GETTING TO KNOW YOU!

What a great idea! Hi everyone! My name is Kathy, I am 37, pre-op but getting close I hope! I am married, 3 teenage girls 18,16,and 14 and my son is 8! I work full time and I go to school part time for Nursing. Whew! Today I took a much needed personal day from work-I am supposed to be cleaning the house and doing homework! He he he! These boards are so addicting! I never knew about the chat sessions until I read about them today so hopefully on Wed. I can visit them also! (Mon. I am in school until 10 p.m.) Everyone have a GREAT weekend! Hugs! Kathy

Hi there I'm Vivienne 36 mother of three Civil Court clerk and I am going to do the Avon walk for Breast Cancer in Oct if anyone wants to join me(hint ,hint) I enjoy the beach I live right across the street and am now an exercisaholic Always looking to chat and make new friends

WOW what a great response!!!! You guys are all wonderful and i am so happy to get to know you all. I cant wait until we organize something in the summer to really meet up!!!! Ok sorry just had to say that...Who's next??????????? LisaMarie

Great idea! Count me in!! Linda

Hi everyone! I used to be a regular around here but life has gotten so BUSY now... Anyways here goes... :D My name is Michelle and I live in Northern NY near Lake Ontario... I'm 33 years old, engaged to a wonderful man who has also had RNY, and no kids as of yet... I am a senior at SUNY Potsdam and will be graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration, minors in Marketing & Management... Wooo hoooo!! I also work part-time in our local community college's technology department as a consultant... I had my lap RNY on 12/17/04 at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY by Dr. Kim (HE SAVED MY LIFE!!!!)... When my journey began I had topped the scales at 423 lbs and lost 20 prior to surgery (my gallbladder went bad so that helped with the losing )... I have lost a total of 173 pounds so far and I feel fabulous... I still have about 60 more pounds I would like to lose even though my normal weight should be around 160 pds (I think that's too thin for my bone structure & height)... But hey anything below 200 would be awesome in my book since I was over 200 even when I graduated from high school... I love to scrapbook (I have my entire 1st year after WLS in pictures done and it's amazing)... I also enjoy NASCAR (favorites are Mark Martin & Dale Jr.), love to bowl, play mini golf, cook, bake, and taking road trips with no particular destination in mind sometimes... I also help to care for my fiances mother who has been diagnosed with Alzheimers (dimentia) and that's gotten really tough on both of us... We're hanging in there though... Ohhhh yah I can't forget the other loves of my life... My border collie/husky mix, Buddy... My guinea pig, Ziggy... And our fish, a male betta named Herman and our 6 gold fish... We're starting a zoo here Ok I think that about covers it... Who's next? :D

Hey, I'm Pat 35 years old wife for 13 yrs next month and a mother of three. My kids are 11, 6 and 2. I live up in Orange County New York and work as an Executive Assistant at Morgan Stanley in Manhattan. The commute is a killer. I had my surgery back on Nov. 2005 and since then I've lost 93 lbs. w/ 70 lbs. more to go. Surgery was on of the best decisions I have made in my life, not only has my quality of life improved but so had the ones of my family. I love seeing the changes in my body (even though at times it would just be quicker) it's just amazing. The best thing is it only takes me half the time to clean the house now, I know you guys may think it's funny, but w/ the two hour commute (each way) and the long hours I work it used to take me all Saturday to clean the house but now it only takes 1/2 the time leaving the rest of the weekend for fun. Pat

