Just the basics.......

Tomorrow starts my official "chart", but I have enjoyed these last few days of preparing for my success in the next 26 weeks.

I have established a schedule for myself for now, and for when I return to my three, completely random but enjoyable, part-time jobs.

I am reading my book and beginning to understand the importance of daily exercise and how it not only makes us feel great both mentally and physically, but how it can also allow us to age gracefully, and prevent illness as we age. Exercise is a responsibility we owe ourselves. What I am understanding, is in my quest to live a healthier life now, so I can be healthier at the age of 70 and 80 and beyond, I have to make exercise a part of that, six days a week. Facts is facts, people.

This is making me really eager to get to physical therapy, so I can move on to Bootcamp! But for now, I will continue my simple at home PT, and increase my walking on the treadmill.

Wednesday I got on the treadmill to see if I could go longer than 25 minutes at 2.5 mph before my shoulder began to throb! I made 37 minutes. Ahhhhhh.......baby steps. I was able to add another 1.5 miles to my chart and I earned myself 2 WW Activity points. Only 197 miles to go to reach my goal of 200 miles by the end of May!

Wednesday's food tracker.......











I was anything BUT silly and ridiculous in this post, but I actually feel like getting out of this house today and spending some time in public! Maybe I'll do a few silly and ridiculous things!



"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Thinking about food too much?

I spent most of Tuesday morning blogging about whether I spend too much time thinking about food. After I posted my questionable blog, I went to try the treadmill for the second time since surgery. My goal was 10 minutes, since the first time, my surgery shoulder started throbbing at 15 minutes. Well, I happily and slowly made it to 25 minutes before any throbbing began and I was able to get in a mile.

When I got on the treadmill, I immediately turned on the TV and changed the channel to the Food Network. While watching Giada prepare pasta, my mouth began to water and I started planning dinner in my head.

Okay, fine. Reality. I really do spend a lot of time thinking about food. We had pasta for dinner. :)

Since being home for 2 1/2 weeks and not working, and not running errands and not cooking, I have had a lot of free time on my hands. It has really only been the past few days though that I have felt like doing much. I am so glad Roberta came over on Sunday and we formed a plan, because I could feel myself slipping into lots of negative thinking. I feel much better.

Since I am a bit homebound awhile longer, I will change from reading recipes to reading my new book, "Younger Next Year for Women" and tell you what I like about it.

Geeezzzzz, what should I snack on while I read? Kidding....kidding......kidding. Everybody calm down.

Here is my WW online journal. I will post this for a while and see how I like doing that. It shows my daily points eaten at the top left. It shows what I have remaining from my 49 extra points. It shows activity points earned. A green triangle identifies a Power Food! The star means its a favorite, which means it is something I eat regularly. Then the green boxes at the right are self explanatory and I do get a sense of satisfaction by being able to check some of those off! I always forget to check the vitamin box, but I do take one. I'll work on that. I usually get a teaspoon of oil in somewhere, but have never been in a habit of checking that box either?














"love the life you live, live the life you love"

2013....My Lifetime Achievement Chart

That's what I'm calling it. Roberta, my new coach, suggested that I come up with an important name for my chart, and since I am feeling very confident about my new strategy, that's the title I came up with!

This is a goal I have wanted to achieve my whole life. 2013 hasn't started off so great, so why not take control over what I can and force something positive into this calendar year?? It will for certain go down as one year I will never forget!

The left hand side starts with my current weight at the top, and the bottom left is the date, starting with this Friday, March 1st. The diagonal line that you see is the line I plan to chart my weight along twice a week, and ends at the bottom right at 150 lbs on August 30th. I have 26 weeks to get to that bottom right hand corner. I'm liking this chart thing already!






I did realize on Monday that I do spend a lot of time thinking about food, and as I spend today sitting down to blog throughout the day, I realize I have lots of thoughts about this. Roberta told me on Sunday, when we had our meeting, that she noticed, via my blog, that I spend a lot of time thinking about food. So now I have been thinking about why I have been thinking about food so much!

We actually had a WW meeting about this one time. I cant remember the numbers, but I do think I blogged about it. The average person makes a ridiculous number of decisions regarding food, each day. I think that was the subject of discussion? How many food decisions does the average person make each day? It's a LOT!

