Hello after a long time away!

I know it has been a long time since I last posted here and I am sorry about that. Internet service at home BITES as all that is available is dial up over pots and it is VERY SLOW! I am returning to work in the morning, this is the end of the recovery period for the kidney removal surgery due to the tumor found in it. I have mixed feelings about going back. I really do like my job and I like the people there, I REALLY like the money, which is getting a little thin with me off of work, but I am really used to my "semi retirement"! You know, going to bed when I want to, getting up when I want to, doing what I want to when I want to do it, DARN, back to the grind! It is not all bad though, if the government orders enough aircraft, in 4 years I would be able to retire early at 55 with 33 years of service, in only 10 years from now my house will be paid off and then I can AFFORD to retire! While I was away, I have passed several large waypoints in my weight loss trip. I have dropped under 200#, I am now at 188 plus or minus depending on the day, I have totaled 180# lost since surgery, I am now in loose fitting 36" pants and can wear a large cut "M" or  a regular "L" shirt, though I am not ready for 34" pants. I have for the most part leveled out with the weight loss and am holding fairly steady from week to week. I have been away from the gym since the surgery but I will be going back starting on Tuesday and it will again be a regular part of my week. I am feeling great but I still get dizzy sometimes, other times nearly blacking out when I stand up quickly after sitting for a while. I guess my blood pressure hasn't adjusted to my new body just yet. It is normally 98/ 65 now and that is down from 145/85! My joints feel great, I don't get winded just walking, in fact, I nearly jog everywhere I go. There has been some loss of the extra energy that I had early on but I am still MUCH more active  with a huge amount more of extra energy than what I had before! I am getting double takes from people I haven't seen for a long time and I am indeed enjoying the attention. I have about a 10# to 15# flap of left over skin hanging under my belt but unless you see me neked you would never know it. I am going to try to post a picture that was taken of me last night at my Sunday school Thanksgiving dinner, the person who took the picture also included a "before" of me that she had. If it wasn't for my harry face, you might not know that it was me in both pictures! [IMG]http://img702.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2007/11/18/beforeandafter-48jszwjvi.jpg[/IMG]

Well that didn't work, here is the link to the photo! http://img702.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2007/11/18/beforeandafter-48jszwjvi.jpg

Oh, I forgot to add in my list of things that happened while I was away, I am now a year and a week out from my surgery!

Hi Cal, I am glad you're back. I've been watching for you to return. The pic looks great--what a positive change. Hope the work routine gets routine enough to be okay. Congrats on the weight loss and Happy Thanksgiving early.