Is It Spring Yet?? Is It??

I think spring may finally be in the air - shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone though..  The last time I mentioned that it freakin' SNOWED!!  It's May 1st, can the snow be behind us??  Can it?? 

We pulled the old John Deere out of the back of the garage and did some yard work - we'll see if that is enough to get this whole spring shebang into gear!

So....  I lost 62 pounds since July - that's..  uhm...  10 months.  Ok, I can do that! If I may be so bold, I think those three pounds that have been haunting me for the past four weeks are finally "behind me" - we shall see..  But today was a "hungry day" - if it was within a six foot radius, I ate it.  Although I was fairly active today..  Took the GrandAngel to swim lessons - he's still two so the swim lessons involve having me there too, hefting a thirty pound wet weight for an hour (my arms are gone..).  Me 'n the Hubs went to the driving range to get ready for our golf outing this weekend and the GrandAngel and I spent the rest of the afternoon running around the yard - and around, and around, and around....  I'm whooped!!  Trust me, get yourself a two year old and a five acre open area - no gym membership required for the most amazing workout you'll ever do!  Speaking of which, I've just bought an old fashioned VCR player (yep, they still make 'em) just so that I can get back to doing my yoga tapes!  I have so many good ones that have not gone to DVD (or to blue-ray) and I have been dying to get back into it - wish me luck!!

I didn't mention it, but our "Baby" is graduating college this month - and has joined the PA National Guard.  He leaves later this month for basic training.  Our oldest spent two years in the Navy and now our youngest is entering the National Guard..  I have mixed emotions over his enlistment - just as I had with our oldest.  Our oldest spent six months on a Carrier in the Persian Gulf and I'm fearful as to where our youngest will end up..  Not knowing is the worst.  So, I've been dealing with fear, pride, joy and sadness - all wrapped up into a huge "Mom-thing"...  Pass the tissues, I need 'em..

The weekend went well, me 'n the Hubs golfed - and it felt sooooo good to be out in some sunshine for a change!  It didn't SNOW!!  Oh yeah...  we have been known to golf in the snow - but not this time!!  HA!

I hope your week is going well!!
Until Next Time!!

A Little Catching Up...

Ok, so part of being "back" is actually posting , right??  So...  let's do a "catch up" post, shall we??  Since my coming back, me 'n the Hubs have been on a Deaconate retreat (amazing time with amazing folks in an amazing place!) and at "Deacon Reserves".  To refresh, the Hubs is a Deacon candidate in our church and we attend class one weekend a month.  The classes are post-graduate level classes and at the end of five years he will be ordained and I too will have the credits to obtain a post graduate degree...  The classes are mind numbing and by the time the weekend comes to an end I am seriously trying to figure out ways to intravenously infuse gin, vermouth and olive juice....

It snowed these past two days...  Are you kidding me???  Seriously???  SNOW?!?!? 

Speaking of snow, I have an NSV that I've just GOT to share - I skied this year!!  Yep!  ME!  I've skied!  The first time in a long, long time!  I'd pretty much given up on skiing due to my RA, but this year I strapped the skis on and went careening down a mountain - it was so absolutely amazing!  Oh, how I've missed it!  We took our GrandAngel skiing this year too!  Two years old and he was on skis - he and Grammy spent lots of time on the bunny hill - and it was absolutely glorious!

I've lost fifty-eight pounds so far - well, since July of 2011.  I have these three pounds that seem to come and go lately and they're driving me NUTS!!  As soon as I think they're finally gone, just like Jason, they're baaaaaack!  damn!!  So, I am going between fifty-five and fifty-eight, depending on what those damn three pounds want to do!  C'monn GOLF season!  Maybe whacking that little white ball around a manicured course might be the ticket to getting rid of those unwanted pests!

Speaking of "unwanted pests" (Susie Segue strikes again) the ants have been well disposed of - or at least I HOPE they've met their demise!! The exterminator finally came today and did what exterminators do...  We shall see.  The winged ones are the most horrific..  Be gone ants - be GONE!!

Have a Terrific day!!

Until Next Time!



Bullets and Bees..

Busy bees - that's what we've been!  Busy, busy bees!  Things around here have been a but nutso, but it keeps me out of trouble - always a good thing!  Our parents are coming up for the weekend and there's a bazillion things to get done before then.  There would only be half a bazillion if our furnace hadn't blown a fit - it still isn't fixed, by the way.  But, they assured me they're coming Thursday..  We'll see if I'm going to get a new furnace for my birthday or not..  We have our GrandAngel this week too which makes doing things take twice as long - but I wouldn't have it any other way...  He insists on helping me - as only a two year old can.. I spend most of the day giggling at his attempts!

