A few Christmas pictures

 

This is me with my coworker, Michelle.  This was taken at our Christmas party.  I thought it was not only a cute picture of the both of us but we match!!!  Funny. :)

Me, being ridiculous Christmas morning.  Cadence picked out this scarf for me.  She told me she got me a scarf but I was surprised about what it looked like at least! :)  She did well!

I spent 5 hours baking cookies the Sunday before Christmas. Here I am with the results.  We still have plenty left after bringing a ton to Grandma's and having guests.  We'll be taking some more with to the NYE celebration we're attending.  Everything here was a tried and loved recipe except the cookie with the mint M&M on top and they will be permanently added to our list of cookies!

This totally cracks me up!  See the little hand on my water?  See the look on my face?  HAHA!  I am forever telling her to ASK before she takes my beverage and Chris happened to catch "the look" on camera.  TOO FUNNY!

Cadence is apparently not wanting her picture taken.  This is her with her cousin, my nephew, Dante.  He is 6 (SIX!) and weighs over 100 lbs.  :(  My sister needs to buy him adult sized clothes and she hems MEN's pants for him to wear.  I feel so bad for him.  All the kids were wrestling with the bigger kids and he broke a sweat... like a REAL sweat.  My kid plays hard and I have never seen her sweat like that, ever.  Makes me sad.  Also, my sister is forever defending how he got this way.  "He doesn't eat a lot." etc... umm yeah, saw that in action this weekend.  In fact I have a photo of him chugging Mountain Dew.  REGULAR mt dew. :(  Enough about that.

I'll end with this one.  I just loooove how fabulous and shiny my hair looks.  Hehe.  See how much my kiddo is helping too?  I work while she eats yogurt.. nice.

Happy New Year everyone!!! :)

Before I forget!

I'll try and do a better Christmas update with pictures later this week but want to post this memory before it gets outta my head!

I was describing someone to my grandma and said, "she's not fat, she's not skinny... she's average... about my size actually."

Then I stopped... did I just say that?  About myself!?

I'm average.. to myself!  YAY!

I'm still alive!

Sorry for being so scarce guys!  With the rush of the holidays and life in general I haven't even had a free few minutes to post!  I'm just posting to say HI!  My weight is up at the moment.. not much but enough to make me irritated, lol.  I'm up to 219 or so.  Work in progress.. that's me.  I've upped my cardio to 3 times per week (with the trainer) and one strength session per week.  That should see a budge in the scales.

Then you have to factor in the mass amount of cookies I produced yesterday and then I just need... prayers LOL!  I plan to give most of them away and take them to gatherings so we should be ok but for now they are in my house.  I did manage not to taste (m)any doughs while making them and I didn't even have a single finished cookie until an hour after they were ALL done.  I made SIX different treats!  Five HOURS of baking.  OY!

Have a very merry Christmas and I will hopefully post something more helpful, and/or band-related soon! :)

Family pictures and a fun email!

We had our family holiday photos (and C's 5 y/o pics) taken last Saturday and I posted the proofs to my photo site.  My aunt, Jane, saw them and forwarded a couple along to my grandma.  This is the email she sent to me and I'll follow it with a couple of the photos we had done.

"Jane sent me your new pictures & they are beautiful, boy. you are really looking good there.  That weight is sure coming off.  Stay warm & drive carefully.  Love ya"


Wasn't that fun!? <3 Love that lady, lol.  She knows how to give a good pick me up, for sure!

This is the photo we chose for our cards.  Along with a shot of Cadence by herself.

These aren't going where I want them to go, LOL.  Anyways, this is to stay accountable.  I don't particularly love this shot but it shows my whole body (mostly, I guess) and it also shows my kiddo's adorable skirt!  I chose her outfit and my outfit around that damn thing!  It's silver toile (no clue how to spell that but dictionary.com tells me that is the correct word and meaning!) and I paired it with a red shirt and ivory cardigan, hooded.  While I have no adorable skirt I am wearing dress pants in a twill material and a red shirt with ivory cardi.

Then we have a few cute ones of my bub :)

Are these really going to post side by side!!!  *gasp*  Well, here she is, my beautiful girl.  We had her hair curled for cheap at one of those walk-ins allowed salons and she absolutely loved that!  And, for $16 why not!?

  

The last one is the non-holiday pose the photographer did with us.  They all turned out about that great with Cadence only half smiling or smirking so we didn't purchase any of those.  She is a fantastic smiler so I was VERY disappointed that the photog couldn't get her to freakin' smile for ONE of the FIVE shots she took in this same pose.

And just one more for the day... I feel like I all I do is brag about how cute my kid is.. but that's what proud mamas do!! :)

My Beautiful Girl!

Cadence had her Christmas show for dance yesterday!  It was a Polar Express theme and they had an older gentleman read the story of "The Polar Express" in between dances.  It was beyond my expectations of a holiday dance (a benefit even, the studio didn't make money from this show!) and was just phenomenal!  Here's Cadence's performance and some pictures from that day.  Enjoy :)  I'm so proud of her I could burst.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su4KwjClS94

Mommy and Cadence before her show

Pretty girl's stage makeup.  She was so excited about her lips!

Blurry first position pose :) but you can see her whole outfit :)

That's enough bragging for the day, I think! :)

Pysch Visit

Yesterday, I had a visit with a wonderful health psychologist.  I spent an hour laying it all out there and man did that feel good.  He listened for a good, long time and then asked some questions.  After he was done listening he drew the above diagram.  It's called Transactional Analysis.  He said it's old but so is he, hehe.  I could actually really relate to what he told me with this!  Basically, when I'm all "I want that candy and no one can stop me" it's acting in my child state.  When I'm rational and think it through like, "I don't need that candy cuz it's gonna go straight to my ass" that's my adult state.  And, when Chris is all, "you can't have that candy because you told me to stop you..." that's him being my parent and I hate it! LOL!

This is a public blog so let's face it... my parents have the potential to come across it.  So I'm not going to spill all my baggage out there but, basically, I was a REALLY good kid and I had a VERY strict step-mom.  I think she'd admit to that much, I hope.  I never did drugs, never drank, never partied.

In the opinion of EVERY psychologist I've seen for any reason they've all told me that I grew up too quickly.  The psych yesterday thinks I am nurturing the child state of me because I didn't get enough time to be completely in the child state.  If I'm twisting his words around a bit you'll have to forgive me because there was a LOT of information to take in during our session.  So he suggested I try to nurture my child state in different ways than food.  Think about it... what are one of the ways you nurture a child?  You feed it.  I feed my child state a wee bit too much and too often! :)  He suggested I try to figure out what my child state needs.  This could be done on my own by journaling (helloooo blog world) or by seeking professional help.  He, being a psychologist himself, of course recommends that I see someone.  I agree with him but just don't know where I will fit it into my schedule.

