Good Thursday Afternoon my sweet OFF friends!!

Connie and Judy...I hear you ladies talk about cold weather and I get confused.  It's summer here.  We just blew through spring.  Makes it difficult to reconcile that its still winter elsewhere.  Connie stay warm and rest up. Judy I am glad you are feeling better.  The eating issue must bring back memories of post op WLS.  Hope it gets better soon. 

Cindy P.  Hope the doctor was able to help you. I hate to be sick.  Luckily I am pretty healthy except for aging stuff like arthritis.  I wouldn't hurt as much if I didn't push my body but the other option is to vegetate and to me that is just not living.  I go as much as I can then crash until the aches and pains are under control then go again.

Speaking of aches and pains it is time to slow down a little for a day or so.  I have mentioned before that I HATE shopping.  Had to do that yesterday and today.  Yesterday at the Y I made a bad judgement call.  I had worked my biceps really hard so chose to do cardio on the bike instead of the arm bike.  The sprint section of the cardio was ok as I was doing it.  Not so much a few hours later.  My knees have been killing me ever since.  I am leaving on a cruise Tuesday and tried on my formal wear and lo and behold everything I have is too big.  I haven't been on a cruise in nearly 2 years and I have lost 20 pounds in the last few months.  Ergo shopping trip.  I replaced my "little black dress"  pretty easily and I was able to shop in my closet for one other outfit.  That left two.  Went to Dillards yesterday afternoon here in Kingwood and found one dress but it didn't fit.  They found it in the right size at a store 45 minutes from me.  Had gone downtown Houston yesterday morning for shoes.  Only one store in the Houston area that carries shoes in AAAA widths.  This morning off to Willowbrook for the dress I had them hold.  Should have gone alone.  Got there and tried on the dress to be sure it fit, paid for it and was ready to go.  Then hubby says " I found a beautiful dress over here".  Well after trying on another 7 or 8 dresses I finally got out of there.  I bought the dress I went for and a black chiffon skirt and a white lace blouse with a few shinny threads though out it.  I like that it is separates.  I'll get more wear out of it that way.  Then it was on to REI, Costco, Macaroni Grill, and Burlington Coat factory.  I am one tired puppy.  Add to that the barometer is changing and my knees are screaming.  I will be adding Epsom salts to my bath tonight.

Hopefully I will finish my laundry tonight and tomorrow I can lay out everything I am packing.  I'll be wearing my old capris from now on so I don't have to wash again before I go.

That's it for me.

See ya tomorrow

Hello Linda...the weather here is too cold for too long!! I so wish I could afford to live somewhere warm!! I know my pain would be so much better. 

WOW...did you ever do a lot of shopping...no wonder your knees hurt. Soon you will be on that wonderful cruise, relaxing and enjoying your time. The clothes you picked out sound wonderful. You will be the prettiest lady on the ship!!

I hope you can get everything packed on Monday for Tuesday. It sounds like you have everything under control. I love organization and planning ahead!! It makes everything go so much smoother.

Have a great rest of the evening....love to you and hugs too..connie d

Hello sweetest sistas!

I am behind with my posts!  I wanted to post yesterday, but it just never happened.  Yesterday, my friends, was one of those hella days that you don't see coming!  Whoa.  I think I wrote that we had planned to take the boys to a place called Fiesta Farm for pony rides and a hay ride, a petting zoo, and a picnic.  Fun day, right?  Web site says that they are open from 9 to 5.  We get there at 1:15 (boys all decked out in their jeans and cowboy boots!) and the damn place CLOSED at 1 because it was spring break!  WTH?  And we drove for 45 minutes to get there, too!

So, as you can imagine, the boys were so disappointed!  We finally decided to take the boys to downtown San Antonio to the Do-seum.  Rhymes with Museum, only the kids have things to DO there.  Another 30 minute drive to get there, and by then all three kids, including Caralee, were cranky and mad and crying, etc.  Fun.  The Do-seum was pretty pricey ($12 each!), but I will say they had a LOT of really neat stuff for the kids.  I think we would have had a better time if we had just planned to go straight there and not done all that driving.  We were too tired to really enjoy it fully.