Although I've been busy, I've been keeping up with my blog reading through my phone - which makes commenting kind of crazy.  So, although I've been "quiet" lately, I've been lurking.

Some thoughts....

• I need more fiber..
• I so desperately need a vacation!!!  I dream of drinks with umbrellas in them......
• Earlier "nights" make me depressed...
• The fact that the golf course closed for the winter depresses me even MORE...
• My scale hasn't moved in over a week - it is certainly broken...
• I love these warmer days we've been having - no snow is always a good thing!
• I sometimes wish I was Samantha from Bewitched, wiggle my nose and all my work would be done...
• This Wednesday is the thirty fifth anniversary of the day the Hubs first asked me out - yeah, I know..   but we have always celebrated this anniversary..
• This Thursday (furnace day - yuck) is a big number birthday - If my family has any sort of goofy celebration, I vow to haunt them from the afterlife...
• Acting like you're two - with a two year old - is a really fun thing!

Have a terrific day!!

Until Next Time!

Happy Labor Day! And other Mumblings..

Happy Labor Day to ALL!  I hope this weekend has been all you wanted it to be!

Labor Day.  The official "end of summer"..  I'm probably ageing myself here, but I distinctly remember my Mother making a "to-do" about putting away my white shoes and purses after Labor Day...  I'm planning on wearing a cute little pair of white capris to a most likely rained out picnic we're attending tomorrow - hawgfest!!  No white shoes or purse though - I don't think I own white shoes or purses...  Mom would have been proud...

Labor Day.  The official "end of summer"..   I'm not ready for Autumn and I don't want it.  Nope, nada, not one bit.  Fall means winter is coming.  Winter means snow and snow stinks..  My plan is to hold on to every last vestige of summer that I can and Fall (come crashing) into the next season kicking and screaming - who's with me??  Last year I wore my sandals well into November.  It was my personal war against winter.  Uhm...  winter won at the first snow fall - damn!  Anyway, here's to Labor Day and to everyone who Labors!  Speaking of Labor Day, I really missed seeing Jerry Lewis during this year's MDA telethon.  It wasn't the same..  Kinda gimpy.  The Hubs was on our local station again this year presenting the check from our ski club's annual golf outing!  The presentation was pre-recorded this time, taped at the end of July.  

...and I still have this cold.  Seven days.  I think I'm going to have to re-name the GrandAngel "The Black Plague" - this is awful!!!  I'm beginning to slosh from all the tea I'm drinking - and I don't even LIKE tea...   It's a shame they couldn't find a bio-fuel use for what's coming out of my face - I've gone through two whole boxes of Puffs over the last week.....

I have an appointment with the Bariatric Doc on Tuesday.  The first since surgery.  I'm not sure what to expect.  Will I get a fill??  Will he just poke and prod and marvel in his glorious handiwork??  I've been losing steadily, and can eat about one to one and a half cups of food at meal time - but then I'm not hungry for awhile.   I mentioned that September 1st was my official weigh in.  The "official" weigh in is the one that gets recorded.  I do that once a month in my food journal.  I do weigh each day - because I have OCD, and this uncontrolled need to make sure I'm on track - but the weight that is written in indelible ink in my handy-dandy journal is my weight on the first of the month.  To date, I've lost fourty five pounds from my all time high and thirty four pounds since surgery.  I didn't do my measurements this month though.  I lost my measuring tape - again...  I need to do that.  It's all in the page "Just the facts Ma'am" over there --->>  I should put in a few comparison photos..  Perhaps one of these days...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Until Next Time!

A Grocery Story.. Ponderings and Musings..

I've been giving much thought to an excellent post I read that was written by Lap Band Gal titled, "Are You Embarrassed to have a Lap Band"..  My answer?  Yes, no, maybe, somewhat, definitely not, perhaps - I run the boards with my answer to this question - which has caused the pondering on this subject ever since I've read that post.  An answer came to me yesterday when I was at the parking lot of the grocery store...... 

Let's go back a little bit, shall we??  I've told a few people... some.  I can't say I've shouted it from the roof tops.  If  I've been asked, I've been completely honest but I'm not wearing a bill board with an ad from my Bariatric Surgeon on my derriere.  I guess I am most embarrassed and ashamed of the fact that I've allowed myself to get to this point in my life - and that it took surgery to help me out of the mess I've created.   I've also come to realize that I simply don't want to answer nosy questions, to be looked at differently,  or to be someones "comparison test case"..   Comparison test case meaning..  "I lost about eight hundred pounds using the goat cheese diet...  How much have you lost??"  In other words, I can do without the negativity. 

