WHATS HAPPENING!!!!!!!!SUNDAY

Friday night when I went to bed my face felt itchy and was sort of burning. Yesterday morning when I awoke my face was on fire and so swollen and red , even my eyes almost swollen shut. OH NO looks like poison ivy. The only place that it could be gotten was the area that we were clearing and burning it all up. Had to be lots of vines(poison ivy) in there. So the only place it is on my face and all around my eyes. I had on long sleeves and all. Went to the urgent care clinic in Branson and got two shots of prednisone stuff. And a tube of ointment , Tobrax for in and around the eyes. The visit with the 2 shots wasn't too bad but the ointment was 20 dollars my part and the insurance paid 58. dollars of the tiny tube of meds. Bought some benadril so I could take that if need be. I didn't know that poision ivy has a 21 day course and no matter if you don't do anything it still takes that long for it to star get worse and then start getting better. Lol But they said the itching might get better since we caught it early. I sure hope so. Debbie : so glad that you are thru with the surgery and are at home. Now that you are on the bench with the rest of us you will have to keep us informed about how you are doing. You are our resident Bander. So we want info. Sherr: Sounds like you are going to have a big garage sale. Wish I could come. I love going to them. Sounds like a good place to have yours if you can keep the people routed where you want them to go. Lol Hey yes I have some Toad Lillies I planted last year. Did you know that some of them have the colors they have from a fungus?? Doesn't harm them or other plants just makes them have weird colors. Neat huh? I have gardens of all colors. So don't know what is my favorite . I love purples and lavenders, and pinks but I also like reds and oranges and yellows. My shade gardens are more soft colors but most of the sunny beds are brighter colors. Are you in zone 7? You should be I would think. I am on the border of 6 and 7 I have plants that winter over that aren't suppose to in zone 6 but they do. I just mulch them and they do fine. Janet: glad that you are watching over Mel and her move. I know she is probably going to take care of herself , especially after the last hospital episode . That would make anyone leary of hurting themselves again. I hope you all had fun and enjoyed your night out. Yeah sleep with the house empty. Like we believe that. Next month I will bring some clothes to the meeting that I have lost too much for but you may be too small for them to then . most of them will be 22s and some 20s maybe a few 18s I meant to bring them this past meeting but got out and gone before I realized I had left them at home. Most are not fancy just everyday clothes. But would leave a person free to spend what they wanted on better clothes for work or outings. Vesta: great to see you on the board. I don't have any idea where Gretta or Marilyn are and Julia didn't post today either. Weird . My guest house isn't one that we built It is a mobile home that was on a lot that we bought. We have practiallly built it because we are redoing a lot of stuff in it. Almost the whole inside. It is a two bedroom one bath mobile home . We have replaced the siding on it and painted it. Replaced doors and doing windows when it warms up some. Replacing most of the bathroom, replacing flooring. Painted walls. Painted all the cabinets. And ceilings one of these days we will replace the applicances in the kitchen hopefully but I figure that a guest doesn't have to cook anyway. So we put a toaster ,coffeepot,and microwave so in case they want a snack. When we have guest we put in bread, butter and jelly and peanut butter, popcorn, rice cakes, and coffee , creamer, sugar,and sweetner. Lol just in case. Also usually put bottled water in the ref. and if we know they like sodas put some of that too. We are trying to find a good used tv. That we can install over there with a dvd player and several different dvds so a variety of movies. Just in case they have a night they cant sleep. Lol All of this is how it will be when we ever get it finished anyway. Taking a while. Melissa: I use to love the Louie Lamore books when I was younger. I had lots and lots of them. They were pretty good books. Human interest westerns lol. Yes reading is good doesn't matter what it is he reads , it does help the mind to work. Lasgna? Can we have that? I bet it was very very good. Yummy. Craig: hey good to see you on the board. Well are you still eating some different things ? I hope so I think are afraid that this ole country girl will come kick some bootie that you might or might not bare with pants being too big on you again. Lol Well that was a pain getting all the stuff done to have oral surgery and then not doing it . why didn't they tell you up front that you need the cash when you got there. Hey don't wait too long on getting your appointment changed I don't want you using that as an excuse ok? Be there or be square man. Rachael: I hope your cold or allergy is going away. Have you ever tried zicam. A lot of people are swearing by it anymore. It is awful to be sick and still having to work I know. Take care and hope you are feeling better this morning. Yes I have your mom written down on the list for surgery. It is the day after my birthday. And I put her on the birthday list too. Thanks. Tami : thanks for the info about the s.f. dilly bar at Dairy Queen , Joe likes to go get a blizzard at the dairy queen all the time and he hates to go without me getting anything so now I can get that while he eats his blizzard. Thanks. I think all of you that do exercising it is a good idea to keep each other accountable here on the board. Very good idea Lets see what did I do yesterday. Does walking into the urgent clinic and getting a couple of shots count ? Doubt it but I did get a new recruit for the board possible. Lol About 3 days a week I use one or the other of my dvds that I have one is an exercise dvd and the other is a walking dvd. I love walking outside except when it is cold I freeze so easy that I don't do that often. Will be glad when it gets warm again and can put up my pool again. Sugar: You are going to be in such good shape before the surgery that you are going to fly right thru it. And within six weeks you will be back in there doing all of it again I know. Lana: lol I can just see the employers when you start dropping pounds like crazy and they think you are amazing lol you are bad. I hope there isn't a prize involved that might not be too fair. Lol Call me Monday when you get a break. Ok? Just remember that a day without sunshine is like::::::: Night. LOVE AND JOY AND PEACE ABOUNDS JAN