I have developed a love for cooking the last few years, so food for me has really become a hobby that I enjoy. Cooking seems to be very trendy these days. Look at all of the cooking shows and the cooking websites and blogs that are out there! Pinterest is covered with recipes! More and more people are really enjoying the "art" of cooking! I love to read recipes! I think it's fun to try new foods and to try new cooking methods. Lots of people love to talk about food! I know I have exchanged recipes or meal ideas with friends on many occasions. Plus, food is something we HAVE to think about everyday, several times a day. So even though I need to view it as a necessity as fuel for my body, shouldn't I also be able to enjoy the pleasure of it? Or? Is my new fascination with cooking and creating causing me to eat more often than I should, and more quantities than I should? I don't know.

When I started blogging with pictures of food, the whole idea was to show WW members that they could really enjoy what they were eating and satisfy all of their cravings by actually putting MORE thought into the food they were preparing and eating. I think by planning and being creative with my meals, I was forcing myself to try harder to create low point meals that were filling, tasty and physically appealing! I also received a lot of positive feedback about the food photos and their point values.

I also like to take pictures of packages of food. For me, a favorite part of my WW meeting is when other members bring in items they have discovered and that they recommend. I do like telling others about a great tasting, low point food I have discovered! Maybe I'll just do that on occasion. It's not like I buy a new product every day?

I had planned on recipes being a large part of my blog. My initial plan was to blog about a recipe, take pictures as I went, list the WW Points, then catalog it on my blog website. Well, I have an old Desktop that I haven't even turned on in months, so my iPad has become the complete source for my blog, and doing detailed things on my blog, such as labels and pages, can not be done on the iPad. So until this house see's a new computer, or the blog app is updated to do those things, the labels and pages part of my blog are a tad on hold.

I realize that I get a lot of personal satisfaction at the end of the day when I have stayed within my points and I look at the pictures of all of the food that I ate. I guess I am a visual person, and I assume others are too, and perhaps seeing all of the food that you can eat and lose weight, can be encouraging to someone that is just getting started.

So........those are several of the reasons that I can come up with for explaining why I spend so much time thinking about and blogging about food. This has been an interesting reflection for me.

What are your thoughts Coach? I am curious.

Do I take a break from the photos and food blogging?
Do I go about it differently?

Excited to get your coaching advice!

Here is my journal for Monday.






Can you read it? I want the world (okay, my few readers) to know what I ate, that it was all delicious, that I was completely satisfied all day and night, and that I stayed within my points!!!!!





"love the life you live, live the life you love"

New Strategy.....Same Goals.....Changing up the Blog

I have been following another blogger, Roberta, for several months now. She read's my blog regularly as well. Click HERE to read Roberta's blog. Roberta recently reached her goal weight of 150 lbs. She went from 224 lbs to her goal weight of 150 lbs in about 11 months by counting calories and regularly exercising. She averaged a weekly loss of 1.8 pounds through most of her journey. Towards the end, things slowed down a bit, as that tends to happen the closer you get to goal, but she never quit, and Roberta is now training for a triathlon in August. She looks and feels amazing!

She recently blogged about needing a new project, besides her own current personal transformation into an athlete. I feel stuck and decided I needed a push. I asked her if she would be interested in "coaching" me to my goal? Maybe "I" could be her project? She loved the idea and came over today so we could brainstorm a way to get me there.....for real!

I have decided to take a break from "food blogging". I might change my mind later, but I am going to try something different and see what I think. This decision is based on a discussion I had today with my new "Coach". I will post my food journal showing my food choices and my points total, but I won't focus so much on picture taking and food prep and if it was a "Pinterest" recipe or not. I still feel that what I eat is obviously crucial to my weight loss and my health, but I am going to try to spend less time "thinking" about food, and spend more time focusing on the "non-food" related things that are involved in living healthy. My goals are still the same.

1. 150 pounds
2. Apply for a job as a WW Leader
3. Exercise regularly
4. Live a healthy life

My initial reason to blog, was to journal my journey, and use it as a tool for other WW members. It has evolved into more of a "Here's What I Ate Today" blog, which is important, but isn't satisfying the blog's purpose. The purpose of the blog is for me to learn about myself as I go, hopefully put out some useful information, and possibly entertain. I want to reach my goal before one more birthday, and before one more New Year.

