Thank you Nancy 

I received the most precious gift ever,  an awesome Pollera Tiriada,  one of my native country's national folkloric dresses complete with tembleques, the head adornments, which was sent to me via my niece upon returning to the USA this past Wednesday to receive her second Master's at U of Buffalo on Friday.   This pollera is one of my departed sister Dr. Maria Carmela's awesome collection.  Maria Carmela, Mela to all danced and was a very active participant in a Conjunto Típico, a panamanian folkloric group which was her favorite passtime away from her job as the Chief of Intensive Care at the Children's Hospital in Panamá.  Her awesome and very expensive collection of polleras and montunas were willed to my sister Rosita, myself and her nieces my daughter included.  The dresses are bulky and heavy and I was sooooooooooooooo surprised at the beautiful gift sent to me by my sister Rosita with my niece ... Mela's Pollera Tiriada ... OMG... it was like Christmas in May...

This is a downloaded picture of a Panamanian Pollera Tiriada for reference...

This is me on yesterday so honored to wear my eldest sister's awesome and totally adjustable pollera tiriada panameña.. I slipped right into it and donned the braids and the tembleques like it was just yesterday that I wore a pollera with the tembleques my mom would make ... it was like second nature ... I remembered... because my roots are still there... my heart never left ... 

Putting on my Pollera Tiriada and taking pictures in it yesterday was such an awesome feeling and an awesome NSV ... I would have never been able to carry it off wearing one of my sister's dresses at my highest weight of 327 pounds ...I was the ONLY morbid obese person in my immediate family...  It also made me happy because on Mother's Day I made a pollera for the doll I made with poured porcelain and my kiln in remembrance of my mom ... inspired by that my sister paid extra to send the heavy, bulky pollera up with my niece ... and I love it....

This is my mom (RIP) wearing a Pollera Montuna .. another version of the Panamenian Pollera...

 This is the doll I made with a mold and poured porcelain ... I fired up my kiln and shared her months ago but for Mother's Day I made her a pollera ... My Dedes doll.. Dedes was what we called our mom María Mercedes ... she was unique and special and the love of our lives ... she sewed ALL of our clothes... a stay home mom we were the center of her life ... like her I have met no other.... to this day I miss my mom .... she worried sick about my morbid obesity and did not live to see me lose it all and keep it off but I think from wherever she is she sees me and encourages me to press on.... I was so inspired to make a pollera for the porcelain doll and made in her liking...

And I made a collage of all four of us, my Mom and my sisters in order of birth ... all four of us in Polleras .... EMPOLLERADAS.... it made me soooooooooooooooooooo happy to once again wear my Pollera and YES!!! I am looking for a panamanian folklore dance group to join ..in the meantime I danced tamborito and mejorana right here at home....

Collage my mom and my sister Mela (RIP) at the top and myself and my sister Rosita on the bottom - both of us wearing Mela's awesome polleras...

I am so inspired by this ... no one knows but me how much my mom and my eldest sister were such great influence on my life pre and post weight loss surgery.  My sister Mela was my angel and it was her idea that I track my weightloss journey in a picture journal "A Picture A Day Keeps the Pounds and the Inches Away" ... 

At 7 years and 3 months post RNY I am maintaining a total loss of 203 pounds and a clean bill of health with perfect labs and stamina and endurance for my age ... I am grateful for an awesome tool and the awesome space that OH provides where I can share SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY!!! Thank you ALL!!! and have a lovely Sunday!!!!

My BEFORE....

MY NOW...

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE!!!! Food for thought seeds and weeds share by my awesome friend Darice:"Your life is your garden, your thoughts are your seeds, if your life isn't awesome, you've been watering the weeds. Word to the wise get rid of those weeds!! "

Diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, gastroesophageal reflux besides those five co-morbids I also had asthma, limited mobility, painful joints ... ALL RESOLVED/IN REMISSION.  

Thank you! They are 100% toy poodles.

It was the most AWESOME surprise especially when we opened up the box and more and more awesome and perfectly made sweaters kept coming out.  The timing was perfect too ... we had turned the furnaces off because IT IS SPRING after all not expecting this wave of cold ... they were sooooooooooooooo happy and comfy in their little duds and will make the most beautiful puppies in a basket Easter picture that I plan to take on Sunday.

Thank you soooooooooooooo much my beautiful sista ... I am soooooooooooooo glad to have met you on here and that you have been making AWESOME duds for my Pierreta and Pierre and Chip too all along .... beautiful and loving care in all you work.... thank you from me and my family...