OK, let's go back to the parking lot..  Amanda from "Life of a (hopeful) loser" wrote about an "interesting" (to say the least) encounter with a banded customer of hers.. You can read about her experience (here)...  What is it with some people??  I too have recently experienced my own "encounter"... There is a "gentleman" - and I use that term loosely - who lives near our church.  He has been banded about three months now.  I only know this information because I've been told by a neighbor who knows about my band.  I have never approached this gentleman about his private information and had no intention to invade his privacy.   I've learned quite by surprise - and the hard way - that apparently he knows about my band.  Anyway, I was in the parking lot of the grocery store walking toward the entrance and I hear this voice bellowing,  yes -bellowing loudly..  "HEY!  HOW MUCH YOU DAHN????" from across the lot..  from wayyyy across the parking lot..  Amanda, I kid you not, it was as though I was ambushed...  To say that I was embarrassed, wanting to slither into the store invisible, is the understatement of the year..  I was close to the door and didn't bother to acknowledge him or his..  uhm..  "question."  I ignored him.  My mortification quickly turned into anger - and I was pretty angry about this whole ordeal.  Mostly angry at myself for not slapping the snot telling him in no uncertain terms that it was really none of his business..   I'm in a small town, remember?  No doubt I will run into him again - and when it does happen, trust me, I will be more prepared to deal with his rudeness and will not allow myself to be ambushed like that again....

OK, so back to my answer to the question "Are you embarrassed to have a Lap Band?"..  No.  In fact, I am thrilled, excited, and anxious to see where this journey takes me.  It is an ever continuing journey of self growth, and there is no finish line.  I am learning that I really don't need to tell anyone I don't wish to tell, or discuss it with anyone I don't wish to have that discussion with.   I am learning that this is my journey, and it will continue regardless of what people know, or what they may think about me or my band - I am learning that I do want to share my journey with those who will support me, encourage me, and care for me.  The rest?  meh...   If someone doesn't "approve" it is their issue and not mine.  Life is too short to worry about what people think about me.  No, I'm not embarrassed to have a lap band, I'm embarrassed by the fact that I needed one in the first place.  It may take me awhile longer to get through that one..

Until Next Time!

In The Books...

I survived day ONE of my lap band pre-surgical diet...  Barely, but I survived.  The coon hound is looking pretty tasty by now and I'm a touch bit crabby..  Well, maybe not "crabby" but cranky and head-achy.  I consumed most of my water today - still working on that one, and all of my protein...  I'm Not sure what nutritional category breath mints fall into, but they were a staple as well.  Not eating a damn thing really does horrific things to the inside of ones mouth!  I know, TMI...  The Hubs and I went to the store today for "groceries" - if that's what you call what we bought - I bought fat free milk (shoot me now...), sugar free jello, and some really yummy ingredients to make some home made chicken and beef stock.    I also got a few of those boxes of sugar free lemonade and rasberry mixes that come in the individual servings - something to make all that water a little more palatable.  I couldn't find the martini flavored ones though... To satisfy my ever growing need to organize everything in nice little boxes, colored folders, and notebooks - my OCD, I stopped at the office supply store and purchased a really nice journal to keep track of my non-eating. 

Good news in the mail today!!  I received my "official" approval letter from the insurance company!  I really wasn't sweatin' it, but late last week I had gotten the initial denial letter - Although, after a few days, I had gotten a verbal approval, I needed to actually see, touch, and hold the approval letter in my own grubby little hands..  It came!  Ok, truth be told here...  I was kinda sweatin' it.  First, I really do have my doubts about the insurance liason at the Bariatric office.  She's a bit, shall we say...  not too bright in the wattage department - see my completely unnecessary appointment with a cardiologist in late May...  In all honesty, I don't believe I should have had as many problems with the process considering all the ammunition I had in my medical record - but I digress - time to move on.  Second, everytime my phone goes off and I see it is the hospital number or the number of the insurance company (they call me for prescription refills of my injectables), I go into sheer panic mode..  Did the insurance guru get it wrong??  Maybe called the wrong person with the verbal approval??  it's possible...  Is the insurance company calling me to give me the old "under further review"??  Just waiting for the person on the other end of the call to say "psyche!!" (Psych -  To retract your previous statement, in an attempt to fool the person you're talking/chatting to - urban dictionary)   Until I had that little piece of paper, all legal eagle like, a paper that deems me worthy in the eyes of my insurance company to undergo lap band surgery, I wasn't letting my guard down - this journey has taken me on far too many crazy loops, twists and turns to do otherwise.

