I HAVE A DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, now I need an offical angel! Do you really want the job Gigee? On September 1, I will be joining the losing team and sitting on the losers bench... Where is the emoticon for rapidly changing emotions? You know the Happy, Excited, Scared, Nervous blend of feelings that I'm having right now? Oh dear, my heart stopped when I got the date! I'm so happy and scared it's not funny... Need I mention my psych consult went well today? Love and huggles to all Rachel

Bravo! Very happy for you. Dianne

Rachel: I am so happy for you! September will be hear before you know it! Rosemary

OH RACHEL SWEETIE I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU,I BET A LUMP CAME UP IN YOUR THROAT TOO AND YOUR HEART WAS RACING WHAT A GREAT FEELING TO HAVE.I PRAY YOU HAVE A SUCCESSFUL SURGERY AND A SPEEDY RECOVERY.I JUST CAN NOT BEGIN TO SAY HOW HAPPY I AM FOR YOU, LOVE MOM ANGEL

Congratulations Rachel I remember that feeling. Remember to post and let us know how everything is going. Christie

Congradulations! A word of advice from someone who just hit the bench. Bend, move, walk! As much as you absolutely can! You will be better much faster if you do. Your weight loss will be greater also. Stock up on fat free chicken & beef broth. The Swansons in the pourable container worked great for me. Especially for the pre-op liquid fast when I wanted something more than jus****er, fruit20 or crystal light. They're also great for moistening your pureed foods. Also get some olive oil. I don't eat mayo (and I've heard that the fat free stuff is nasty) and my nutritionist recommended putting a little in some tuna during the pureed stage. I also really like the Smart Balance Butter spread with Flax Oil. I use it to cook my eggs, and flax oil is very beneficial. Also the Carb diet type of yogurt smoothies. I've been doing alot of running around this week taking advantage of my time off and I can just grab one and head out the door (I have a teenage daughter who was chauffering me around until thurs). Oh also, I think it was the codene that was giving me hot flashes. Don't be a boob like me and mistake one for an acutal fever (that was embarrasing!). I took my last dose of it on Monday and I haven't had a flash since then. You might also want to try potty training Donny now. He's 2 so he's old enough. It'll be so much easier for you if he's trained before you get home from the hospital. That way you won't have to worry about lifting him on a table or getting down on the floor to change him. I'll give you my neighbor's phone number. She runs a licensed in-home daycare and is wonderful. Chelsea goes there a few weeks during the summer and on her days off from school when I have to work. We've got a couple of major deadlines in August & September that I know Dave must be there for since he's the one gathering the data and producing the maps. That's one of the reasons I only took a week off from work. I have to get started on the reports as soon as I get back. It seems like Fall is when all of our deliverables are due. Didn't used to be like that. I guess with the cutbacks and war the government's timeframes are getting shorter. Ooooo almost forgot. Sugar Free Popcicles! The most wonderful invention EVER!!!!! I love to sit on the front porch after my evening walk and eat a popcicle! Counts towards your liquids too. And SF fudgecicles. Counts towards your protein and fluids! That's all I can think of now. Believe me these next 6 weeks will FLY by for you! The pain is not too bad in the hospital, the little button is your best friend the first 24 hours! It's just about gone once they remove the drain. The incisions are very small. My biggest one is in my belly button, next one is the drain hole (they don't stitch it after they remove the drain). The rest are barely scratches. Get some alcohol so you can clean that yellow stuff off your belly when you get home (your first shower will be absolute heaven!) and buy plenty of band aids. They give you a bunch of pads & tape and a few band aids to take home. I only used the pad & tape for the drain hole the first 4 days, then I went to just a band aid. Make sure you're in the shower when you take off the tape, the water helps alot! That's all Folks! The rest of you, add on to this if you think of anything else! Dee

Thanks Dee... good tips... although I can say already I'm avoiding any yogurt type products... bleck! They make me vomit now, I don't want to tempt fate afterwards and my nutritionist agreed with me on that one. I'm looking forward to turning mashed potatoes into a "healthy" meal by adding protein powder... never thought I'd be able to justify that one... was also told that Taco Bell's refried beans... I never thought of that one, but it makes sense, beans are high protein and refried beans are already mush so... off I am for yet another of my favorite indulgences! What a cheap date I'm going to be in the nearish future huh? I'm hoping that I still get my "last hoorah" though... was promised that if the funds are available that I'll get a dinner at Crawdaddy's in West Chester... I've only eaten there once and can't believe I ate that whole meal... mustard fried catfish and jumbalaya, red beans and rice and a HUGE piece of the most evil chocolate cake I've ever had... anyway, I was promised that meal again... and I'm looking forward to it! I just met up with the sister of a close friend of mine, she just started going to my church and has babysat for me before... looks like I might just have my transportation to and from church and some weekend help taken care of during recovery because of this! At least, I hope so! Alright, still trying to catch up from weekend posts... Have plenty more to read!!! Huggles Rachel