After much chatting with Roberta today about how she succeeded, and why I make excuses, together, we came up with a plan.

First? I agreed to set a timeline goal of when I will reach my goal. This was the hardest part for me. I have always said I would get there, but by never giving myself a timeline, I wasn't fully committing. I know this. Admitting my fear of never really reaching my goal, but wanting myself and everyone else to know that I was always trying, was hard. Hence, "The Weight of my Weight".

I have 26 weeks to reach my goal.

Here is my new strategy that we came up with.

1. Chart my weight two times a week on a large graph posted on the bathroom wall. (Need to make that Monday!) Roberta suggest taking a weekly picture of myself too and placing them on the graph. So I will.

2. Allow myself 30 PPV a day, but no more. That allows me about half of my Weekly Extra Points Allowance, but limits me from using all of them.

3. While still in my sling, (2 more weeks) walk slowly for 10 minutes each day on the treadmill. My future exercise routine will include 45 to 60 minutes of exercise 6 times per week, with half of that being cardio.

4. Drink 8 glasses of water daily.

5. Drink alcohol only 2 times per month.

6. Read "Younger Next Year for Women", which Roberta gave me as a gift today! Roberta read it and blogged a lot about it. I won't blog as detailed as she did about it, but I will talk about some important highlights of the book.





Roberta is going to check in with me regularly, read my blog, and push me to do the right things to reach my goal. She was honest with me about the things I needed her to be honest with me about, and that was really helpful. She knew the timeline goal was difficult for me, but convinced me that setting that goal and charting my progress would do wonders. I agreed.

I still want my blog to have humor, be interesting and entertaining. I like to read blogs with pictures. If you read my blog regularly, and you think the "no food" picture ideas is a bad one, speak up! I'm curious.

I remind myself too, that I am only 23 pounds from my goal!

I may just blog less about food for a temporary time. At least until I can type with more than my left hand. :)

This blog took all damn day to type!



"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Walking on Water?

Okay, walking on snow. The dogs, that is. They each only weigh about 10 pounds, so they both seem to tip toe around the backyard pretty well, before suddenly "falling" through. I was entertained.

The wind picked up here! Look at Tucker's ears!














I got on the treadmill for the first time, and after 0.5 mile, I got dizzy. :(
Baby steps, I suppose.

Breakfast Nacho's?
Waffle Fries topped with Bacon Pieces, Egg Whites, Cheese and Ketchup!
I thought my little creation for "The Morning After" was delicious!
8 PPV


Coffee with skim milk
1 PPV


Snack (not pictured)
Pb&j on a Sandwich thin
4 PPV
Milk
2 PPV

Lunch
Mahi Mahi Burger from Trader Joe's (surprisingly delicious and juicy!)
3 PPV




Fruit
0 PPV





Banana, Pear (not back in the picture habit, yet)
0 PPV

Dinner
(Pictured are the leftovers....oooops)




Mexican Casserole from a neighbor, made with Ground Turkey. Super Yummy!

12 PPV?

The food I ate and it's PPV

Breakfast = 9
Snack = 6
Lunch = 3
Snack = 0
Dinner = 12

Total = 30

Activity Points Earned Today = 1
Remaining points from my 49 Points Allowance = 19
How many glasses of water I drank today = 9

I've had a rough few days of feeling like the next two weeks of no sleep and this sling will feel like 6 months, so I am trying hard to remember this inconvenience is very temporary!






"love the life you live, live the life you love"

2 Weeks Post-op......Food Photo 's!

I went 5 full days and nights without pain meds, and was feeling quite successful, until 3:00 am Friday. Thursday was not one of my best days. Starting to feel a little anxious and a little restless, and just having a hard time getting comfortable, awake or asleep! So at 3:00 am I had TWO pain pills and drifted off to Never Never Land until 9:00 am. It felt great to finally get some solid sleep, but the pain prior to the meds was awful. Mike says my shoulder is probably going through some healing and I am feeling it......and I may have "Overdone" the last couple of days. True.