So day one is officially "in the books"!  I hope you all have a safe and exceptionally terrific 4th of July weekend!!  As long as the rain holds off, I'm planning to GOLF!!

Until Next Time!

Is This It?? Time Will Tell...

I hope everyone had a terrific weekend, and a Happy Mother's Day to everyone who cares - and that is...

...YOU! 

Welp..  today is the Cardiology visit - at 2pm.  Will this finally be it??  FINALLY??  Only time will tell I suppose.  If I've learned anything from this journey, I've learned "patience" - a hard lesson because I have none.  Imagine.. the world really doesn't revolve around me..  Can you believe it?? 

I haven't blogged in awhile (mea culpa), it has been crazy busy this past week.  We had "finals" weekend at the Deacon Reserves and that kept me 'n the Hubs busy all week - studying..  The tests went well (I hope) and now we're finally "off" for the summer.  I say "off" because there is still plenty for us to do throughout the summer, but classes are finished for the school year!  Yay! 

Mother's Day in Lisa Land was quite lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!  After Mass we took a nice drive through the mountains to visit a friend, later in the afternoon our parents came up, our oldest baby and his family came, my brother in law and his wife came, and our dear friend and brother J was here too.  The Hubs and J made a truly scrumptious dinner and we all just spent wonderful time drinking martinis, relaxing, and simply enjoying each other.  One of the highlights of the day was the arrival of our first set of baby chicks!  They're such wonderful little balls of sunshine!  I'm so thrilled that our GrandAngel was here to spread the ground corn for them!  At two years old it was hard for him to understand why "Mother Goose" wasn't being very cooperative with his wanting to play with the babies..   The altercation caused quite a commotion out there....  He learned how to honk like a goose though...

Welp, I've dilly-dallied around long enough..  I suppose it's time to get my ample derriere moving and get this cardiologist thing over with.  Have a wonderful day today!

The Journey Continues..............

**siggghhhhh**  I should have known better...  I should have known..  Should I have accepted the fact that I've finished jumping through hoops in a mere eleven months??  No!  That would have been too easy!  It would have been too easy to believe that I was finished with my end of the process, my end of the deal - much too easy - and I took the easy way out!  I believed that little piece of paper that neatly had written on it my "to do" list of hoops..  I believed the little red check marks on the list as each item was completed..  It seems there is one more (just one?) hoop that needs to be addressed.  A surgical consult from a Cardiologist.  A consult I wasn't made aware of until last Friday.  Silly me..  And here I thought the cardiac stress test I had to endure and the EKG covered the "cardiac criteria" - at least that is what I was led to believe reading that little piece of paper with my hoops so neatly typed out I so diligently followed...  Oooops!  Please... someone tape my head together so it doesn't explode!    I suppose having yet one more hoop to leap through (I should weigh one hundred and twenty pounds from all the jumping I've been through so far...) is frustrating enough, but what really pushed me over the proverbial edge was the attitude I received when I was answered the question, "where is your cardiac consult?"..  "Uhmmm...  what???"  My answer.. "What consult??".. Her response - "Every surgery patient needs a cardiology consult.."   "It's not on my LIST!"  Should I know this stuff??  Instinctually??  Like beavers know how to build dams??  I hear papers being shuffled around in the background..  She then tells me that no, it was in fact not on my "list"..  C'mon lady!  You're the professional here - I am the sheep that is being led around the pasture by the border collie called a "to-do" list!  Give me a break!

So, with matters expedited, I have my "official" cardiac consult a week from tomorrow.  Good thing it wasn't immediately after that phone call I'd be blogging from ICU..  So the journey continues..  I am really beginning to hate the smell, the feel, the atmosphere of Doctor's offices.  They're depressing..  No matter what they do to "brighten" them up, they're still depressing - and they stink.  Every Doctor's office stinks... 

So on that note, I remind you to eat your greens and stay heart healthy!

Until Next Time! 

From Fool's to NUTS!

Please tell me it's all a cruel and twisted joke - that tomorrow I will wake up and Lisa Land will be in full Spring bloom..  ACK!!  Can you believe this??  And it all happened so fast, too!  The GrandAngel and I spent a lovely few hours in the sunshine on Wednesday "golfing" and "gathering" (oh, such fun!) A few hours later it was doing THIS!   I was under the impression that March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb...  I think the lion ATE the lamb!  Maybe it's time for emergency lap band surgery on that damn lion, waddya think?!?!