I told him something he really liked too.  I told him I was worth the time and money (if it costs and isn't covered by insurance) to take care of myself.  I've already spent a LOT of money to get this band so why wouldn't I take whatever necessary steps to further help myself since it appears I need it?!  I will NOT fail myself OR this band.  I refuse.

Ahhhh.  You gotta love a good psychologist session! :)  You know what else I love?  My blog ladies!  You were all SO supportive of my last post and I had tears with each comment that came in.  I am SO thankful!

Revelations at the Nutritionist's

I've been procrastinating coming here to blog this.  Then, I got to thinking how supportive and wonderful you all are and I know you won't judge me or hate me... and if you do, well, that's not nice!

I saw Diane, the nutritionist, for my 6 mos post-op visit.  I'm 7 mos post-op but I had to reschedule with her since her daughter was sick last month, you may recall that story.  Anyways, she asked the usual questions about my daily menu and all that.  Then I confessed (as I had been planning to do) that I have been eating a lot of junk.  She asked if it was more or less than pre-surgery.  I said about the same.  She asked if left to my druthers would I eat all junk food.  My answer, of course, was yes.  She fell silent for a bit.  She looked me squarely in the face and said, "The band is working."  I started in with my buts and she interrupted with, "The BAND is working."  She fell silent again and then she said, "you look like you might cry."  And cry I did.

She assured me that the band is doing what it needs to do and I need to remember the rules, battle some old dragons still hanging on and seek some additional help.  She set up an appt for me with the health psychologist and recommended the guy who has worked with food longer.  I see him tomorrow at 9 am.  Thank goodness for my wonderful husband who is going to stay home with the girls (our girl and the one I babysit) while I go.

She reminded me that the band is there to decrease hunger and I told her I am hardly ever hungry.  (Truth!)  Then the band is there to limit what I eat and if I eat the right foods it does that.  I am not doing that though and I need to have a bit of extra help battling some old dragons that are still hanging around.  She cried with me, said she was a sympathy crier and she couldn't help herself.  She reassured me that NO ONE is judging me or talking poorly about me.  They want to help me and they just think a fill is the wrong way to go right now.  So, I canceled my fill appt (for yesterday) and instead made tomorrow's appt for the health psych.

She asked me if I heard her say that I had failed.  I said yes.  She said that is NOT what she said.  She said the dreaded phrase, "it is what it is."  (I HATE THAT!)

So basically, I have head hunger like no other and I need some help tackling that still.  I'm going to need your support more than ever as I try to overcome whatever issues I am keeping tucked inside.

I love you ladies.. you're all the best.  Thanks for sticking with me.  I can do this.  I said myself that there's no sense in looking back so I'm not going to tear myself apart and criticize how I did this.  I'm going to look ahead and do what I can... improve upon my situation and take care of myself. :)

There are some ups in this.  I'm trying to see the positive to keep positive.  I have maintained, and not gained, my weight for several months.  I am still exercising four times a week with a trainer and we are about to change up our schedule to put in more cardio and do less strength until I lose more weight.  I have gone down in clothing sizes and gotten to where I have no clothes... yes, this is a plus!  I hated all my not stylish clothes and I can't wait to replace all that stuff with new, trendier clothes!!

So that is that.  It is what it is.  LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving (a day late)

I managed to not only lose 1.2 lbs since last week (still not at my low since surgery yet) but I also went to the gym today and doubled up on my training sessions!!!  I managed a whopping FIVE sessions at the gym this week.  I feel great about that and HELLO, that might have something to do with the loss this week :)  I dig it, I do. :D

Had a fabulous time yesterday for sure.  Ate my fair share of food (and yours, I'm sure) I won't lie but I worked my booty off at the gym today so I don't even feel the slightest bit guilty!  Not gonna stress about that AT ALL.  Why bother.. what's done is done! :)  You can only move forward.

We got our tree up today and some other small decorations.  We need to get to the hardware store tomorrow for some nails for some other things but I'm loving how it just fills up my home!  Makes it so festive and happy.  Not to mention the kiddo loves it all!

Got a bunch of online shopping done this evening.  Didn't take advantage of many really huge sales but got the kiddo completely taken care of and I also bought for the hubby.  I warned him he can't read the packing slip or he dies.  I even went so far as to have his gift wrapped so he can't see it that way either!  I'm excited :)  I asked the fam for a bunch of new winter clothes.  I'm a bit scarce on them! 

Speaking of clothes... my band buddy Tracy hooked me up once again!  She sent me a package of 3 sweaters recently and I actually wore one of them yesterday for Thanksgiving! :)  It was an XL Ralph Lauren sweater, hooded with front pockets.  It was soooo soft (rabbit hair) and I wore a black cami under it and it was perfect!  The other two were lighter weight solid color sweaters.  Both XL and I believe both Gap.  They both fit gloriously! :) So happy to be in these "normal" sizes. :) :) :)

I rescheduled my fill for this coming Tuesday.  I also see the nutritionist for my 6 month visit (a month late since she had to reschedule my actual appt) on Monday so I'll be a busy appt girl this week.  I'm anxious to see what everyone has to say!!! 

Well, that's about all the updates.  I'll try and get some pictures of the holiday decor around my house and post those soon. 

Lots of love!

BLECH!

Soooooooooooooo.  It turns out Chris decided to pass a kidney stone through his system today right around the time I was getting ready to leave for a fill.  In case anyone doesn't know... stones are comparable to child birth apparently in pain.  I had to drive the man to the ER and cancel my fill.  I'm going to call tomorrow to try and reschedule for asap (maybe tomorrow??) and get that taken care of.

The good news is the man must have passed his stone through to his bladder since his sever pain stopped.  They sent him home with a script for Vicodin and told him to strain his pee to hopefully catch the culprit and have it analyzed to see why he got it in the first place. 

So that's that.  No fill for me today.

Haircut, baby hairs, fills, oh my!

Well, where to start?!  I guess first of all, today is my fill at 3:45.  I plan on really talking to the NP and asking her to be generous and let me deal if I'm too tight (not *really* but to give me more than .4 this time).  I've never BEEN too tight so it's just hard to see that happening to me if that makes any sense.  I sort of want it to happen to know that it CAN happen!  That there's a green zone for me coming.

Yesterday, I ran into the salon and got a quick trim.  Well, I suppose I scheduled it but she happened to have an opening yesterday so I scooped it up!  I went at 4 and her next appt wasn't until 5 so she curled and styled my hair for free in between!  Sweet!  Here's a shot I captured on my laptop webcam.. so not that great.  I also took it about 2-3 hours after so it was a bit flatter than it started.  She knows I like volume so she always gives me big hair :D hehe.