I had decided that two-weeks post-op, I would start walking and taking pictures of my food again. I weighed one day last week at home and about fell apart! But it must have been water weight or something, because this morning I was back at 173. Just a reminder.....I had gotten to 165, then gained over the holidays, and vacation, then had surgery. Not happy about this 170's situation, but eager to get out of it!

Cooking and meal prep has been much harder than I anticipated, but I am figuring things out. Due to the ridiculous snow storm here in KC, I was not able to get to my WW meeting Friday morning, and I know I really need it. Taking the pain meds makes me a little dizzy (and emotional!), so no treadmill yet.

I'd like my sense of humor back and my ridiculous weepiness to please go away! (Mike would probably like that too!)


Here are the days eats....

Breakfast

Egg Whites, turkey, cheese, salsa
Toasted Sandwich thins with jam
Coffee with skim milk

7 PPV






Lunch

Leftover WW Mexican Casserole, delivered by a good friend!
(Thanks Kim!)
Apple

8 PPV








Happy Hour (I've missed it so!)

I didn't take pictures, and I drank too much, but I sure did enjoy my girl time!

Snacks 10 PPV
Wine 27 PPV

The food I ate and it's PPV

Breakfast = 7
Lunch = 8
Happy Hour = 37

Total = 52

Activity Points Earned Today = 0
Remaining points from my 49 Points Allowance = 23
How many glasses of water I drank today = 8





"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Ahhhhh........Independence.

With each day that comes along, I try to do something new with only the use of my left hand. I must say, I have surprised myself.




It was a great feeling of independence just to figure out how to take my brace/sling off without any help. A mirror is a must for this one.

Then I decided I had to be able to shower and dry off without assistance. The only thing I can't wash at all is my left arm, so for a few seconds I get the water as hot as I can stand it and stick my left arm under the shower head. I'm certain it kills all the germs. :) Drying off at all is a challenge, and my front side is a bit of a balancing act while my right arm dangles at my side, and left arm does all the work, and my backside? Well, I have mastered it by making a cape with my towel, sitting on the shower seat and doing a little jig. All dry!

Next? Completely dressing. The bra is tricky, but mastered. Socks are interesting, but not as difficult as I expected. Tank top? Comical, but it's working. Walking shoes? Just leave them tied and use a shoe horn (my index finger). Zipping up a jacket? I am not supposed to be using my right hand for much at all, so I get the zipper together while seated, using both hands rested in my lap, then stand and press my tummy up against the wall to hold my jacket down while I zip up with my left hand! Ta Da!

Hair? Hat. Make-up? Light. I did wear some yesterday. Light eye liner and light mascara.

After getting completely dressed yesterday, I HAD to get out of the house, so I walked to the mailbox and got the mail! So much excitement!

Then I decided to see if I COULD fit in the drivers seat with my brace. Guess what? Plenty of room! So I took a drive around the neighborhood.

Then I got really brave.......and went to the grocery store! It felt great to be in the drivers seat and have complete control of my day!

After putting all the groceries away, I decided to attempt changing my sheets! I didn't really think I would be able to get the fitted sheet on with just my left hand, but after effort and patience, I DID IT!

Mike is now expecting small miracles. Oooooops.

I am going to make chili for the expected snow storm. Not sure about chopping onions or draining the fat off the meat with one hand. I do find that if I just start something, I usually figure out a way to finish it.

(Everything except reaching my goal weight. I guess I need that same motivation in my weight loss)

I have loved all the girl friend visits and prepared meals delivered! I have also greatly appreciated the phone calls from friends at the grocery store or Walmart to see if I need anything! Great friends, greatly appreciated!

Excited to go to lunch with a friend today, and a lunch outing scheduled tomorrow! The normalcy feels great!

I have not had a pain pill for two days, which allowed me to be able to drive, allows me to treadmill, and allows me Wine on Friday!!

Still not sleeping great due to just trying to find a comfortable position, (laying down on your back just doesn't really work, nor does either side, so its a reclined position, with no tossing and turning) but the pain has decreased significantly!

Looking forward to driving myself to WW on Friday morning! I will weigh, but unsure if I will share my results. I really feel chubby. Excited to get back at it. Might need Mike to chop up fruits and veggies to get me back to plenty of Power Foods!