Ok, rant over..  I guess I just need to live with this purgatory of relentless snow..  A true test of will power and strength..  So this weekend, me 'n the Hubs will be on Retreat.  Each year the Deacon class needs to attend a weekend retreat - should be wonderful!  I am sooo looking forward to spending some quiet time secluded away in the mountains of Pa (even with the damn snow)..  We've never done anything like this before, so it should be an adventure!  I'll let you know how it goes...

And now the NUTS..

Today is a day of phone calls.  I have two things left on my checklist for the Bariatric Doc, and I'm going to get to them today.  This past week ended my six months of supervised weight loss checks, so all that it left (I think) are my "NUTS"..  My third and last Nutritionist (NUT) visit - which is at the end of the month, and the appointment to diagnose whether or not I am clinically NUTS!  Yeah...  my Psych eval..  I've put it off too long and it's time..  Wish me luck!! 

I wish everyone a terrific weekend!!  I will be out of touch out in the mountains, so I will be sure to check up on all your blogs when I get back! 

Until Next Time!

Stop The Madness!

Hey, Hey!  I'm baaaack!!  To say the weekend was "eventful" would be a huge understatement!!  Oh Mercy!  Where to begin....  I was out of touch with reality for the past week - tummy crap.  Not good.  Have I said that I hate tummy crap??  Just let me roll over and die - I hate it that much.  Anyway, the tummy was getting better Thursday and knowing that I had my weigh in on Friday in Erie (which is one hundred miles from home) I decided to move around, get my bearings..  in other words, eat.  Our Baby had just gotten home for spring break (always a wonderful thing!) and informs me that tomorrow (Friday) he has in interview for a spring term internship at a private school ONE block away from his apartment in Erie..  Mmmmmkay.  "Why didn't you just stay at your apartment one extra day - and save the three dollar and fifty cents a gallon in gas that you need to feed the boat you're driving???"  As he plops his duffel bag of dirty laundry on the kitchen counter he replies - "I was HUNGRY!"  Duhhh..  I should have been thinking like a college student, I would have gotten it right away....



This car was clear
when we arrived!

 So, it's Thursday and the Hubs is getting ready to leave for a weekend of ski racing (he DQ'ed on Saturday by performing a Bode Miller-esque crash which I would have paid big bucks to have seen!) he informs me that we're supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow overnite...  Shit.  This is all just getting better and better.  The College Baby and I decide to spend the night at our place in New York - which is only about a twenty minute drive from Erie.  Soooooo, we pack our bags - I take the dirty laundry to do there - we pack the dogs, we pack and pack for a one night stay.  We decide that while he's at his interview on Friday, I'll do my weigh in then we'll trudge back home.  Uhmmm...  It doesn't quite go that way - does it ever?  We arrive late Thursday night, have a light dinner (I do some laundry) and we both go to sleep for our appointments the next morning.  I woke up Friday morning to snowmageddon!!  Oh Mercy!!  It took us over TWO hours to get to Erie - TWO freakin' hours!  Somehow, by the Grace of God, we both arrived at our appointments alive and on time and then decided to stay at our place in New York rather than try - yes, try - to make it back home.  Another two hours in the car...  He had better get this internship.......

So the results of the weigh-in are....  Can I get a drum roll please!  Are you ready???  I lost SIX pounds through the month of February!!  Ok, technically I lost three - the other three seemed to have been "passed" during the tummy thing (lack of food will do that...)  But for now I'll take it! 

I hope your weekend was calmer - to say the least!

Until Next Time!

Great Balls of.... ICE??

I don't think spring is ever going to come...   EVER!  Ice is pelting away at my window as we speak and I hear a terrible blizzard is on the way...  Great...  I've always heard that hell is a fiery furnace where the damned are doomed to spend eternity.  I have news for you, Dante was right!  Hell is not a fiery wasteland - it will be full of SNOW and minus degree wind chill factor!  Every blessed day for the rest of eternity it will be cold, windy and snowy!  Oh wait...  That's my life!   Oh Virgil, I am in HELL!!   At this point, I would give a kidney to see blue skies and something green.  I'm so desperate that I've taken to talking to my cacti these days.  Their personalities are a little prickly (sorry about that), but at least they're green.  I'm sitting here in my igloo  watching the ice pelting the windows, forming a frozen mass of glaze over the glass.  Have you ever just sat and listened to the ice balls beating against your home??  It sounds really interesting.  Not like rain or hail, just a steady tapping on every window, the roof - everywhere...

OK, this awful weather has finally driven me over the edge - now I am waxing poetic over the miserable balls of ice that are beating against my home!  Someone please...  send me a pink iced drink with an umbrella poking out of it - STAT!