(And we ate our picnic in the parking lot!  That was NOT what I had in mind when I packed it! LOL!)

Anyway, fast forward to last night and poor little Caralee screamed and cried and fussed non-stop.  I finally told Carrie, "This baby is hungry."  So I made a midnight run to the grocery store and bought formula.  Came home, fixed a bottle, and she drank it and fell right to sleep!  I guess we maybe went to bed around 1 a.m.  We were all exhausted from our long day and then to deal with the baby was just too much!  

And, I'm no expert on breast feeding, but it does appear to me that Carrie's milk supply is not adequate.  Caralee is a month old now and she still doesn't weigh 8 lbs yet.  She seems to get plenty of breast milk in the mornings, but by evenings she's hungry and fussing and Carrie keeps trying to nurse her continually, and her breasts never have time to build up enough supply.  

Well, anyway, I had a lot going on today.  It was my annual WLS visit today.  My blood pressure was good, my pulse rate was good, and my weight was a whopping 210!  OMG.  I'm both healthy and fat.  And I cried buckets, too.  James, the P.A., came in and he remembered Butch from two years ago when we were getting ready to go to Belize.  I had to tell him everything that happened and I cried and cried.  Very emotional and very upsetting.  Well, I told him I had pretty much stopped taking any of my vitamins or supplements for the better part of a year, and he said I must have had a really good reserve built up because all my numbers were fine except for Vit D.  So I got a new Vit D supplement to take.

Also, I told him I was really unhappy with my weight regain and I want to get it off.  So I'm going in for a weekly injection called "LipoLean" which is supposed to burn fat, boost energy and detox the body.  Also, he gave me an appetite suppressant called Bontril to try for a couple of months.  It's a type of amphetamine, but I won't be on it for long.  I told him it's like I'm starving and eating constantly every few minutes all day long.  He said it's because my cortisol levels are high (from stress), and the Bontril will help break that cycle.  I normally wouldn't take a diet pill, but for a short term solution, I'm okay with it.

He also put me on a modified diet.  I'm going to have two protein shakes a day, with two (or more) snacks of raw fruits/veggies, and then a real meal for supper.  I go back in one month and we see how I'm doing.  (I'll go back each week for the shot, but I won't see anyone during that visit except the nurse.)

I feel very much like I'm starting all over again.  But James told me, given the horrendous couple of years I've had, I really hadn't regained all that much weight and not to beat myself up over it.

Let's see.  Oh! I did want to report that I changed that shower head in my bathroom all by myself and I didn't have a bit of trouble doing it!  I just unscrewed the old one, wrapped "plumber's tape" around the threads on the pipe, and screwed the new one on.  It works great and no leaks!  Maybe I'll try tackling a few more projects around here.  I never had to do any of these types of repairs.  I always had my dad and/or my husband to do repair things.  Butch, bless his hear, could fix ANYTHING.  I did watch him do a lot of repairs over the years.  Maybe some of it sunk in.

I'm so excited about my landscape project next week!  I've bought 2+ dozen red knock-out roses this week.  They are gorgeous.  I sent a list of the trees I want to the landscaper this morning and they wrote back, "what size trees?"  Well, hell.  I don't know!  What sizes do they come in?  I'll have to call in the morning.

Carrie has a girlfriend coming this weekend.  I'm happy to have Megan here, although I don't know where we'll put her!  But tomorrow I have to clean house and figure out sleeping arrangements.  I do have a blow-up bed.  I guess I'll put her on that in the living room.  Carrie wants to go out to dinner with Meg on Saturday night, and I'm okay with that, as long as I have a bottle of formula!!!  I think it will be good for my daughter to have someone else to talk with beside me and my mom.  I hope they can go out for a couple of hours.  

I would like to have a little time to myself, too, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.  I think my trip to the doctor was my "ME" time for the month.  LOL!  Not.  I sure would like to sleep one night all by myself in my own bed.  Don't see that happening anytime soon either.  Oh, well.  I'll survive.

