check it out and start Following you too!!  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

A Big Shout Out To Jacquie !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

I just checked in and saw that I had another new Follower!  Her name is Jacquie and her blog is, "Can't Wait To Lose It With The Band".  She is Pre-Op, and will be Banded in Mexico on March 24th!  So please check out her blog and give her the support she needs right now!!  Especially those that have had their Surgery in Mexico!  I'm sure she could use all the information she can get regarding your experiences having your Surgery out of the Country.  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

Beautiful Blogger

Hey Ya'll,

I just read Banderific Beauties post, and it was an eye opening read!  Everyone should check it out.  She has survived so much through her young life, and has come through so much stronger.  But she could use all of our support, as she just had her Surgery on Feb 11th.  Here is a link to her blog, "My Journey Into A New World....".

So, I would like to nominate her for a great big Beautiful Blogger Award!!!  Thanks for reading my post, and I hope that you check her's out too.

Aloha My Friends  :)

The Girls Have Dropped!!!

 

Nooooooooo!!!!!

Hey Y'all,

Well the first thing I want to say is that I got my letter from the Radiologist regarding my Mammogram/Ultrasound and......it's NORMAL!!  Yea!!  So I guess that Vanessa and Band Groupie was right!!  Since they switched to the new/better equipment, they wanted to make sure they got good digital pics to compare with the past Mammograms, and for future reference regarding any changes!!

BUT!!  I was looking in the mirror the other day when I was getting ready to take my shower, and....I couldn't believe that the girls had completely dropped!!  Yikes!  I see these pictures, usually comic style, of women whose boobs have lost all muscle tone holding them up, so they just sort of hang loose, like a flat pancake against their abdomen!  

Who knows, maybe all the Mammograms I have had through the last 36 yrs, have helped to lose the muscle tone.  I am sure that the Mammograms didn't help since they flatten your boobs out like pancakes for the images!!  I used to dream of losing enough weight so that I lost a good portion of my chest size.  Then once my weight was lost, having Surgery to further reduce the breast size to a 36B or 36C, AND a breast lift so that they didn't lay flat anymore!!!

Is this asking too much?

Oh well, I know that this is a fact of life, especially if you are big breasted AND overweight!  It's just that some women have enough money to be able to afford the necessary Surgery to correct this problem, and most of us don't!  Too bad that Insurance doesn't cover this.  But unfortunately, they consider this elective Surgery and not Medically necessary.

So ends this post.  Sorry for being Debi downer today.  Those of us who are older and bigger breasted, understand what I am experiencing.  For those of you younger women, it's good that you are losing the extra weight now.  Hopefully, it will prevent you from having to go through this later on!!  So, till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

A Big Shout Out To Robin !! :)

Hey Y'all,

I was just checking in before going to bed and noticed that I had another new Follower!  Her name is Robin (Canadian Bird) and her blog is,  "Band On The Run".  She is new to blogging and is hoping to have a Surgery date in April if not before, so please check out her blog and give her the support we all can use, especially in the early stages!  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)

A Big Shout Out To Amy !! :)

Hey Ya'll,

Just checked in and realized that I have a new Follower.  Her name is Amy!  And I think I figured out that your blog is, "Babbles Of A Bandster".  If this is not your blog, please let me know so that I can update the information.  She was Banded in November like me, so please check out her blog.  So, "welcome to my nightmare".

Aloha My New Friend  :)