The equipment collection for Special Olympics was a great success!!  The ski club came out huge for the event.  The picture on the right is the Hubs truck loaded up with clothing and equipment to take to our Olympians!  And get this!  This is the second truck load!!  Can you believe it??  There was yet another load of just ski gear for our friends who lost their equipment in the fire at the neighboring ski resort too!  We've heard that the resort is planning on rebuilding which is wonderful news!  It's such a terrific hill for racing - for skiers and boarders alike!  They are definitely hosting a race there in a few weeks, "Come hell or high snow" is what is being said!  So it was a good weekend all around.  Terrific food, drink and wonderful friends getting together to race and for a good cause - can't think of too many ways to enjoy the (hellish) snow then that!

On the eating front, I haven't been doing too bad - but I haven't been doing too well either.  I just can't stop being hungry!  I'm sure it's head hunger but it seems like I've not been doing the things I should be doing - Like...  eating slowly, chewing my food to mush, drinking water, and eating meals at the appropriate time of the day.  It is way too easy to fall back into bad habits.  I resolved today that it all just has to stop and that I need to get back on the bandwagon.  I'm not going to beat myself up, but I am glad to see that my handy-dandy notebook I'm using to track my food and fitness has paid off.  I'm seeing a trend beginning to happen and I'm able to focus on what I need to do before it gets out of hand.  Thank you for the food journaling tip!  It really does work!

Welp, here's to blue skies and sunny weather..........
...I can wish, can't I?

Until next time!

Blonde Moment/Old Age - You Decide!

So today, I am taking my shower..  And, as I always do I weigh myself before my shower.  I don't know why I do this, but I do.  I have the eternal love/hate relationship with my scale - the "Health-O-Meter" - honestly!  That's what it is called!  In this instant I wanted to revel in the recent loss that was tabulated at the weight check at the Bariatric Doc's office..  So, I step on the scale... 
 What the &(*#^T!!!  I gained back the three pounds that I lost before the visit!!  How could that possibly happen???  I've been on track food wise, I've been moving (hey, a day with the GrandAngel is better then ANY day at the gym) and I haven't been within sight nor sound of ANY Ben and Jerry's!!  How could this possibly HAPPEN????  Disgusted with myself, I proceed with my hot and steamy shower.  Now, like many women, I shower AND shave killing two birds with one stone - and this shower was no different...  Afterwards, I just had to check the scale again - you know how that works.  So, I step on the scale, and lo and behold, I am not only down the three pounds, but two more!  WHAT is going on....  I know that I shaved, but I don't have THAT much hair on this old body.....  I am a red headed blond in every sense of the word - between the blond hair and the fact that I have gone "beyond my women's cycle", there just isn't that much hair anymore!  DOH!!  It  dawns on me...  I weighed myself with ALL my clothes on, my cell phone in my pocket, my keys AND my wallet...  And now, I am nekkid as a jaybird - hence the difference....  Oh Mercy...  I think as each day dawns, I am getting closer and closer to "Shady Pines" rest home...  Either that, or I am the living embodiment of every blond joke ever written....

So, today I decided to come home.  Me and the GrandAngel decided to spend one more day in NY.  To be completely honest with you, I just wasn't in the mood to drive in the snow.  I hit the wall.  And with the recent storm that hit the east coast, I just wasn't budging - not for anyone or anything.  I refused to drive in any amount of snow.  So, we stayed and enjoyed a quiet day at the ski resort.  We went out and played in the snow - but playing in the snow with an eighteen month old only lasts about ten minutes.  After that, we just vegged and watched Dora the Explorer and played with farm animals by the fire.  I can't think of a better way to spend a cold snowy day then playing with farm animals..  Now because of my refusal to budge in the snow, I have a crap-load of work that is due tomorrow..  Such is life though..  What do they say??  "Que sera, sera" - Whatever will be, will be.  I remember when Doris Day sang that song back in the day...  Anyway, the work will get done, life goes on...

Before I sign off, I would like to thank all of you who have nominated me for the Stylish Blogger Award!!  I am truly touched and heartened that you've thought of me - and I thank you!  You are ALL special friends, I love each and every one of you!!  You are all Stylish, Beautiful and Wonderful!!  You are my motivation AND my inspiration. I know I would not have the tolerance to have gotten this far in my journey without your kind and loving words - I  thank you!!

I hope your week is shaping up to be all you want it to be!!

And, remember to smile!  It makes folks wonder what you're up to!

Until next time!

The Blues, Blahs and Everything In Between..

CAUTION!!  Pity Party ALERT!