Don't you just LOVE my wallpaper too?  And the sleeping kitty?  That's Rocky!  This is where I normally sit while I'm blogging or on my laptop.  The wallpaper has been here since before we bought the house and we've just not been troubled to take it down...even though we despise it.  Sigh... it will wait.

Some good news.. :)  As my stylist was cutting my hair she pointed out all the little baby hairs sticking straight up from the top middle of my head!  YAY!  My hair is growing back! :)  I'd noticed that it stopped falling out but didn't notice these baby hairs until she pointed them out.  Well, darn it if I couldn't stop talking about them after that LOL.  I was so excited! :)

I'm growing my hair long for my BFF's wedding in May so I have something to style for the big day, lol.  Otherwise I usually cut my hair pretty short or at least a bit different each time.  This was just a trim :)

I'll report back in once I know what I got for a fill!  I work tonight so maybe after work or tomorrow :)

Troubled

I can handle a lot, I really can.  However, I just looked at my weight excel spread sheet to see when the first time was that I got into this tens bracket.  It was July 1... JULY!  I have been struggling with this same 10 pounds.. HELL the same FIVE pounds since JULY!  I weighed in at 217.2 this morning which is down from last week but up from my lowest weight.  On July 1st, I weighed 220.0.  Suckdog.

So... to not let this get me down TOO much, I called and made an appt for a fill and what do you know they got me in on TUESDAY!  YAY!!!  I'm really going to lay it out there and tell the NP all of this.  Tell her I have about 5 more months of "free" fills in my self-pay package and I'm sick of weighing the same thing.  I'm going to tell her to be aggressive and give me a freaking FILL and not a fill.  I obviously need some more help unless I'm just one of those people that the band doesn't work for.  I don't believe this to be true since I'm maintaining my weight and DO feel some restriction.  Things are definitely different in how I eat as well.  I eat MUCH slower and have to do so or I feel like I'm stuck for a bit.  I get the hiccups if I stop thinking for a minute and take a drink too quickly after a bite of food (I have fessed up to taking one or two drinks (sips) while I eat).  There are a lot of things!  I am hardly ever hungry and that is GREAT!  I just need some help with my food quantity and that means I need a FILL!  Please!

I'm going to admit to being excited to be getting a fill before Thanksgiving too so I don't have the ability to pig out.  I was a bit worried about my will power on turkey day!

That's that.  I'm gonna get a fill and assume that's the only problem so I don't give myself an aneurysm and just keep truckin' along!

Happy Friday to you all!

Sarah's Bandster Quiz

1. How long have you been banded? 6 1/2 months
   
2. What was your highest pre-band weight? / Current weight now? / Total lost to date? 256 lbs not pregnant, pregnancy high was somewhere around 275 lbs/ 215 ish/ 30 ish
   
3. What is your best "go-to" food to get in your protein? Cottage Cheese for sure!
   
4. What is your favorite protein brand/shake? Haven't found one that fits the bill quite yet!
   
5. What food do you miss the most now being post-band? I am a "lucky" bandster and haven't found anything that disagrees with my band or me.
   
6. What is your favorite "mushy" food? Mashed potatoes saved my mushy life!
   
7. What was your worst PB experience? I've had only one to date so I guess it was the "worst."  Ate breakfast, followed it almost immediately with a small bag of doritos and up the chips came.  Nothing too terrible if you ask me...
   
8. What has been the hardest part of this journey so far for you? Probably not reaching that perfect restriction spot yet.  I'm self-pay and $330 per fill is hard to swallow after my first year so let's hope I get there SOON!
   
9. What is your best NSV to date? Definitely shopping in "regular" stores!!  Buying a "regular" winter coat this year!!!!
   
10. What is your top non-weight goal for your band? (top NSV maybe?) I'd like to get rid of, or reduce the amount of pills I take for, my diabetes.
    
11. What is your goal weight or size? Not sure on weight... size 10 sounds appealing to me though.
    
12. What band "rule" do you live by (i.e. don't cheat on)? I, like Sarah, have not had ANY soda since the psychologist told me to stop pre-surgery.
    
13. What band "rule" do you not follow as much or aren't so good at? I take the occasional sip of water/milk with dinner.  I have to be careful or I give myself the hiccups if I drink too closely after a bite but I like to clean my palate.
    
14. What is your goal "reward"? I have not thought of this.. it just might be plastic surgery though, too.  Tummy tuck, arm lift, boob lift... maybe more if needed.
    
15. In the spirit of Thanksgiving being right around the corner (US), what are you most thankful for, post-band? I am most thankful for my family who has supported me through every step of this process. :) <3
    

Good gravy

*sigh*

Last week I was up 3 lbs or something... during the week I got 1 lb away from my low and thought woohoo, I'm gonna do this.  Then today comes... weigh day.  Yeah... yippee... not so much.  I'm up ANOTHER POUND from LAST week!  WTF!?  Maybe it is just water weight I suppose but dang... where did THAT come from.  I should be used to my weight fluctuating like this but it still hurts a bit LOL.

It'll go away quickly... I'll make it.

Saturday, 11/7, College Roomie's Wedding!!

Saturday was another super busy day!  We had guests for brunch on Sunday morning so we needed to prep the food and have it in the fridge overnight.  Well, with a wedding in the evening we knew we had to get creative.  We prepped everything and had both egg mixtures in the fridge and just poured them at the last minute when we got home from the wedding.  So we spent the late morning/early afternoon doing prep work and cleaning up the house.

Our wedding was 2 hours north of here in Appleton.  We opted to skip the ceremony.  We NEVER do this because it's RUDE but we did this time because we didn't stay over anywhere and had nothing to do for the 2-4 hours between the ceremony and the dinner.  There was an appetizers and cocktail hour that we did wind up attending as well but that was 2 hours of more waiting around... we wound up glad we skipped the ceremony.

Had a great dinner and cake and saw another of my roommates and two other people I knew from college as well.  It was very nice!!  Cadence LOVED it all.  She wanted to invite the "girl in the white dress" to her birthday party, haha.  She stared at her while she danced with her husband and then her father.  She always wanted to know where she was.  We ducked out at 9 pm to be home by 11 pm and mixed up our breakfast dishes and hit the hay!

Now on to the part that everyone loves... pictures!

ALLLLLL byyyy myself

Me (unflattering pose apparently.. blech!) with Nicole, my first college friend and sophomore roommate!

Me (in unflattering pose), Nicole, Stephanie - 2 of the 3 roomies sophomore year.