Every bit of work is DEFINITELY worth it!!!! and you KNOW I LOVE the tiny clothes too ... whether I buy them or make them LOL

My best weight loss came from losing the burden of 5 co-morbidities and other morbid obesity related issues that were weighing me down and cramping my style ... 7 years post RNY I am still in the game and enjoying my journey with the same excitement as I went into it....

Of course I love the scale as an awesome tracking and accountability tool ... like the blood pressure cuff of the past that I still currently use for wellness check it is just a measure of telling me where I am that day ... I love keeping myself in maintenance always ready to run the extra mile or climb the extra stairs should it fluctuate out of my range... no stressing over it .... I am in control of me by choice....

I keep my nutrition/hydration and vitamins and labs in check as well as an awesome exercise routine ... I have learned to enjoy these things even when some days I have to give my old carcass a mental shot of Geritol to get started...

Yup, my best weight loss came from losing diabetes, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux, sleep apnea and hyperlipidemia as well as other issues like shortness of breath, seeping while coughing or laughing too hard WTH I was about to invest in designer's Depends and I was just not having it...

I keep myself empowered with a goofy tool that I call my digital empowerment collage ... "A Picture A Day Keeps the Pounds and the Inches Away" ... I see it ... I live it... it is my journey and I own it ...it is not about look at me ... I am after all a picture AW because I love pictures ... but more than that I empower myself to keep on keeping on ... and I am having fun with it ... even when I get hit with storms and have to walk through valleys of challenging experiences I try to enjoy the rain and the sun and the rainbow because I know that whatever comes my way it comes and it too will pass....

7 years and I STILL love my journey ... 

From Before RNY....

TO NOW.... this was me on yesterday ... with another 'fun-est' tracking tool ... picking up a tiny dud I wore months ago and being able to slide my curvy body at 203 pounds less than my highest weight for the same fit 7 years after my surgery..

I am still the goofy old fool that rock my hair short and get totally sick of my Dumbo looking ears and slap on extensions or a lace front wig the very next day ... because I just love hair and hair pieces too ... so I was in a quandary between wearing my dress to an oldies dance with my DH with my short hair or with wearing  wig teeeeeeeeeee heeeeeee.... I opted for my short hair and I clipped on a tail as I love to feel hair on my neck ... now THAT IS GOOFY..... like me...

Now this is DEFINITELY a goofy Snippet of my journey ... to encourage myself and maybe someone else to press on .... for wellness .... whether internal or external being at peace with one self and embracing what makes us happy while hurting no one IMO is the most rewarding experience on the journey .... 

It was very cold yesterday ... and I left the house looking like this...

and now I am enjoying my Sunday... staying close to home and on call because my toy poodle Pierretta will be delivering her first viable litter any day now.... in the meantime Chip got into a pocketbook I was about to send to a friend...

HAPPY SUNDAY TO ALL!!! and a happy upcoming week ... I continue to embrace my friend Mary's words "There is joy and there is misery in equal measures in this world ... I am embracing Joy and MAKING it HAPPEN to me ... of course there is misery ... but I am NOT letting it in"

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE... SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY.....

Thanks!!! looking forward to seeing the velvet skirt ... you have a big project with the DIY sinks ... be careful with unclogging that jammed garbage disposal though ... I had a close call doing that once YIKES!!! ... have fun on your DIY endeavors... DIY is a penny saver that is for sure ... that is if I don't count the whoppers with several hit and miss projects I have embarked on in between LOL...

I had the most horrible respiratory process going on for over a week ... it seems like there was an invisible faucet attached to my nose that was left on around the clock while my head exploded with congestion and my body decided it just wanted to rest and sleep and sleep and rest ... I hated the tired, dragging, fatigued feeling ... then the snow came and kept coming and coming and coming .... at one point I decided to just get up and get out there and help the guys with the shoveling ... breaking a sweat in the cold made me feel much better .... DH treated me to an awesome bowl of spicy chicken feet soup from Maxine's Jamaican restaurant and it hit the spot ... it took me right back down memory lane and to home to where my nana would make the most awesome soups (chicken feet, cow foot, fish head with dumplings and veggies and ground provision) to treat the common colds according to her ... the stuff worked ... more-so for the TLC that she put in it and the special attention that we got while she doted on us .... awesome childhood memories... the soups were delish believe it or not... although when I make chicken feet soup now my DD and DS say ewwwwwwwwwww.... 