Ok..  whoever turned on the snow making machine and left it running for TWO WEEKS STRAIGHT can now get off their hairy bottom and turn the damn thing off!!  I've come to the realization that I need color in my life - real color, bright color.  Greens, reds, yellows....  Everything here is white.  White, dreary gray, and brown.  I look out over the property and that is all I see.  I am sooo over this.  I thought my state of confusion yesterday was just me being overly tired - not the case.  I guess I'm just overly miserable.  Kinda cranky, actually.  I had to cancel my Nut appointment today, and I still haven't gone to a Support Group Meeting.  Not that I was looking forward to being told to "chew, chew, chew", "sip, sip, sip", and spend and evening with a group of individuals who seriously need a mirror under their noses just to check for life, I was looking forward to the fashion show and the cooking demonstration!  That was to be the agenda for this month's Support Group Meeting. 

I guess part of my cranky is that this Bariatric process just keeps going on and on and on..   It has been going on since June, and I am not one who is well known for my patience.  I am doing my part in watching what I eat, exercising, going to all the appointments, being enthusiastic, jumping through all the hoops - but like a hamster, I'm just not getting anywhere.  Oh, I know that I really am making progress - I see it on the scale and on my trusty notebook I have with all the red check marks on it - it just feels that way.  It seems as though everything that is out of my control is holding me up from getting to where I really want/need to be.  And, I am such a control freak who is no longer getting the joke...   

On a more cheerful note.  I did manage to get through yesterday's list of projects, and even most of today's projects as well.  I'm actually ahead.  Nothing has changed though.  I am still feeling bewildered and befuddled, but these things just had to get done - today.  So, I flipped on the "FOCUS" button!!  That just means I had an extra cuppa Starbucks...

If you've gotten to the end of the post, I applaud you and thank you for allowing me to unwind..  The pity party is over, please remember to take your favors and have a safe drive home!

Here's to a day of lucidity!!  Happy Wednesday!

Until Next time!

1/11/11 - Scatter Brained Mumblings And Musings...

Today was one of those days..  Not sure if I'm the only one who has them.  It feels that way sometimes though.  Everyone I know is super organized, on top of things and just plain "normal" - today, I wasn't.  Let me start at the beginning.  We were at the mountains this weekend and everything was terrific. Wonderfully busy, but terrific!  It snowed crazy-like up there, then again, it always snows crazy-like up there!  It's a ski resort!  Why would I expect anything different??  Anyway, it began snowing on Friday and didn't finish until 9:00pm Sunday night.  Real snow too, not the pretty little stuff that flurries around as happy little snowflakes, but snow measured in feet coming down so hard I couldn't see the lodge one hundred yards away.  So, I decide to wait until Monday to come home rather than drive Sunday night with the GrandAngel in tow in that awful weather.  After the long drive home, the rest of Monday was good.  Again, very busy but good.  Took my friend back for her chemo, then off to Scripture Study that night.  Today though?  Ohhh today my mind is just blank.  Nothing.  Nada.  It's like I couldn't even function today - like a sieve head (what went in quickly sifted right back out again)..  I woke up, had my breakfast and coffee and began to make a list of everything that needed to be done today.  I'm a list freak, remember??  I make lists of lists I have to make!  By noon, I had fifteen different projects started and no idea how to finish any of them!  I would start one thing, then think of another, then I would begin that one - which of course led to another.  Then I would remember the first project, but couldn't finish that until I started yet another project!  What is going on here????? 

So what did I do??  Rather then start over and actually finish the projects that needed to be done, I went out into the snowy, cold weather and had my nails done - something that was NOT on my list!!  However, I did beat the blizzard by about an hour or so!  Hey, I figured that tomorrow is another day, and I do have some really nice looking nails..  I really don't think I'll be able to get anywhere in this blizzard we're having, so I will - hopefully- get back to actually finishing all those projects I left hanging today.  I guess after not really being fully recovered from my flu-ey illness and going away this weekend, my body simply said "we are not amused - and are NOT budging today"  Bodies have an uncanny way of cracking down on us when we need to slow down for awhile...

My Nut appointment is tomorrow, but I spoke with her earlier today about possibly rescheduling.  I don't think I'm interested in driving eighty plus miles in a blizzard to be told to chew, chew, chew..  I think she was a little relieved too - I was to be her only client tomorrow!

Welp. if you actually made it to the end of this post, I am incredibly proud of YOU!  It was clearly - or unclearly - written while still in my boggled state of mind - and it truly reflects it, too!  Have a GREAT night and remember...

...tomorrow IS another day!!

Until next time!
~Lisa~

The Stockings Were Hung By The Chimney WIth Care...