Dinner tonight was rice, mixed greens, baked sweet potato and pinto beans.  I have an apple for later on tonight.  I'm not one bit hungry, but I'm craving sugary junk food.  Sigh.  The battle never ends.  I hope the new drugs help!  I'm tired of losing the war.

Well, this has turned into a novel.  I'd better close.  I love you all so much!

Hello Vickie....oh my what a couple days you have had!!

I feel bad for all of you but especially the boys for not being able to enjoy the Fiesta Farm. That would have been so fun! The Do-seum sounds like a fun place too. I think everyone was just to exhausted from riding and still feeling the let down of the Fiesta Farm.

Poor little Caralee. I had the same problem Carrie has when I tried breast feeding. My doctor had me go on formula as Jamie just wasn't getting what she needed. I felt bad but I did what was best for her not me. My milk was  just too weak. It wasn't because I wasn't eating right.The doctor said this is more common then we know. Things changed drastically when she had formula!! 

Congrats on getting that shower head on!! I couldn't do it anymore because of my pain. I always had one guy around that could do those things for me. You are doing great!!

Your landscaping will be wonderful!! I am so happy you are able to do it the way you want!!

Let me know how those shots work for you. Are they covered by insurance? I see my doctor again on the 31st. I am trying to lose but it is so slow going. Very frustrating for me and her too! I hope you have wonderful results!!

I love you...HUGS...connie d

I need to take a deep breath reading your post.  Glad you WLS doctor visit went well.  Who is your doctor?  If you are low in vitamin D you might want to check out Vitalady.com.  She is a WLS patient and has developed or found a source for the best vitamin D I have ever taken.  All of her products are WLS friendly.

I know I have said this before but it bears repeating.  There is no shame in formula feeding your babies.  I know there is much argument on both sides of the fence.  I had a friend who's daughter was made to feel so inadequate by LaLeche (probably misspelled) that she refused to give her child formula even though it was obvious that she was not making enough milk.  Finally her doctor said if she didn't give the child supplemental formula he was going to report her to CPS.  That scared her and she complied.  Her child stopped fussing, began sleeping and putting on much needed weight.  It is a personal choice but the baby should have a say as well.  Hope everything gets better for all of you especially Caralee.

Good luck with the new diet regimen.  Keep us posted I am sure a few of us would be interested in trying your plan.

Hi Connie and my OFF family:

Getting on here late today. Wanted to get up and go to the Y this morning, but the alarm went off and I woke up and just couldn't do it. Had a headache and thought, no, I'm going  back to sleep with a icepack on my head. Well, it worked, because by 10:30 a.m., when I woke up again, I felt better. 

I had to be in early today because we had CMS training (content management system). This is to get ready for the new system we'll have with the new company. Doesn't look too bad. This was just an introduction; coming weeks will have more. And now I'm waiting for basketball games to get done. 

Tomorrow I'll be off to get the neurostim in my back. Can't go to the pool for a week and can't shower while it's in there. I have to get there at 7 a.m. So nothing to eat or drink after midnight. Probably won't get home til nearly midnight. We have to wait for the Kentucky game to get done and it doesn't start until 8:40 p.m. 

Connie, I have seen Jeannie post recently. Mary hasn't been here much, but she has to go to the library to post. I hope to get her a computer (I have an extra one) but had to wait until I got paid to ship it out. So pretty soon she'll have something she can use. That'll be good. 

Vickie, you sure stay busy. Sorry your physical was so tough on you emotionally. Hope everything works out. 

Linda, I do a lot of my shopping online. I can't walk around stores that much anymore. Good for you for getting out, but I feel your pain. 

Well, I should get back to work. Have a good night.

Hello Eileen....so sorry you had a bad headache this morning. I am glad you iced it and slept in. At least now that is better.

Let the training commence...I hope it turns out to be a smooth change over.

Sorry you won't get home before midnight. I am sure you can drink at work but not eat much. At least the procedure is plenty early in the morning. I am praying it all goes well!! Please keep me updated!