Great thread LisaMarie, My name is Shannon Arnold, I am 40 yrs old. I have been married to my husband John for 22 years. I have 2 girls, well young women now, Brittany just turned 21 last week, and Tiffany who is 18. We have 2 cats who entertain us every day. I live in the Southern Tier NY, a little town called Campbell, nearest known town is Corning. I had my open RNY on 11/29/05, and my surgeon is Dr. Robert Cole, (awesome man). I started at 257 and have lost so far 60 lbs and my goal is 130. I have not had any complications, I am able to eat most anything, just not much of it. I will never do sugar or soda every again. I can't believe the willpower that this new tummy has given me. I can make, serve, smell, and touch all kinds of my old favorite goodies, and not eat them or for that matter not even lick some off my finger. I thank God for this surgery it has changed my life. I am a licensed Cosmetologist currently only working as a nail tech at a higher end spa in Corning called The Spa, doing natural nails, artificial nail enhancements, pedicures ( love doing pedis), facial waxing. I find it so much less stressful than doing hair. I went to school for Cosmetology at 37 years old, it was my lifelong dream. Now I have new dreams, I will always have new dreams, its what keeps me fresh and alive. I love to do crafts, so getting into doing nails is right up my alley. I feel like I am playing all day. What a great feeling to actually like going to work. I only wish the pay was better. My next dream is to have my own shop, and have all the money I make come to me. I am also enjoying shopping for the first time in my life. Watching my pants literally fall off in a short period of time, is so exciting. Going for walks are becoming enjoyable, and not a chore. I can breathe well again. Anyway I could go on and on. OH has been an awesome part of my life, I have learned so much from this site and have met wonderful people and what a great support system. Thanks to all, Shannon

Hello to All! And thanks LisaMarie, this was a great idea. I mostly lurk, and this definitely made me want to step out and say hello. I'm Mary. I live in Queens. Just turned 49 years old, married for 5 years, together for 8 1/2 years. Alas, no kids. I am the IT training supervisor for a Wall Street lawfirm, where I structure, create and deliver work-flow based training to make our folks' computing lives easier. I also create documentation and technical manuals. I am orginally from Montana, and in my former life I was an opera singer (dramatic soprano for you opera fans). I still occasionally perform when pressed into service by one of my pals for a charitable cause. I had lap RNY on 9/30/05 with Dr. Dakin. Initially went well, but developed some complications that put me back in the hospital for the month of November, and home recuperating for another month. Happy (no, DELIGHTED) I'm doing well now. I started at 327 lbs, lost 11 prior in prepartion for surgery, and have lost 79 since for a total of 90 lbs. I'm with Deb - I struggle every day with making the best food choices, but so far still find it less of a struggle than I did before surgery. I'm thrilled to fit in Broadway theatre seats again, and to be able to walk up 3 flights of stairs to the 7 train without being winded. In June I'm taking my first flight since WLS, and really looking forward to fitting in the seat without a belt extender and without the person next to me harboring a grudge for encroaching on their space! Thanks to all you OHers who've helped me so many times, mostly without even knowing you did it!

Hello, my name is Karen and I live in Niagara Falls with my husband of 32 years Roger. I am a mother of two, a daughter Nicole who is married and has 4 children and a son, Natalino (Christopher) who has two sons. I am 50 years old and I work for a wine broker. I had my surgery on January 9th 2006 and to date I have lost 62lbs and I have 100 to go to get to my goal, so I still have a long way. I love to travel, my son lives in Florida and my daughter and her family live in Rochester, NY. We have a camper, and we go all over. We especially love wine festivals, and there are alot of them right here in New York. Watkins Glen in July has a huge festival right on the race grounds. We go with about 22 other party goes from here and we have a grand time. Also, just for info, Geneva has a great Whale Watch in August. It is a music and wine festival. I am also on the NYS 500 Club board of directors (bowling) and with the Niagara Falls Womens Bowling Association. Ladies in the Poughkeepsie area we will be there the first weekend in June for our tournament. I am staying at the Ramada Inn. I love this web site because most of the time I lurk behind the scenes, but I have learned so much. Thank you Karen 308/288/245/145???

HI My Name is Alberto I am from Chelsea in Manhattan, I had RNY on Jan 20th 2004 I started out at 275lbs. My lowest weight was 175lbs, but I now weigh 190 lbs I am now working hard to loose the weight I have regained and have set my goal at 160 lbs. Alberto