OMG!! I hope the growths are not malignant and that they are able to remove them on surgery day with no complications. That's great that you will have two birds killed with one stone. Yay!!! It was meant to be - date, surgeons, etc. Yay!! Yep, so glad this board is moving and a hopping!!!! It's about time!!! So where are you going on your cruise? Make sure you eat steak on board because it'll be a while before you can eat it again. I've only been on one cruise - that was 3 years ago from LA, CA to Ensenada, Mexico on one of Carnival's Fun Ships. I went with some co-workers and it was fun. Gosh I ate so much!! It's a pre-ops dream!! Food everywhere and all you can eat. Even at the dinners, you can order more than one entree and such. Weird!! So I did!! It was where I first tried escargot - very good actually considering what it is . So enjoy!! The ports/trips are FUN and the ship is FUN!! You are going to have a blast!! And I know you'll take LOTS of pictures and save stuff to create your cruise scrapbook!! How exciting!! Hugs, Trisha -56 lbs

Soon you'll LOVE being photographed!! I'm a little over 2 months out now and I LOVE being photographed, and I was like you before surgery - didn't want me in pictures at all. I was disgusting, who was that obese blimp?? Ugh!! I don't look like that in real life - do I??? I only had pics taken of me from shoulders up and it was still horrid. LOL I still have 150 lbs to go or so, but it's fun comparing photos of me now to photos of me from earlier this year and last year. WOW! Congrats on your recent surgery!! How exciting!!! Yep, we got to chew our food really well. I've been doing good, but tonight at dinner didn't chew right and it came right back up - then I was fine. Chewing is an art form - practice, practice, practice!!! Making cards is my latest creativity outlet. I do that instead of eat it seems. Keeps my hands busy. And I'm not artistic at all. But with the right combinations and stamps and paper and such - wha-lah!! ART!! I love it!! I've been getting together with friends about every other month for a card making marathon!! Some people work on their scrapbook - whatever they like. We share supplies and such because you can use scrapbooking supplies for cards and stamping/sticker supplies for scrapbooks. I love it!! Hugs, Trisha -56 lbs

Congrats on your success so far!! Yep, learning on this bariatric adventure can be challenging. Like what is fine one day is not fine the next. But I have learned SO much post-op through online and face-to-face support groups. I am really proactive in my health now. It's up to me to make it, ya know?! Keep up the good work!! Glad you are here! Hugs, Trisha -56 lbs

Me!!!! Me!!! I have been making more cards lately than scrapbooking! I've been to two Stampin' Up parties and have a good assortment of stamps - still need a LOT more! I love making cards and I incorporate stamping into my scrapbooking. Glad you are here!! Hugs, Trisha -56 lbs

HI All! I'm Judy and I live in Southern California. My 22 year old daughter and I love to scrap and we do it whenever we can find the time. We usually attend an all-day scrap once every two months. It goes from 10AM to 10PM. What a day! My latest craze has been to make 8x8 baby scrapbooks for baby showers. It is much easier when the sex of the baby is known ahead of time, but that isn't always the case. I do everything and all the mom has to provide are the pictures! I have everything ready to get started on my WLS scrapbook, but still can't decide on the size. I thought a cute little 6x6 would be perfect, but now I have too much "junk" to put in it. I will probably have to settle on a 12x12. I am 17 days out and got to start on baby shrimp today - wooo hoooo! So far I have had no problems getting in 100 oz of water a day and about 70g protein. Of course, my protein shake has 55 of those grams! I love soft foods, but am full after a few bites - GO FIGURE! My daughter is shocked at how little I eat and so am I. Hope we all continue to share on this board. Judy