Chris and me :)  Cute, no?

Friday, 11/6, Fluoroscopy

I think I'll try and get a few different posts in today since I had a different activity, with photos, on Saturday and Sunday as well.  So, before I have to leave for dance class (for the kiddo)... here it is!

Friday I went to the hospital for my fluoro.  I was going to have a couple things looked at and possibly a fill.  So the NP comes in with me and they get me all set against the table, standing up.  The radiologist took a few pictures to make sure she was lined up properly and once I was we looked at my insides... it was much like Catherine's photo on her blog actually... you can see it here.  The NP explained that my band was in the right place and at the right angle.  She pointed to my port and my upper and lower stomach(s?).  I breathed a small sigh of relief just knowing my band was where it should be.

Then they handed me that cup of stuff.  Thick... white... fruity-tasting... not bad at all!  I told them it was almost good and they all snapped their heads and said "NO ONE has ever said THAT!"  LOL Leave that to me, I guess.  It's not what I want to be drinking on a daily basis but it was NOT what I expected at all.  So anyways... the contrast (barium) wasn't bad.  I took some into my mouth and when the radiologist told me to, I swallowed.  Then we all watched on the screen and saw it go down.  Here's what it was like... WHOOSH!  LOL.  Yeah... so the NP was like, "you need a fill."  My response was, "ya think?"  There was no reflux (another thing she was checking for) which is great and I just need a bit more help getting my stoma smaller.

So then she proceeds to try to give me a fill while standing so they don't have to lower the bed back down (remember, I'm leaning against the bed, standing up).  I raised my arms above my head and she went at it.  The pricks don't hurt me at all so I don't ever get lidocaine.  The scraping against my plastic port is what drives me up the wall.  She missed... and I started to get clammy instantly.  I was sweating and gritting my teeth.  The radiologist was asking me if I was ok over and over.  The NP then decided to try it laying down after all but the rad. didn't want to let me off the bed for fear of me passing out so she lowered the bed with me on it!  FUN!  I said, "Whee, this must be what space camp is like!"  LMAO, wtf, Tiff??

So I'm laying down and she restabs me to try to hit the port again and again no dice.  One more stab and still no dice.  She was talking about paging the surgeon at that point but the rad. took a picture and the NP was able to see where the needle was in comparison to my port and she made it in!  She gave me a small fill and then, with needle still in, they stood me back up.  They handed me the cup and watched it go down again.  WHOOSH!  Now, I'm not a rad. or an NP so I couldn't really tell wtf it was supposed to look like.  This is liquid after all.  So she says, you need a bit more and added some more.  Again, swallow, whoosh, repeat.  This time however she said it looked good and we pulled the needle out and it was over.  She explained what she saw though was that it went in, hung up above the band a moment and then went through... just what you want to see.  So off I went after they insisted I sit down and breathe a bit.  I explained I was fine and it was just the grinding, bone-scraping feeling inside that I hate.  She said she understood since it is a part of me now.

Anyways, sorry if that was long-winded.  I wanted to outline what happens in case someone else needs/wants to get one.  Not scary at all, not any more painful than a normal fill.

So moral of the story:  I'm 6 mos out of surgery and I still might need a few more fills.  I'm perfectly normal!  It's ok if I go overfull a bit.  You don't actually ever know what's in your band because even if you pull it all out at each fill you can't ever get it ALL out.  I could have gotten a sub-cutaneous fill at some point and my fill count could be off.. you just never know.

So that's it, ladies!  No problems/complications for me! (yet.. knock on wood)

Sweet Pumpernickle!!!!

Dear gawd, I gained 3 lbs in a week.  Freakin' Halloween candy... good thing I ate it all so it can no longer taunt me.

Getting my fill under fluoro this afternoon!!!  I will hopefully be back sometime this weekend to post about it but we have a BUSY weekend ahead again.  A wedding tomorrow which is 2 hours away.  Then Sunday is Cadence's birthday and we have several different activities planned for that! :)  YAY!

Have a great Friday and a great weekend all!  Back on the wagon I go!

A few different things to say

I wanted to thank you all for your kind words on the "anniversary" of my mom's death.  You really managed to make me smile and I appreciate that.  I smiled through the tears thinking of how happy and proud for me she must feel.  At least that's what I hope!!

Also, the guy that killed her... I don't know too much about him because I was so young and my dad doesn't talk about it a whole lot.  I do know that he went into a mental institution for a while and was released.  That's what happened to 17 y/o's who wanted to kill themselves  at that point in time.  His name is David Braun so he has a VERY common name and I've looked him up before but there are tons of people with his name so he could be anywhere, doing anything... or he could be dead.  I have no clue and I, honestly, no longer care.  For a long time I wanted to punch the guy in the face or something.. just something.  I'm long over that.

--------------------------------------------

On a completely different note! :)

I went to the gym this morning for my cardio session with my trainer.  We do 20 minutes every Tuesday and are going to be bumping that up to 2-3 times a week and just 1-2 strength sessions instead of 3 strength, 1 cardio.  I need the cardio at this point so I've gotta change things up.  Anyways... in the beginning of training, a few months back, I was lucky to get to one mile during my session.  It slowly went up each week and our goal was always to get a little farther than the previous week.  Last two weeks have been right around 1.25 miles.  Well, this week I got to 1.3 miles and BOY did it feel great!  We started jogging at around 5 minutes in and before that we were doing a fast walk.  I've never started running so soon in the session either.... man.. it just felt good all around :)

Well, I posted about it on facebook this morning and darn it if one person didn't tell me that I inspired them to work out today!  THEN, another friend chatted me up on facebook and said she was inspired too and was going to go change and work out right then!  And then she changed her facebook status to thank me for inspiring her!!!  She spelled my name wrong (dammit) but I won't fault her too much for that.  I'll blame my dad... he named me.

I'll leave you with a photo of my bambino in her Halloween costume at dance last week.  This is how she was supposed to look on Halloween too but it was too cold and she had to wear a coat under her costume and she wound up looking like a chubby version of this ;) LOL.  She's a "midnight fairy" so says the costume packaging.

Oh and the hubby did her makeup! Love him!!

One busy week down... another left to go!

Last week was a bit chaotic for me in this house.  My parents came to stay the night on Friday and I was feeling like a chicken with my head cut off trying to clean and get ready for them to come.  They have only stayed the night at our house one other time.. when my kiddo was born almost 5 years ago now.  Otherwise they stopped at our house on a tour de Christmas one year when they stopped at all their older kids' homes.  So yeah, busy!!!