So while I was down a bit I added shoveling snow to my exercise routine ... biceps and triceps are feeling it still ... and when I got home from work on Friday I was greeted with a HOT FLASH getting out of the car .... YIKES.... the snow blocking the shed in my backyard came in so totally handy ... hey why not put it to good use? I took off my coat while the flash crawled up from my toes to my head taking my breath away so I just sat down on it YUP on the snow and just picture AWd while I was at it ... why not? .... awesome Rx for an old sista having a hot flash LOL....

if you can't beat it join it the saying kinda goes .... even if it means building an igloo in our backyard as my awesome neighbor and her husband did and here I am while its being constructed using an empty recycling bin in which the snow was packed in to make awesome blocks ... I took a picture with one of her awesome daughters a lovely munchkin that I enjoy loving and spoiling as I do not have grandkids of my own but my awesome toy poodle Pierretta will be having a liter next month so a fury grandma I will be...

I got up this morning to discover that it had snowed a bit overnight and we are expecting another 5-6 inches tomorrow on top of the mounds of snow that we have not gotten rid of yet YIKES! anyhow we will take it in stride ... and while we are at it why not enjoy????

A bad cold tried to knock me down for a few days ... I shed a few pounds above the waist where I don't need to lose another ounce I wi**** would wear off the caboose or the thighs but that is okay ... I am still within my maintenance range 7 years post op and maintaining ... and loving it....

This is just another goofy post ... staying on track in maintenance for life ... 7 YEARS POST GASTRIC BYPASS... thanks all and OH for allowing me to share .... SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY...

I am so very sorry for your loss .. I was about to copy my thread over here and I read the title of your thread ... my heart breaks .. I cannot imagine your pain ... words fail me ... I am so glad you had such an awesome treasure for 37 years.  I pray your continued strength ... for you and your family.

Love Ya right back Molly.  Sorry I missed your reply ... I was literally BURIED in work yesterday.  Keep on hanging in there my beautiful sista and please do not beat yourself up ... eating is a comfort to so many of us myself included ...  What works for me is switching it up and preparing the foods that I like differently losing the extra unwanted calories by getting rid of ingredients that gave no value  or would add an inch to my derriere since that is where the bulk of my weight is and adding others without losing the awesome taste ...I found many awesome recipes both on here and on Eggface's website as well as all over the web and even making up a few of my own.  These are not only tasty but have good protein value and low calories as well as are meals that the entire family can enjoy.  This is a never ending journey IMO of taking it one day, one choice at a time ... if at the end of the day we went over we just plan to do better the next day...  if we fall we get up at whatever point we are ready to tackle the giant again and get back on track ... and I know you will when you are well ready ... do not stay off track for to long..  if I were you I would start by just addressing one item at a time ...eliminating/replacing one item at a time.... for example if you are eating 2 slices of white bread start by tossing that and replacing it with something better ... before you know it you would be jump started like a brand new battery and good to go ((((((((HUGS)))))))))

Love ya to pieces and appreciate you support and encouragement on my journey always ...

I rushed all the way downstairs to the basement because I needed something STAT ... I must have had a brainfart along the way because when I got there I could not for the life of me remember WTH I went down there for ... so I came back upstairs and my brainbulb lit up over a cup of coffee and I remembered what I went down to get so I got up really quick to go back downstairs before losing it again when my three toy poodles came running behind me.  I stopped at the first floor landing to let them out the back where they got entertained romping and playing in the snow before going to their patch in an area cleared for them to do their beeswax ... When I came back in I continued downstairs to the basement to retrieve ...... oh shoot WHAT??? my brainbulb must have frozen over because for the life of me I could not remember what I had just remembered a few minutes ago when I had gone back upstairs to remember what I originally went downstairs to get in the first place... So I just threw my hands up... decided to write my goofy snippet instead since I still cannot remember what it is that I need STAT that is in the basement ....  I checked myself wondering WTH with the brainfarts ... and the confirmation came shared by a friend on FB ...and I drew my conclusion... totally diagnosed myself.. I HAVE ARRIVED...

Nutritiion... check!!!

Weight... in full maitenance!!

Vitamins ... check!!

Labs .... perfect!!!

CONCLUSION:

teeeeeeeeeee heeeeeeeeeeee .... just another GOOFY SNIPPET ...