Bbbbrrrrrrr it's COLD this morning, only 12 here and the windchill is -1 YIKES!! Where'd that 60 degree weather take off too I went to let the dogs out and they stepped out on the deck and said NO NO NO and wanted back in lol I said HURRY and POTTY, boy they didnt waste any time doin their thing lol I bout froze til they come back up. I'm drinking my shake now and bout to freeeze lol I should a made a hot shake instead of one with ice. It's so good to see Deb home and finally on the losers bench, WOOT WOOT DEB!!!! Jan your so welcome for the B-Day Card, Susan loves sending things out like that to people, she's my date girl lol You tell her once when your B-day or any other date is and she remembers lol I barely remember my own B-Day much less anyone elses lol. Yesturday we went to the gym, it was just our cardio day but we increased the level on the treadmill and the time, boy did I feel it when I got done, my legs were wobbly lol Lana thats great your able to go to the gym, where we go they have lots of TV's like that, when ya get to watching something the time goes by doesnt it? lol I bet you feel better each day after you come away from there dont ya? I know we do, we just love going to the gym. Never in my life did I ever think I'd love going to a gym. My wife wants us to try the beginner step arobics so I guess we'll start that in a couple weeks. I was gonna do their Weightloss Challenge , its a class that starts next week, its just like the biggest loser almost, it's a pretty intense 5 week course but I dont think Im quite ready for that, I'll do it next time. They divide ya up into 2 teams and the personal trainers work ya out like on biggest loser plus they do a nutrition class and all, its a really great challenge. Tami, whats the elipitcal? Is that something ya workout on at the gym? Sounds different. Vesta when I first started drinking protein shakes I had the problem of them makin me sick, this was before surgery. Then I seen on here where people were using the Opitimum Nutrition Whey Gold Standard, I found it and started using it, it tastes really good, not like some of the protein powders that have a bitter taste. Thats the only one I found that didnt make me sick, even after surgery it set on my tummy pretty good. I dunno if you've tried that one or not. I've read too that some new pouches dont tolerate dairy products right off. Wowzers Craig, Congrats on the weightloss bud, thats awesome!!! Pretty soon no one will even recognize ya thats a good thing!!!!! Keep up the good work. Are ya eating better now?? Ya better be, ya know how them crazy southern girls are, Jan will woop up on ya LOL Well I gotta get up from here and get ready for church, hope everyone is staying warm, it's freeeeeezing out there!!! Have a blessed sunday, Andrew

Hello everyone, Well, it's really cold!!!!! Bet you didn't know that. I went to the gym and it was a little warmer than when I got up but still only about 25 outside. I walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes. Felt really tired when I stepped off but that passed right away and I feel good. Andrew, I always hated exercise but going to the gym is a good thing for me now. I feel physically better and mentally good about having done it. A win-win situation. I go to the St. Johns Fitness Center at the Nixa Community Center and since my husband is a member it only costs me $12 a month to add myself and make it a family membership. You can't beat that. They have about 10 treadmills, elipticals, bikes, steppers, and Cybex weight stuff. It's pretty good and not crowded usually. There is no indoor pool so no water aerobics stuff. They also have classes but I don't think I'm ready for any aerobic workouts yet. Maybe someday. I had to have DH hide the scales from me. I just couldn't resist getting on them every morning and then when they didn't move for a few days I was way too tempted to "diet" and not eat properly. So, he'll give them to me on Saturday morning and then they will go back into hiding. I'm proud to say that I haven't "searched" for them but when they were right there in the bathroom I just couldn't stay off. I'm having some wonderful WOW moments especially from people who haven't seen me for awhile. I want to put up a new picture but just haven't taken time to have DH take one for me. He says I've lost in my face so it will be fun to see if you guys see it. My eating has gone really well. I am five weeks out from surgery and am eating egg, tuna, chicken thighs, cottage cheese, deli ham rolled up with ff cream cheese, asparagus, green beans and sf applesauce. I put salsa on almost everything and Lite mayo on the drier stuff like tuna. I pan grilled some fish and it was great too. I cook my veggies like my Momma did, just mushy almost but they taste really good to me. I sure am not hungry, forget to eat if someone doesn't say, "Oh, it's lunch time". This surgery is the best thing I ever did for myself, and being honest, I've done some pretty nice stuff for myself over the years!!! However, most of the other stuff was just cosmetic and this surgery is life-saving, that's a big difference. I know that I'm going to have some parts of my body that I'm not going to be too excited about after the weight is gone but I'll worry about that when the time comes. Mostly I'm just enjoying the freedom from pills and the good feeling of being healthy. Sure, I still have some aches and pains but nothing I can't live with. I'm so happy for all the new people coming along and posting. This surgery is a life-saving miracle for so many folks. I just want to share it with the world. It's like sharing our faith, it's what we are meant to do. Hugs and love to all of you, newbies and oldsters!!! Lana