Welp, I'm more then half way done with my baking!  I made shortbread, pizelles, biscotti and macaroons - all that is left is mondo chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies..  I went "off the board" this year with the coconut macaroons....  Not a good thing.  Our "Baby", the athlete who eats everything he can get his hands on informed me "Mom...  with all the money you and Dad shelled out for my teeth, do you really think I should eat these??"  They're hard and they're awful!!!  Even our oldes Baby (the diplomat) - who would eat DIRT if I put it on a plate in front of him said..."Mom..  You bake so many good things, just promise me you won't do this again..."  The ungrateful wretches!! The Hubs in all his compassion and love told me that "these will be great with LOTS of coffee or milk!" - yeah, he tried...  I told them ALL I would be giving them home made socks again for Christmas this year!!

The "Sock Saga"...  When the kids were younger, and I was newly diagnosed with RA, I thought it would be a good idea to start knitting..  So..  I bought nice wool, learned how to knit, and made them all warm, wool socks for Christmas - hey, money was tight, the Hubs was in Law School, I had to find a way to make lots of packages under the tree, right??  To their credit, the boys were "gracious" in receiving their home made gift from Mom - at the time - but the hilarity continues to this day!  The socks were just simply AWFUL!!  My first attempt at knitting -  I will admit that they were truly "the gift from hell..."  Well, our youngest - who really should be working at a comedy club rather than being in college - dug this thing out from God knows where and hung it in the fire place - did I say they were ungrateful wretches????  They deserve COAL - the rats - ALL of them!!  Or maybe more socks!!

So, other then baking I've gotten my linens and china done for Christmas and had a friend over for dinner - the wash is done and I just have a bit to do tomorrow then I am officially DONE!!  Yay!!  I was absolutely touched and humbled by your comments on my last post.  However, I must admit, I am really not an inspiration - I push myself - sometimes harder then I should.  I know what the alternative is, and I don't want to be there. I'll move hell or high water not to be where some RA patients are - that scares the absolute hell out of me, and I will go down fighting if I have to!  I take each day as it comes and try to make the most of it.  I've often said that my motto is "if I can get OUT of bed, make my bed and brush my teeth... I'm ahead!"  Everything else is gravy!  I get more inspiration from YOU than you could ever imagine - and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart...

In case you're not near your computer for the next few days, I wish all of you a VERY Blessed, Merry and Happy Christmas!!  May your New Year be ALL you hope it will be!!  May God Bless YOU and keep you - always, in His care.... 

Until Next Time!

I'm Makin' A List...

Hey Y'all!  Ok, so I'm not from the south - but I get ta wantin' to do that every time I go through all my Christmas Cookie recipes..  I've got a few recipes from the Queen of Buttah' herself, Paula Deen and boy oh boy oh does she pack the butter in!!  I'm just glad Christmas baking only comes once a year - I wouldn't be able to fit through the doorway otherwise!  I'm really not a "cookie" person, nor do I eat much cakes or pastries.  But, I do have to try them after baking.....  You wouldn't want me feeding my family anything that is inferior now, would you??  My personal favorite to make is candy.  The hard candy with all the sweet and spicy flavors.  My family can live with or without the candy though - which means there's more for me!  We made gingerbread once and only once..  Making gingerbread "people" with pre-adolescent boys is definitely a mistake I did not make twice.  These same little creatures who giggle over milk snorting out of noses, and who can fart the longest, also giggle over making gingerbread "anatomically correct"..  I was the only Mom in the county with x-rated gingerbread "people"...... sighhhhhh....  It didn't help that the Hubs thought it was hysterical - must be a guy thing.

The voice is getting much better - I'm back to being sultry and raspy..  Thank you MandaPanda for the tea tip - I think it helped!  I've often thought of crank calling folks when my voice sounds like this - but then thought better of it..  I don't need to be arrested for harassment!  I got through another pack of cards today, but didn't get to my phone calls.  My voice still goes in and out and I don't need it to go out after I've waited almost ten minutes on hold listening to Christmas music.  So, tomorrow's another day.

It's still snowing around here and it's looking really pretty.  I do like the snow, just not driving in it.  We've been under intermittent lake effect snow warnings but not as bad as they're getting it further north.  We're hoping with all these warnings that the ski resort will be opening soon!  I need to get up there one of these weekends and get our Charlie Brown tree up.  We have this pathetic little artificial tree that we put up in the condo every Christmas with ski and golf ornaments (and a few beer tabs, scotch and wine corks).  It's become of tradition with the ski club and it does looks really cute when it's finished.  I'll try to find a picture to share!

Don't forget to check out this week's TGIF!

Until next time!