Excited for more progress and Independence!


"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Day 9, Post-op

Un styled hair, no make up, but clean and dressed!




Well, although I have only left the house one time, I feel like I have kept fairly busy and I see progress already!

The little, simple things take much longer, and due to the sleepless nights, I do get tired easily.

I was feeling pretty victorious about taking no prescription pain pills all day on Friday, until the effects of my first physical therapy exercises set in. Egads! I guess the ice packs and Advil just didn't quite do it.

Thursday was a super restless night in the guest room bed that I have been sleeping in. Yes, I sacrificed my bed to the dogs for the fear that Tucker would want to cuddle on top of my head or shoulder, which he tends to do. After six nights in the guest bedroom, I started to get really uncomfortable, and the bed just wasn't working out, so I took Mike's suggestion, and moved to the recliner. After a couple of pain pills, and Mike making the pillows just so, I crashed for about 8 hours! It was soooo nice.

Friday night, after doping up on pain pills from the exercises, I got all snuggled in the recliner for my second night of splendid slumber. No dice. Wasn't gonna happen. No way. I fell apart and whimpered myself into 10 and 15 minute light naps for the rest of the night. I think the meds make me cry. And after surgery, I messed up my birth control pills and may be just a tad emotional?

Saturday? I informed the entire family (Mike, Mishka and Tucker) that I would be rejoining them in the family bed! I got the pillows all situated, took meds, iced my shoulder, drank a cup of chamomile tea, and went to bed. Nope. Another sleepless night. Hope this doesn't last long, but I got a baaaaad feeling, it might.

Good news.....in the last two days, I have gotten more comfortable with the shower routine. I know. TMI. Buts its kinda crazy how the simplest of task can become such a challenge. I even shaved my legs! Left handed! (Thanks for the advice, Roberta!) I also figured out how to put on a tank top, alone, inserting my left arm (while dangling at my side, cuz thats the rule if it is out of the sling) first, then over head, then the left arm. It's quite comical, I'm sure.

This morning, I got really brave, and put on my bra. ALL BY MYSELF! That took forever, was a tad painful, and may not happen again for a few days, but it was an accomplishment that made me feel less dependent on my honey.

I dressed and did my hair as best as I could this morning. I think it might be a good thing I like hats!

Tucker has figured out that he needs to get permission before joining me on the recliner or couch, and Mishka's just glad I'm not locked up in the guest room any longer.

I have discovered I get light headed easily, so until I am off the prescription pain pills, it might be in my best interest to refrain from the treadmill.

Not a fan of the PT exercises. They all make me feel like my arm is being pulled out of the socket! I've never had that happen before, but I'm guessing.

I am realizing the simple task of cutting up an apple or peeling an orange take forever! Needless to say, banana's have been my fruit of choice.

I didn't weigh at home on Friday, but I think I look chubby. I didn't eat over my points last week, and I drank lots of water, but I am guessing sitting burns very little calories.

Working hard at tracking the last 2 days and curious to see what the scale will say at home on Friday. Maybe I can hitch a ride to a meeting? It would be good to get out for a bit. I'll consider.

I miss cooking, but have enjoyed the meals that have been brought over tremendously!

It's hard to take pictures with the iPad one handed, and the picture taking button is on the right side, so its really impossible to hold the iPad with your left and click the button. So my post are mostly pictureless!!

Basically, the sleeping part sucks, but I really feel much better than I anticipated I would 9 days out! Yay!

I think I have used this one recently, but it seemed like a goodie for today.




"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Ten Things I Can Do With My Left Hand

1. Pee, all by myself. (I was worried about this one.)
2. Brush my teeth. (Although they don't feel AS clean)
3. Get dressed. (From the waist down.)
4. Shower. (Only 95% of the way. I can't raise my right arm to wash my right armpit, and I can't seem to figure out a way to wash my left armpit with my left hand. I'm just not very flexible that way.)
5. Wash my left hands fingers. (I just can't figure out how to wash my whole hand!)
6. Crack AND cook eggs! (Without any shell! Impressed?)
7. Make coffee. (I guess I've just never tried.)
8. Apply mascara. (I only poked my eyeball twice!)
9. Sort, wash and dry a load of clothes. (No folding though. I guess I could, but it would take forever, and it just seemed easier for Mike to do that.)
10. Pet the dogs. (But I'd really like to hug them with both arms!)