Yes, Jeannie was probably on OFF and I just missed her. I was not on it much for awhile there. I thought I read everyones posts at one time or another. Somehow I missed her's  and who knows how many others.  I will be so glad when we get those results. We are all on edge. Nic sat and talked to me about it again when he was here this last five days. We just keep praying!!

That is really nice of you to send Mary that laptop. At least she won't have that to worry about. I miss hearing from her. I pray all is moving along smoothly or at least as smoothly as it can.

I wish you the best tomorrow...I love you...hugs...connie d

Eileen

Glad your headache abated some.  I used to have migraines and that was the worst.

So glad I don't have them anymore.  I hate shopping online.  I don't know about anyone else but I don't wear a single size.  My size is brand dependent and even then it depends on the fabric.  When I was growing up we were told to hold our skirt up to our waist and let it go, if it fell back into place it fit.  If it didn't it was too tight.  With all the lycra out there you can't really do that.  Even though it fits it can show too many bumps and rolls.  So some fabrics I need a larger size to feel comfortable.  Even without that factor my size can be very different between brands.  Then the returns have to happen, which I hate.  I don't have time to order, return, and reorder.  Usually If I need things I will go to the store buy what I like come home try it on and return what I don't want or what doesn't fit.  That is more leisurely than going in and trying on lots of things in the store.  I get tired, overheated, and putting thing over my head time and time again gets my hair so messy I can't stand to be in public.  My hair is very thin and fine.  I used to think my mother was silly when she said trying on clothes made her hot.  Now I understand.

Connie, Here I am. I've been posting sporadic and late, like now. DH is getting one more test tomorrow, but the doctor called and said that from the looks of all they have done, his gall bladder is full of stones and is infected...they are going to check his pancreas so they will know what antibiotics to put him before surgery, which looks like they will do the surgery next week...I am headed to TX at the end of next week then to Colorado the week after and then back to Houston again.  If I were going to be in anyone of those places for more than a couple of days, I think I would be excited but nope...I am going to Colorado to do a presentation at a university there and present at a conference and Houston for another conference and to check on my brother...Since it is inevitable that DH is having surgery next week, we are picking the grands up tomorrow and he is taking them to some movie...he thinks he will be laid up after the surgery but I tried to remind him how fast I got over mine...we all know these men are big babies.  

Did I tell you guys we have spring break next week?  I am going to take advantage of the empty university to get some much needed work done for those days we are waiting for his surgery.  If I can carve some time out, I am going to make me some new capri pants for spring and summer. I don't dare wear shorts with my flabby legs. I have this pattern I use all the time and it is a perfect fit and I can make them with or without pockets (I make the pockets).  I am going to make me a couple of smock tops too. I know I should wear more form fitting clothes but I love a nice loose smock during the heat...nice light cotton. Vic, your jean skirts with white button down tops made me get out my denim skirt and I swear, it just doesn't fit and I don't want to take it up because, you know I am afraid I'll gain a few pounds...So, I found some denim in my sewing cabinet and there is enough to make me a new skirt...yeah. I know it won't be feasible to wear too much longer with the heat waves we get during the summer but it will be good for fall. I use to have this really cute jean coverall dress that I always wore a teeshirt under and I loved that dress so much I wore it out. I might look for a pattern similar to that dress.  I rarely get in the mood to sew but lately I've wanted to make me a few things before I have to make my girl some new summer shorts. 

Well, this has turned into a novel, as Vic says.  Vic, I still think you need to have your mother give up one of her rooms, at least until your daughter finishes her diss.  

Ladies, sleep well and tomorrow, remember, it's Friday....

Hello Jeannie!!

I am sorry if I missed your posts. I didn't mean to.

I hope your husband has a good surgery and a speedy recovery. 

It is nice that he is taking your grandchildren to a movie so you can have some quiet time. We all need that once in awhile!!

It is nice that you can get to your college office and get things done in peace and quiet. Spring break is a good break for you too!

I so envy your talent for sewing. You seem to tackle all kinds of different  items. I am sure your granddaughter loves all the wonderful things you make for her as well!! Knowing you everything will look perfect!!

I am on my phone so I need to go for now. Have a great nights sleep!!

I love you...hugs...connie d