I managed to pull everything off though and I was happy with our mini-visit!  I had suggested making dinner and all my ideas were tossed out the window because my little brother (he still lives at home and goes to college) is lactose intolerant.  My mom suggested KFC for dinner since they don't have one by them.  Done.  They even bought.  Soooo, I made breakfast instead!  I made two different casseroles/bakes.  One was an egg and sausage dish and the other was a french toast with pecans and blueberries dish.  Both turned out great and everyone went away full and happy! :)  Success!  I didn't say they were healthy but they impressed the fam!

I'm making them again this coming Sunday morning.  Sunday is my kiddo's 5th birthday and I'm having the inlaws over for brunch.  I'll do these two dishes, fruit and MIL (mother-in-law) is bringing pumpkin muffins.  Of course, we'll also have some sort of birthday cake.. maybe coffee cake or something since her official party is at 1 that afternoon and we'll be doing cake there.

Her kid/official party is at 1-3 at Animart.  A few of her closest friends will be there and they'll get a tour of the pet store and then there will be a pinata and cake and presents.  Good times.  It will be a crazy weekend though, yet again.  Not to mention the wedding we're attending on Saturday that is 2+ hours away.  It's my college roommate and I don't want to miss it though so we'll make do. :)


OK on to band news!!

I got a phone call from the NP this morning and I have a fluoro scheduled!!!  I am going in THIS Friday at 2 pm!!!  I am sooo excited!  Either I'm going to find out something is wrong or I'm going to get a fill and both excite me... even the problem part.  If there's a problem, at least I'll know and can take steps to fix it. 

A question for all of you...

Anyone ever heard of a pressure fill?  The girl I "met" on LBT that has the same issue I have (can eat anything, no pb's, same band, needed to be overfilled to get to the green zone) said her doctor performed a "pressure fill" on her and had some sort of gauge on the fill needle and filled her to a good pressure instead of going by the number of cc's in her band.  I mentioned this to the NP and she hadn't heard of it.  I asked her to look into it but she hasn't mentioned it.  I'm just wondering if I should be asking for something more specific.. maybe I'm not using the right terminology??  So if anyone knows anything, I'd be very appreciative.

Off to get some laundry done for the week! 

Quick Post :)

This afternoon Chris and I spent some time outside raking the yard and leaf blowing.  While we were lugging the tarp full of leaves around to the front of the house I mentioned that my pants kept needing to be pulled up.  I said, "When I was fat I never had this issue."  Chris just hmphed and then I said, "Wait, did you hear what I just said?  That first part??!!  WHEN I was fat!" 

It was then that I realized a small part of my brain thinks I'm no longer fat!!!  What a great victory!!!  I will eventually win over all of my brain and oh what a happy world I will live in!!

Oh and... what a workout raking is!!  Whew!!

Bad Blogger

I've been avoiding my blog much for the same reason that Amy mentioned.  It gets hard to talk about getting back on the wagon all the time, she said.  Well, same here.  I've got this band issue going on and have no future fills scheduled... or room for a fill for that matter.  They are supposedly working on getting me a fill under fluoro but I haven't heard from them since Friday.  I hate to be a nag so I'm planning to wait til this Friday before calling them to see what the status is. 

Friday I was supposed to have my six month follow-up with my nutritionist (oh yeah, six months was the 22nd) but she called a couple hours before and said her daughter had a fever and she had to go pick her up.  I was so bummed... I was totally ready to lay it out there and tell her how I've been eating (like crap) and ask for help.  But.. alas... I can wait, I have to wait!

Last weekend my family met up with my longest, oldest friend and her family.  I've been friends with Sarah since the 3rd grade and we each have a husband and a child now.  It's been since her baby shower since I saw her though so it was awesome to finally meet her kiddo.  We took a series of photos together to get a good shot of us two ladies with our kids and this one was in the mix... I had NO clue my kid was doing this...

This was on our camera but a similar one showed up on Sarah's camera and she posted it on facebook.  I thought.. hmmm check me out, I don't look so bad!  I don't feel like I'm a size 70 million next to Sarah's size 2... or whatever that twiggy girl is! :) Love her!  I do have to do something about my lifeless hair though... not sure what, any ideas?

Anywho, thanks for hanging around... I'll post when I have more news.  Weight's still the same but that's to be expected when I can still eat the way I do... ick! ;) It'll change soon, I know it.

Story telling

Those of you on my Facebook already know this but today is the "anniversary" (isn't that supposed to be a happy day???) of my mom's death.  I think of her often but the day of really throws me for a loop as far as thinking goes.  I'll share with you all how she died....

When my mom was 24 she had 3 young kids at home.  My brother was 5, sister 3 and me, 13 mos.  She sold toys at those home parties as a side job and was out doing that one night.  Another kid, 16 years old, was driving the opposite direction and had already decided to commit suicide.  How did he choose to kill himself?  Well, he drove head-on into my mom's car.  My mom died, of course.  He suffered a "possible" broken nose.  Really, POSSIBLE!  That's it.  I don't generally wish harm on people but he was the one that wanted to die, not my mom.

So that's that :( 

Thing is... being a parent and wife now makes things totally different.  I think of how my dad must have felt when he was told his wife was gone.  He got a phone call to come to the hospital "right away" and they told him when he got there, after he dropped us kids off with his parents (I think, I only know these details from stories other people told).  I think of how *I* must have felt when all I wanted was my mom and she never came back (even though I know, as a baby, I really didn't care for long).  It's rough.  It makes me cry today to think of it.  I think of what SHE is missing out on as a parent, grandparent, and wife.  I think of what MY daughter is missing out on from her being her grandma.

We looked a lot alike too, my mom and I.  My older sister is blonde and blue-eyed.  I am my mom's twin with more of her Japanese features... dark hair and eyes, and our body shape is similar as well.  I wish I had more pictures scanned in to show you guys... let's see if I can dig at least one up to share.  All of the pics I tried to share "failed" to upload!  Grr!!!  I'll try again in another blog.  It's comforting knowing I look like her... I don't know why but it is.

Anyways, today and every day I miss my mom.  I know she'd be proud of me though and I know we'd be best of friends if she were still here.  Oh man, here come the water works again!  I'm such a sappy mess.  I do, however, believe that I will see her one day.  I'm excited for that day :) (but it can wait!).

Mom and Dad on their wedding day :)

 

I see myself in this shot... I can picture a goofy side of her here!