Ten Things I Can NOT Do with My Left Hand

1. Put on my bra. (This is crucial if I want to leave the house!)
2. Spread peanut butter on toast. (So I've been squeezing the honey bear instead.)
3. Tie my walking shoes. (Velcro?)
4. Drive. (I have to put the seat back so far to get in with my brace, my short legs won't reach the pedals! Pedal extensions?)
5. Hand wash dishes. (I'm sure if I really had to, I could figure it out.)
6. Paint my toenails. (Not even gonna try!)
7. Shave my legs. (Tooooo risky!)
8. Cut with scissors. (My teeth seem to be working great for opening things.)
9. Put on deodorant. (See #4 in the first list of 10 things.)
10. Eat with a fork. (This one seems so simple! Try it! I ate my salad with a Big Soup Spoon! Much easier.)




"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Happy Valentines Day!

My morning began with (absolutely NO sleep!) a Super sweet card and these.........yip, there's 12. I always count, just to be sure. :)





This truly traditional guy really loves me. What can I say?

We then went on a date to the Dr. office for my first post-op! To really make the date special, I put on a bra! WHOO WHOO! (Actually, Mike had to put it on for me. Did I say "Happy Valentines Day!"?

Stitches out, got the okay to have an adult beverage (as long as I'm done with the pain pills), got the okay to treadmill (as long as I promise to hold on and take it easy), and instructions for at home physical therapy (Four exercises) for the next three weeks. Then the REAL physical therapy will start. Eeeekkkkk.

Mike brought me home from our romantic trip to the Dr. and I called a friend for a ride to the grocery store (THANKS AMY!) for a few things. I gave Mike the okay to go to work since I was sure I could manage myself and the dogs for a few hours alone, and I could totally tell he needed to get out of the house!

I dressed simple today. Black yoga's, black shoes, black zip up jacket and my big, bulky black brace. I look like an injured NINJA! But I don't care. It just felt good to get outside! :)




"love the life you live, live the life you love"

5 Days Post-Op!

I would say that mostly, things are going as expected. When the Doc said that one week after surgery, I would regret having it, I am wondering if he was referring mostly to this darn arm/brace slingy thingamabob!

There is no way to put on a shirt that you "pull over", and attempting a bra at this point would be ridiculous! None of the shirts that I own that are button up would be comfortable at all under this brace, so I had a friend (THANK YOU, BECKY!) shop for a thin, zip up hoodie that I could just cut the arms off of! I figured after shower number two (which was WAY more successful than shower number one), I could actually put on some clothes, although Mike said he didn't really mind the new, topless Julie.

Whatcha think?




So far, sleeping has been terrible. (The brace can only be taken off for showering.) Monday was the best night so far. Hopefully I will get another one of those soon!

Mike has been a busy little bee lately taking care of me, taking all the phone calls regarding Tess' accident, still dealing with issues regarding "the vacation robbery" and shopping for Tess a car. Oh yeah, and trying to work from home while dealing with everything else and explain to the dogs that mommy will eventually be back in the bed with all of them very soon! (I am afraid Tucker will pounce on my shoulder, so I have kept mostly in the guest bedroom.)

Mike did find Tess a cute little Honda that was within our budget. The mechanic just called to say he thinks we got a heckuva deal! Yay! Good news!






I have kept within my points for the week, so that makes me happy. Although due to all of the drugs, I haven't had much of an appetite. :) I'm sure that will change over the next several days. As long as I keep the right foods in the house, and the wrong foods out of the house, I should do just fine!

I changed my walking goal. I decided two weeks after surgery, I should be able to start walking. I will get that confirmed tomorrow. I changed my goal to 200 miles in 12 weeks, instead of 150 miles. My original goal sounded very doable, whereas my new goal sounds like more of a challenge, and I think I need a challenge to focus on.

Well, I typed this all with my left index finger, and it is getting tired, so that's all for today!

I actually feel much better pain wise than I expected at this point, so that is SUPER!



(Basically this means, I successfully took my second shower without crying)



"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Topless, with flannel pants.....