Hi Jan, I have been lurking . I am going thru a really tired phase of my MD. Also have been jumping thru hoops to try to find another apt. and to finallize all this old stuff. The stress has increased my depression which adds to the tired feeling so double whammy for me this week.They kept putting off my appt for the paperwork for the apt. and if my Dr. doesn't fill the papers out right they won't give me a ground level one. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and if he doesn't do it right I will have them contact my MDA Drs in Columbia.So that is a longer wait. Also trying to find a place for my sister again because she can't afford to live here either. She only gets $202 a month and the new guy wants $450 a month. No way for us poor people!! I have not heard from Kat or Marilyn for a while. I do hear from Gretta. She was under the weather a little but better now. I will let her tell everyone of her weight loss. She looks good though. I told her I was jealous I was not loosing yet. My daughter made me take my Christmas presents (2pair of jeans) back yesterday to exchange them. I wasn't wearing them. So I got a nice brown lace top that I should be able to wear for quiet a while even after I have surgery because it is stretchy.I also got a nice windbreaker Jacket and matching pants. Something that when the weight starts leaving I can still wear for a while also. I can also take these pants in as needed if I want. Ijust want to get my surgery so I can move on. I find out the 8th when my knee surgery is . Also they called my sister and I had to take her to have an ultrasound of her breast. She had a mammogram last summer and they said it was all right but then they called the other day and said she was suppose to have the u.s.They used the excuse they thought our phone was off and we have had the same phone and number all this time. So that is a little worring that they waited 6 months or more to call. Has anyone heard from Allen. I have been worried. I posted a while back but got no response I hope he is doing well. I am glad to hear Lana and Vesta are doing well and that Debbie is home and well. She will be a great help for all those who want to have the lapband. Hope your poison ivy doesn't last long and you get to feeling better. Also glad to hear Auntie Sug is well and looking forward to her surgery date. Andrew that is awesome you and Susan are doing so well and losing together. It makes a lot of dufference to have a good supportive partner. Hello to Tami my birthday month sister and Sherr, you are so cute!!! And to all others take care I think of you often. Julia

Hi Jan and all : just wanted to say hello. Found out how old I am! LOL Worked the 10-6am shift last nite, seems they had so many call off due to illness so I went in and worked. I never did like the night shift when I worked it as I am a day person. Anyway, I did survive and then came home showered and got ready for church. Came home and ate lunch and then I ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Just got done talking to Tony and looks like we will be having our group start soon. If you all have a chance look at my 4 pictures I put on. Cant seem to get the one on here but I could upload it there. Most recent was taken at Christmas ( the one with the long skirt) Also have a picture of the snow, and one of my hubby. Colette

Good Morning all. Just a note to say I am thinking about you. Haven't had a lot of posting time lately because work is so busy, but I am home today with a sick child. Probably could have sent her to school, but I just felt like I needed the extra day off, so I took it. lol Well I finally broke the 200lb mark. I am officially 198 with a total loss so far of 44 lbs. Getting under 200 seemed to take forever because I just hovered there for almost 2 weeks. How is the diet going Andrew? I still feel like I eat way too much cottage cheese because I know it is safe. I tried a half a bagel yesterday with disasterous results. I get so excited to find things I can actually eat. I do well with tilapia and even tried a london broil with a creamy horseradish sauce from a bariatric cook book recipe that I was able to eat ok. But everyday stuff just doesn't seem to work for me for some reason. Just curious how the other NOvember patients are doing with their diets.... HUGS all around. barb

Hi Jan and OH MO Peeps~ I didnt post to this earlier, but wanted you to know that I would LOVE the clothes.... I know, the thought of me coming to the support meeting in the buff is comical-and we have laughers in that group-so I BETTER stay dressed.... I doubt that the 20's will fit by then, but the others will be close- WOO-HOO and thanks.... Barb, I had my surgery in Nov (29th) and I lost 44 before surgery (actually it was 51, but then gained back some-from PMS etc) but, I have also lost another 39 as well. I have lost 83# since August and I really feel good. I went through 9 days where the scale didnt move but 1/2 # and I got bummed out-but when I started to feel better and got my shakes in etc-the scale started to move again.....I now could carry my 13 yr old son on my back-with a gallon of milk, and thats how much weight I have lost, so when I look at it that way-I dont get down about it not being enough.... Talk to you all soon~ Jan