Friday, checking in

It's pretty late here already but I napped this afternoon, thank goodness.  First things first.. my weight stayed the same from yesterday which means I'm counting that loss... 31 lbs down, WOOHOO! :) The scale moved at last :)  I'm thrilled to be so close to another number range too :) Soon I'll have a weight beginning with 20- and I can work on getting to that goal of ONEderland!!! :)

More big news though in our house.  Everyone is sick.  I've got this cough hanging on from the flu that you really need to cough HARD.. from your TOES kind of cough and then NOTHING comes out.  A very NON-productive cough.  I called the nurse about it today and she said it's the signature symptom of the lovely H1N1 that I appear to have. :(

Bad news number 2.  The hubby appears to have this same nagging cough but is staying on top of his tylenol and kicking the fever's butt, quickly.

Bad news number 3.  Cadence had a bout with croup last night.  She has had this for four times in the last year now.  We were given chewable steroids to keep on hand and thank goodness for them!  We ran out though so we head into the doc this morning and she gave us a new script for them and $50 later and we're set in case it happens again. :(  For those non-parents or people not in the know... croup makes your airways swell and when you breathe in it sounds like a squeak because the air has just THIS much room to make its way through.  Plus, when you go to cough you sound like a barking seal.  This is the signature symptom of croup.  We're pros at this now though and went to her immediately with the steroids and she chomped them right up.  She slept in my bed then with Chris in the guest bed.  Emphasis on SHE slept in my bed.  Wasn't any sleeping for this mom as she was breathing pretty funky and I just wanted to make sure she WAS breathing.  Hence, my nap this afternoon! :)  She was quite a sad story though... telling me she didn't like this (pointing to her throat) and said she didn't want it to happen anymore.  Poor thing.  Makes a mama miserable! :(

So keep us in your thoughts as we all recover this weekend.  Hopefully by Monday we'll all be back to normal.  I'm tired of being sick!!!

Feeling better, losing weight!

Well, I knew I'd see weight loss with being sick but as my lovely husband pointed out... I have NO vomiting and NO diarrhea so all that's happening is that I'm eating less and eating healthy.  So what do you think?  Shall I count this weight loss?  LOL.  I'm at my lowest weight yet, 212.6 and 31 lbs down since surgery!!  I'll take it :D

Fever's been gone since about 6 pm last night and all I need to do is kick this cold and congestion and I can't stop sneezing and my nose is like a faucet so I'd imagine it's gonna be gone soon.  HOWEVER, the hubby's coming down with it now... blech!!

Please forgive me...

I have been faithfully reading and try to reply but, ladies, I have the flu.  It is a nasty nasty bug and it can leave quickly and quietly NOW.  Monday I noticed I had a new sort of cough.. it was HARD and hurt and wasn't the cough I had just gotten over which was residual from my sinus infection.  Tuesday I took my kiddo to dance and came home and started shivering!  Took my temp - 100.8.  Hmm... better send the 3 mos old home that I watch!  Took Tylenol and off came my clothes as I sweated it out.  It got to 101.4 before I sweat it out.  I went to bed early and woke up at 2 am moaning and shivering.  The hubby grabbed the thermometer, tylenol and a water for me and  yup... 102.0.  Took the pills and couldn't fall back asleep until I sweated it out again which happened rather quickly.

Called my PCP today and they diagnosed me over the phone... flu.  They called me in a prescription of Tamiflu and I've started that today.  Just finished sweating out my fever for the third time and had to change my shirt because it was soaked.  It's a good feeling but MAN it sucks at the same time.

So hang in there while I recover.   I'm still reading.  Don't  think poorly of me for not commenting very much.  I'm mostly just vegging on Facebook or watching a lot of tv.  I bet I'll lose some weight out of this, lol.  Ever the optimist.

Out of Pocket Adjustment Fee

I found out last night, also, that for a self-pay patient their discounted price for a fill appt/adjustment is ... ready for this?  $330

 

Good bunch of info after the support group meeting!

Forgive the rambling as I try to spew this information out of my brain before I forget.

So... last month at the meeting the new NP was going to be meeting with the band rep and be asking about my situation (for any newbies: I have a 9cc band and have 9cc's in it).  She was going to first ask about logistics... i.e. does the tubing count towards my 9 cc count of is there an additional couple cc's to fill due to that.  Answer: yes, the tubing is included in the 9 cc count and thus.. I have a full band according to the fill counts.  The NP next asked what the rep's take on removing all the fluid to see what's in there was.  Answer: she doesn't recommend it.  Apparently my band has different regions (what the NP used as terms to get me to understand) and when you add fluid slowly it settles into the right areas but when you remove it all and force it into the band all at once and quickly, then it can settle into all the wrong places and make me extremely filled (read: too tight) or not filled enough but a full band.

What does all this mean for me?  The rep said she thinks I'm a good candidate for getting my next fill under fleuro.  This makes me VERY happy that they are taking this seriously and I'll get to see what's going on in there and they can make the decision on what the deal is.  The NP wants to make sure the band is positioned properly and that there are no leaks.  She also said perhaps one or more of the fills went into my subcutaneous layer and not into the band, thus making me not as full as I think.

Hopefully this made sense for everyone.  If it didn't, ask me questions!  I'll be happy to clarify.  Basically now, the NP is working with the program director to see whether my self-pay funds will cover this or if I can just pay the difference between a regular fill and a fleuro fill.  Either way, it sounds as though I'll be heading to the hospital to get a fleuro fill done in the near future and I couldn't be happier to be getting some STRAIGHT answers from this new NP.  She's my new favorite lady, I think! :)

I seriously feel SUCH relief just in getting these questions answered.  My band is officially full UNLESS they missed the port on one or more of my fills.  That is ok with me because I KNOW now... it's good to be in the KNOW!  Ahhhh, sweet relief.

Also, thank you all for the support.  This has been really hard on me emotionally and you have all been there for me encouraging me to keep going and keep on truckin'.  I appreciate the crap out of all of you, each and every one!

Weigh Day

The scale gave me the middle finger again this morning... it's that time of the month and I *know* it's water weight because I craved (and ate) all things salty this week.  However, I went back to a weight I haven't seen since July 31st according to my excel sheet.  I know I'll get it off with a little bit of extra water drinking over the weekend.

Tonight, Chris and I are going out to dinner sans kiddo for his birthday, which is Sunday.  He chose Chinese food as I knew he would.  We have a favorite place that we both thoroughly enjoy but hate taking the kiddo to.  We usually wind up with carry out from there but figure tonight we can go and enjoy ourselves.  They have the BEST fortune cookies. :)

Sunday, for his actual birthday, we're going to brunch with his family and then having everyone back here for cake and ice cream.  I ordered a cake and it was too late for a custom cake but she offered me one of the two they had in the freezer... omg.  I couldn't have come up with this cake on my own!  It's a layer of chocolate, a layer of strawberry cake and then a layer in between of chocolate mousse.  Then, as if THAT isn't enough, they split the strawberry cake and put a layer of fudge in between it... :-0 Dear gawd!  Top all that with buttercream frosting and white chocolate shavings of course.  Oh man, just send me a ticket to a diabetic coma after that enters our home... DAMN!