So far, things are exactly as expected. I can't wear anything up top, and it's a struggle to pee.





Surgery went well. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes. Very sweet and very much appreciated! :)

My rotator cuff is stitched up and the Doc removed a bone spur! All done laparoscopically, so that was a nice surprise. No big scar!

I've had a couple of break downs, but that has basically been late at night just trying to get comfortable with this crazy sling. Oh, and one time I bumped my arm, and it felt like it fell off, so I might have over reacted just a bit.

Mike has been an awesome nurse! We had to ice me for 15 minutes EVERY HOUR for the first 72 hours! We hope to get caught up on some sleep tonight.

I got to remove all the bandages on Sunday and take a shower! I love a nice hot shower, so I was super excited. Um....... taking off the sling was excruciating, then there was a slight chill in the air, so I worked myself into a small hysterical fit, so I was clean, but miserable.

I have actually counted points as best as possible and have done well. I guess you don't work up much of an appetite just sitting around on drugs. I am drinking tons of water and hot tea.

Now, I just sit and wait until Thursday's post op.

Look! No bruises! (Yet)





"love the life you live, live the life you love"

A Nightmare that I Day Dream About

I have really weird dreams. I have often thought about keeping a dream journal, then having it analyzed, but I'm afraid I might learn something about myself that it's just better that I maybe not know. A lot of dreams, I just keep to myself. :)

Here is my day dream that I have had for the last two weeks that is really more of a Nightmare.

"I go under the knife, and the anesthetic has not completely put me under. I can hear "Scalpel" and then I FEEL them cutting on me and I can't scream!!"

Too much? People, this really does happen, and the bad luck around here lately is......well......common!

I see myself being interviewed by Diane Sawyer on 20/20 telling the tragic story of the family with the worst luck ever!

So I have decided before ANYTHING can happen in the morning, I have GOT to meet with the anesthesiologist. (I feel the need to gloat here. I just spelled that word correctly, because spell check didn't change a thing!)

I decided I needed a little ZEN in my day today. I did all the usual stuff I do on Thursdays. One last day of work, errands, one last load of laundry. The usual. But I did decide to get a pedicure to relax just a bit. I went the extra mile and got the "Heel Scraper" pedicure with the extra long massage. I am not the best pedicure client (everything tickles or hurts and I guess I just have super sensitive skin) and I am the Worlds Worst at understanding someone with just a hint of an accent. And for some reason it really can stress me out. (Why I thought this was going to be relaxing is kinda dumb.)Then I try to say words like they do, and then I feel I am insulting them, when I am only trying my best to communicate and make polite conversation. It just wasn't working for me today. So after lots of nodding, and "huh's?", I finally said I was kinda feeling some stress and would like to just close my eyes and relax. Then she dropped the thing you clip all the dead skin away with and it STABBED me in the top of my foot! Not a lot of ZEN, but my toenails are a pretty shade of orange and my heels will not likely cut Mike in bed tonight. And that's a good thing.

Mike mentioned last week that he thought I needed some sort of a visual for my recovery period. I thought this sounded like a good idea, but wasn't really sure what kind of visual would work best. He suggested something I could chart that would show I was feeling better and making progress. I would like to chart my physical therapy, but I don't really know exactly what that is yet. So I decided to chart my mood with Weekly Emoticons, and I decided two weeks after surgery, I would begin to walk 150 miles over the next 12 weeks. That really isn't that many miles in 12 weeks, but it is something to work towards, and it will give something to chart and feel good about. It is my hope that the Doc will give me the "Go Ahead" at the end of that 12 weeks to start back at Bootcamp. So that's what I called my chart that I made.

"The Road to Bootcamp"




The days eats......

I liked that runny egg thing yesterday, and I'm not really a runny egg kinda girl, or maybe I am?

1 Egg
2 Pieces of Toast
Banana
Black Coffee

4 PPV





I liked dipping my toast in it!




Lunch
Salad Bar at the Grocery Store
Lettuce, Carrots, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes
Chicken, a little taco meat, sour cream, salsa

8 PPV





Dinner

"The Last Supper"
(You just never know.)

