8/14 QOTD: Introduce yourself!
I am 40 years old and live in Derry NH with my husband Neil and 2 children ages 6 and 7. I have pretty much been a stay at home Mom since having kids. I started a Medical Billing Comapny in 2004 and have been able to work from home and at odd times so that I am available to my family. This Fall will be the first time both my kids are in school at the same days/times(First and Second Grade) so I am excited to see what my "free" time will be like. (Maybe the laundry and house will finally be in order!)
Before Kids, I received my Bachelors degree in Education and specialized in Therapeutic Recreation with disabled children, psych patients, elderly... I worked in that field for 11 years in a variety of settings - mostly psych hospitals. Since I had a connection with quite a few doctor friends, I started my Billing Service with the help of some PhD clients. Now I bill for a variety of specialties including a Registered Dietician Group, Psych Group and ARNP.
I love to be crafty- beading, stamping, scrapbooking, reading, painting, time out with girfriend/mom friends etc... and have been known to mountain bike, rock climb, hike, walk, kayak etc....during the brief periods in my life when I was not overweight. We just bought a camp at Lake Osipee, so I love to spend time up there with the kids being outdoorsy, swimming, having camp fires....
My weight has(had) been an issue my entire life, but particularly snowballed since having kids. Finally last Nov. I had RNY at a BMI of 43 and a whopping 306 lbs. (I am quite tall).
Now I have lost just over 120 lbs and feel like a new woman! I am back to being active, lively, energetic, I can play better with my kids and have more fun in life!
I had my surgery at Lowell General- although I live in Derry. I have attended the Derry Post OP group once this summer and hope to get back into it come the Fall. I would love to meet other NH WLS patients.
That's about it in a nutshell!
Highest Weight- 306, BMI: 43.9
Current Weight- 168, BMI: 24.1
Goal Weight- 165, BMI: 23.6
We enjoy it because it's cheap (other than the $100 we spent on the gps) and it involves a lot of walking. It takes us to areas that we've never been before. Just last month we went geocaching in our own town and found a really neat pond with a nice trail going around it.
Whenever we travel, we always look for a few geocaches. A lot of people take a trinket with them and then exchange it for one in the box (especially people who do it with young children.) For us, we don't take anything and we don't leave anything. We just find the box, sign the log, and enjoy the area.
My name is Jenn and I will be turning 30 on 10/27. I am married and our 2nd anniversary is 9/23 - no children as of yet, that is one of the many reasons for WLS, to be able to start a family with me being healthy. Well, relatively speaking... I have Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed with that and spent my 16th bday in the hospital (at PRH no less!). I am on a lot of meds and really hoping the reduction in weight will help ease the pain. The one thing I am scared of most is going off my anti-inflammatory meds and stopping some other disease fighting meds before and after surgery (so I don't have an icreased chance of infection). I've also had my right knee replaced almost 3 years ago.
Despite all that, DH and I love camping and light hiking. We just bought our first house in January so we're still 'settling in'. We have 2 dogs, a 10.5 year old yellow lab who I've had since 8 weeks and a 3 year old beagle jack russel mix we 'rescued' from someone who didn't want her. We also have 3 cats. I used to ride horses, but haven't since I have gained so much weight. I am hoping to start riding again soon!
My DH is an environmental engineer and I work for the state of NH.
So, thats me in a nutshell! Pics of my pups on my profile.
Hello everyone! Nice to see everyone sharing so much information about yourselves. As I read thru your posts I see that a number of you have either spouses or children who are employed at the same place I am - Fidelity Investments!! (what a small family we are LOL).
My name is Tammy and I turned 50 this year. I was a single parent for many years (having divorced 23 yrs ago). My son, Adam, is a firefighter/EMT for the Concord Fire Dept. He is a graduate of Southern NH University class of 2001. He lives on his own and has recently just bought an investment property.
I am a graduate of NH Technical Institute (i hear they have a new name now) in Concord with associates degrees in Computer Science and in Administration/Management. I have been working on my Master's degree for the past few years and will be transferring to Clark University this winter (since I now live in Worcester, MA and the school is about a mile from my house).
I have been dating a wonderful man for the past 3 yrs (who is also one of the reasons for my moving to Worcester). He has 3 grown children who are all married, and they have produced 3 beautiful grandchildren (ages 11, 3 and 12 months - bd is the 25th of August).
In my spare time i enjoy reading (mostly danielle steele and Nora Roberts), sewing, quilting, crafts, refinishing furniture. In fact I will finish the refurbishment of a 100+ yr old maple dry sink as of tomorrow (waiting for the last coat of polyurethane to dry as I type this!). I also enjoy cooking, baking and entertaining, and collecting teddy bears. We enjoy traveling and being outside. I love the water and try to get to the beach whenever possible.
One thing i am enjoying this summer is that I am part of a pilot program at work, to be able to work remotely from home 99% of the time, only going up to the office in NH 1-2 times a month. This has greatly reduced stress levels and allowed me to actually produce more work with less interruptions. And who can complain about being able to sit on their deck and still be working!!! LOL
Thus far, I have lost 120 pounds since surgery and have met my personal goal of 160. Now I have to figure out how/if I would be able to get PS for the hanging skin on my arms and upper thighs, as I am not sure my insurance will cover it as I have not had any medical issues with it.
It was nice to read about everyone. I don't get online as often as I would like, so i'm posting a bit late...but nonetheless, here it goes. My name is Kristene, i'm 34, I live in Hudson. I'm a Mom to 4 kids...Heather is 16, Zach is 13, Corynne is 12, and Meghan is 4, and my boyfriend Scotts son Jacob is 8....so 5 kids really! We have a big crazy blended family! I'm work full time as a Nurse Manager in a Nursing and Rehab Center, and then I work part time at an ER. We also have a dog...Jackson, the crazy Jack Russell Terrier. I don't have a heck of alot of free time, but when i do I love to do anything with my family, and i also enjoy reading when i get a minute or two. My energy level has gotten worse with every extra pound so I'm looking forward to that getting better so I can enjoy life alot more.
I've always had weight issues...though most of my life, i was just "on the big side" I'm tall (5'9) and was able to carry the extra weight fairly well....except for the last 5 years or so when the 220 went to 250...to 275...and there i was at 300lbs! I've had alot of emotional problems over the last few years with my weight. I'm a huge control freak (my bad personality trait) and couldn't control this, so i finally decided i would do something that will hopefully help me get this in control. I started researching WLS about a year ago...however i felt i could never take the time to do it, but in June I decided to get more serious...and here I am already, with a date...Sept 2nd! Well thats most of me in a nutshell.
Kristene :)