I have a feeling this will be a bad food weekend... I think I better add an additional day at the gym next week. ;)

Overdue, just an update

Hellloooooo my lady friends (and any stray males out there)!  I'm feeling tons better today, rarely even coughing but it's still hanging on for dear life in there!  I still sound hoarse sometimes but it's definitely going away.  Ya know what?  Good riddance!

I've been to the gym Monday and today and plan to go tomorrow and Thursday instead of Friday.  The hubby has an early morning meeting so I would have to skip so instead of skipping (which is mighty appealing - to get to sleep in an extra day!) I swapped days.  Good Tiffani!  Today I walked/ran 1.24 miles which is .01 less than last week.  My trainer makes up the program that I run each time though so I'm not worried about it.  I sweat a bit less than last time which is a good thing I guess... means I'm getting used to it.  My trainer told me a couple times how "fit" I'm getting.  She mentioned she was getting sweaty at one point and took off her fleece sweatshirt she was wearing, lol.

A few things I wanted to address.  A couple posts ago I shared a wedding picture and you all thought I looked super young!!!!  What the heck, that totally goes against my thinking that I look younger now!!! LOL  Let's see if I can dig up a different wedding photo to share here... nope, none on this computer apparently.

I got a new bra!  I sucked it up and walked into Victoria's Secret and grabbed they're largest size, 40DD, and it fit... sorta.  I have to tuck the girls in just so but I figure with a good amount of time I will fit in it just fine!  It's a biofit bra, in case anyone wondered and I love it.  I love that it's got tiny straps and that my girls still sit where they need to.  Also it makes me look skinnier, lol... take a look at the side by sides of my girls, fun fun, I know.

top pic is old bra, bottom is new :)








Last thing I wanted to address was my skinny leg issue... wtf.  Why are my LEGS so much thinner than the rest of me.  It's like I lose in my legs and no where else, lol.  I'm not "complaining" but I'm complaining. :D  Here is a picture that Chris accidentally took of my legs when he was snapping a picture of the kitties when I was posing for the above pics (which also double as my 5mos pics but I didn't give them their own post because I'm not uber-thrilled about my progress).

The rug is not always askew... I move it for pictures, lol.

I've gotta head off to work in about 20 minutes and I'm not dressed for work so I better go find something to wear and head out.  Hope you're all having a good week so far!!

Weigh Day

Today is the day I face the music and I'm down .5 lb!  I'll take it :)  Not down to my low but .4 lb from there so I'll take it.

This morning at the gym I doubled up on workouts to make up for missing two days from being sick.  I'm finally feeling better this morning (been sick since Monday night.. I mean DEATH warmed over sick lol) and we did our regular strength session and then went right into a cardio session.  We do 20 minutes and the further distance I've gotten was 1.17 (or .19...) and today I went 1.25 miles!!!  I sweat so hard I had a sweat "necklace" down to my boobs!!!  I have NEVER!!!  I was impressed with myself and felt vile all at the same time.  When I showered after I used cold water but it still felt warm because I was so HOT!  I sweat for a little while after my workout too, just pouring all that sickness OUT... it felt great. :)

Today, once the kid wakes up, we'll get ready and head out to pick up her little friend.  She's soooo excited to see her, they are BFFs.  We're going to go downtown to the children's museum and grab some lunch.  We have a cute little tshirt to give to her friend.  Her bff's bday is 10/5 so we picked it up and I'll take a picture of them together wearing their matching tshirts and give her a framed shot of that picture.  Cadence will like to have a copy in her room, I know that. :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!  Mine's looking up! :)

Clarification and more thoughts on the dress

Turns out the bride, my BFF, made an "executive decision" after seeing the sizing charts and ordered me a 22 instead.  I knew I was just inches from fitting into it but I couldn't get the "what if" thoughts out of my head and went with the 24 anyways.  I know better, I'll fit in the 22 and I'll still need it brought in 6 sizes ;)  They said they can bring it in any number of sizes so I'm not bothered getting a bigger size at this point.

Here's the thing.  I started my WLS journey at a size 24 and had surgery wearing a 22.  I once wore a 26 at my heaviest.  Am I wearing any 24s now?  NONE.  I recently shipped any remaining size 24s off to a newly banded blog buddy :) Am I wearing 22s?  No... 20 - nope... I'm in an 18.  Firmly.  I don't get any muffin top with an 18 and, for the love of god, I can breathe in them... comfortably.  I'm an 18!!!  I have 16s in my closet but I get some mean muffin top and I'm not quite ready for those pups yet.

I'm done beating myself up over having to order a freaking bridesmaids dress in a bigger size.  I know I'm not a 22 or a 24... I know better.  'Nuff said.

Oh and since we all love pics.. here's a relatively unattractive picture of me from the side with my kiddo.  We rode on the "Ducks" in Wisconsin Dells.  They used to use them in the military and they go on the land and in the water.  Fun stuff.

Ewww... dress fitting

I'm matron of honor for my BFF's wedding in May.  I just ordered my dress over the phone since I live in Wisconsin and BFF lives in Indiana.  I had to give the gal my measurements over the phone so she could determine what the best size would be to order.  Well... way to make my day depressing.  My bust measurement fits in the size 22 category and my waist and hips fit in the 24 category.  She asked if I wanted to go with the 22 and I couldn't bring myself to do it because WHAT IF I stay these same measurements and I don't fit?  There's no exchanging, there's not enough time for that so I went with the 24.

All I can think is that I better look damn good when they have to bring that dress in 6 sizes.

The only reason I'm mulling this over so much (because I KNOW dress sizes are weird) is because apparently the other bridesmaid wears an 18 (pants) and she fits in the size 18 dress.  How unfair is THAT?

Let's top off this already depressing post, shall we?  It's raining something fierce, I got a cold last night and I can't breathe, and when I called in to work they said so had everyone else and basically guilted me into coming into work sick.  When you compare my sickies to theirs they win since I have congestion and they have the flu.  Blech!!!

Oh, one happy bit of info.  Today is my 5 month bandiversary.

ETA - work called me back and told me not to come in, yay!

The Scale Spoke to me too...

... it said, "F*ck you, Tiffani."

I gained 2 lbs since last week.  I know my body and I know I'll be back down TOMORROW but still, frustrating.

Ugh.