I thought a little today about what I wanted for dinner, then I decided it should be something Mike really likes, since he has a rough few days ahead of him.
(He has NOT had a super great week.)
He loves the Chinese place up the street, and me? I can take it or leave it. All Chinese food, that is. The place up the street is called Savor. But one time, a long long long time ago, Tess and I thought Mike called it Savior. So her and I began to call it "Savior", then we began to call it "Our Lord and Savior", and now, I think I am the only one that calls it "Our Lord and Savior Chinese Food". It's just one of those things that I KNOW for certain her and I are the only ones that find the humor in it, but it kills us every time. So I decided there was not a more appropriate place to get my "Last Supper", than from "Our Lord and Savior Chinese Food".

Mike's...Chicken and Broccoli in some kinda sauce that starts with an "H", or maybe it starts with a "Y", and it's spicy, Fried Rice
2 Crab Rangoon

Julie's.... Chicken and Broccoli in Black Bean Sauce, No Rice
2 Crab Rangoon.

15 PPV









The food I ate today and it's PPV

Breakfast = 4
Lunch = 8
Dinner = 15

Total = 27

Activity Points Earned Today = 0
Remaining points from my 49 Points Allowance = 0
How many glasses of water I drank today = 8


I'll be back in a few days.....





"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Is this real life?

Okay, so Tess goes to get a rental car.

Wait. This really needs to be told in some sort of a story format.

"The Adventures of Tess"

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl named Tess (she really was beautiful you guys), who liked adventures (shit just kinda happens to her, like it or not). She was adored by many (she really did have a lot of friends). Tess moved to a place, far far away. (Dallas)

In just a few short weeks, beautiful young Tess was busy visiting other far away places (a weekend in New Orleans and Nashville and a couple of day trips to Phoenix and Austin).

On a return trip home from one of her adventures, she had an unfortunate mishap (she got broadsided by a big ass SUV!) and Gertrude was sent to the junkyard. Tess apparently was surrounded by angels, because she was unharmed. (Gertrude sacrificed herself for beautiful, young Tess.)

Tess went to the car store to borrow a car. You simply need a major credit card, (SHE DOESN'T HAVE ONE OF THOSE!) and if under the age of 25 and an out of state D.L. be wise enough to figure out how to get through all the red tape. Along with beauty, she is extremely intelligent, so several phone calls and several hours later, she was able to come up with a solution.

A nice young man came to pick her up and deliver her back to the car store to borrow a car. She was polite and made small talk with the gentleman while driving back to the car store. (She was really uncomfortable and the drive was longer than she had anticipated.)

Before arriving at the car store, the nice young gentleman (Jerron, who was actually a music producer by night and delivery driver of people during the day) asked her if she would like to go out. Taken a bit off guard, and not yet at a point where she could get out of the car, and unsure of how he might reply to a "No thank you", Tess replied "sure". (He asked for her number, then reminded her that HE ALREADY HAD IT IN HIS PERSONAL PHONE, AND....he used his personal phone to GPS how to get to her house!!!!)

Lovely, young, beautiful, adventurous, intelligent Tess called the car store to let them know about the date request from the driver. (She was totally freaked out!!) They apologized immediately. Later she received a call from management to see if they could do something to show how sorry they were. She let them know that it would be helpful to not have to worry about returning the vehicle with a full tank of gas. They gladly obliged. Then she went to Happy Hour."

"The End"

You can read Tess' hilariously and cleverly titled version of her own story on her blog by Clicking Here.



Here is what I ate.......

Small bowl of cereal with skim milk
4 PPV




I have always wanted to make this, but forget about it.



Perfect!




Toast, Egg
3 PPV

Coffee with Skim Milk
1 PPV




Lunch
Leftover Rotisserie Chicken, Roasted potatoes,
Cauliflower with Cheese

7 PPV


Dinner

Boom Boom Tacos from Beauty of the Bistro

8 PPV





Snack
Protein Bar
5 PPV





Breakfast = 8
Lunch = 7
Dinner = 8
Snack = 5

Total = 28

Activity Points Earned Today = 0
Remaining points from my 49 Points Allowance = 0
How many glasses of water I drank today = 9

ONE MORE POST BEFORE THE KNIFE!

"love the life you live, live the life you love"