Another fill and support group

 

me with my bub, 9/3/05

Yikes, check that photo out.  I've been meaning to post true before pics for some time now but I kept putting it off when I'd look at the photos.  I am truly embarrassed with how I looked.  I was supposed to be at my most beautiful moment.. my wedding.  Ugh.  My kiddo says it best in the picture, "pfft!"

Yesterday I went in for another fill.  It had been 6 weeks since my last visit and I felt like I could use a small one to control my portion sizes a bit better.  I got an asshole of a doctor though.  I've had him once before and was disappointed but couldn't get in with my surgeon so I just opted to see this guy instead.  Well, I asked what would happen when I reached "full" status since I was so close and he said, "we'll reassess when we get to that point."  I told him, "I don't like that answer."  I didn't... I like details, it's just how I work.  He snorted at me and said, "well I don't know what you want me to say."  Then he proceeded to tell me that the band doesn't work for everyone and all this bullshit (pardon me, I'm still a bit burned).  I was so angry!!!  Anyways, the NP that was shadowing him gave me my fill and I asked how much I got and he said, ".5 cc."  I said, "so I'm full?"  He said, "pretty close!"  UGH!

Well, at the support group the NP sat in on our band group and she told me that the doctors DO NOT prime the band (I had been told they do) and so I technically have 2-3 ccs left from the tubing to fill.  So if you do THAT sort of math I might only have 6-7 ccs in my band.  That doesn't sound so unreasonable... 9 ccs, that sounds like a lot.  I guess I'll learn more soon.

 

that's me in the middle with a college roomie (left) and a friend

Doesn't my face look like it's about to explode?  I honestly feel like I look younger NOW... 7 years later.  So anyways... support group was helpful as usual but there were a lot of newbies in there too which always means less time to talk about the real issues because they have beginner questions... there needs to be a separate group for them.

Last night we went grocery shopping and  I got things to make yogurt/fruit/granola for breakfast.  Not sure what to call that... a parfait?  I had it this morning and on the yogurt container it said a CUP was a serving.  HELLO, if I put fruit and granola in that cup of yogurt I'll burst, lol.  It was delicious though.

I'll look for a few more before pictures to share with you all really soon. :)

Family photo from October 2008... a year ago.  I've come a long way :)

(ETA - I did space out my post but something is going wrong when I click post so sorry for how this reads if it doesn't fix itself.)

Clothing sizes

I always love when someone asks me a question in my comments area because then I have a topic to blog about!

I am currently wearing XL tops and size 18 jeans.  I feel like I might be in the XL tops for a while but the 18's might be going away rather quickly.  I think it's true whoever said the first few sizes drop really slowly but then they go quickly after that.  I am down from a size 24 jeans (26 at my highest weight) and a 2-3x top.  Yikes!  That's pretty decent, I think! :)  Sometimes I pass myself in a mirror and feel pretty thin and other times not so much.  I definitely carry most of my weight in my belly still so that makes me a bit self-conscious about that but I deal. 

I know better not to compare to other people but it is really frustrating to read about all the other bloggers/banders that are wearing smaller clothing than I am but weigh more.  I get the body size thing but MAN that makes me  jealous, lol.  I've always had to wear bigger sizes for my belly.  I have small legs for a plus-sizer though, always have.  My thighs are pretty normal looking when you compare them and maybe even on the thin side.  I think I might have a picture to demonstrate...

 

Just small stems on this body!

I'm going to make a new post soon with some before pictures I found on Facebook and some other places.  Blech.

Weigh-in Day brings a big surprise :)

 

Yeppers, on a weigh-in day the scale finally cooperates and brings me a milestone number!!!  I am soooo excited to finally have reached this one.  It has been months in the making, I swear.

I am DOWN 3.4 lbs since last Friday!  Holy crap!  :) :) :) Despite it being my birthday I managed such an awesome loss this week. 

OK, off to do the happy dance by myself now so you girls don't get annoyed with me ;)  WAHOO!!!

Labor Day Weekend

eta - the cake my SIL made for me!

We had a relatively quiet weekend!  We went to my brother's house on Saturday and my sister and her family went there as well.  We had a mini birthday party for me by having a cookout and my sister-in-law made a fabulous cake!  Chris took a picture on his phone but he's at work with his phone and he hasn't uploaded it anywhere so I'll share when I can.  We stayed the night at my bro's house and woke up and went to Golden Corral for brunch.  It's a buffet but I had one round of food and didn't finish it all, then went back for a small salad and couldn't finish.  I can't manage to get over my fat-girl status at buffets.  I usually go there STARVING first of all.  So I'm famished and my eyes wind up being way bigger than my stomach.  It's ok but I always feel bad wasting so much food.

From there we drove back home and showered and what not.  Then my brother came to MY house and the hubby and him fixed up a bunch of things around our house.  My hubby is NOT very handy or Mr. Fix-it.  He's just not.  My brother on the other hand is.  So we utilize him whenever we need things done and he gets it done efficiently and always does a good job.  Then my bro stayed the night at our house (with his family).  My SIL made dinner, with me helping in the background, and it was delicious.  It was chicken  breasts stuffed with feta and basil and grilled.  For a side we had cheesy potatoes (leftover from the cookout) and green beans with bacon.  I didn't say she made a healthy dinner but she made dinner.  I couldn't eat all my chicken breast but I finished the beans and taters that I took.  We have plenty of chicken and fixings left so we have dinner for another night or so.

Monday... my brother and family head out for home and off my family went to Red Lobster for lunch with Chris' family for my birthday.  It's sort of a tradition that we get together for some meal and cake for each person's birthday.  Since my birthday is on Wednesday we did it a wee bit early.  I was given several Christmas ornaments and decorations since my FIL remembered me mentioning a while back that I don't have much for decorations... great idea!  He also gave me some moolah, yay!  SIL and BIL went together with their families and bought me a radio/cd player that goes under your kitchen cupboard to save space.  I didn't think I'd get one since the only person I told about it was Chris and no one else asked.  I guess I told the right person! ;)

Today I had to haul my kiddo and myself to the DMV to renew my license.  I went on Friday to avoid the after holiday rush but it was a furlough day at ALL DMV's in our state so they were closed.  Rats, that left me with today to go.. period.  So we waited 45 minutes in the waiting area until we were called over for a 45 second confrontation and then another 45 seconds to get my photo taken.  Another 45 seconds for my license to print and off we went.  UGH!  Waiting sucks.  It wouldn't have been bad for me alone since I brought reading material but the kiddo was all, "is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?  is that our number?"  You get the point...

Tomorrow's my birthday.  I'll be 27.. no big deal.  Nothing special.  Chris is sending me to a day spa though! :)  I'm getting an hour-long massage, a facial, a mani and a pedi.  Ahhhh, excellent! :)

Hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend!!!