My weight loss journey

Life has continued to try to pass me by faster than I can keep track of it. The Bubba Baby is growing so quickly and I just watch in wonder as she gets so big. She has her first two teeth and has crawled... once. And just once. She's a curious little one. Just a bit like her father.

The Monkey is still keeping me on my toes too. Even with her autism spectrum diagnosis, she is smarter than a whip. We just need to keep finding more ways to allow her out of shell. Such an amazing child.

Of course Don is still great, in so many ways. He is a wonderful husband and patient father. I can't really ask for more. And it reminds me of why I love him every day.

Work has been very good to me lately also. But it also keeps me very busy. I have been promoted, retroactively to January 1st. I've also been selected for some really exciting new long term projects at work. It requires a lot more time from my family, but I find that it's very rewarding work. It makes me feel very successful and satisfied with what I do.

Here is Ginger Collette's birth story. She arrived on Friday, August 31st at 5:09 p.m.

I went in for Cervidil late on the night of the 30th. It was placed at midnight. I was already 2 cm and 50% effaced. They took it out at 8am on the 31st. I was still 2 cm but 70% effaced. I took a shower, had some toast for breakfast and got ready for show time.

At 10 am they started the Pitocin to get my contractions consistent and more effective. I managed until 1:15 before I asked for an epidural. Since there were two emergency c-sections going on at that time, I'd have to wait. And I wasn't the first in line to get an epidural either. Since there were 9 other moms in labor at the same time, everyone on the floor was a little frazzled.

I finally got my epidural at 2:50. It was so nice to finally be able to relax and not have to work so hard to get through the contractions. I was at a 4-5 at the time. I finally took a nap and Dad to be took off to find some food in the hospital.

The nurse woke me up at 4:40 and asked to check me since she was seeing some decels in the baby's heart rate. She wanted to place an internal monitor. I woke up and agreed. She barely touched me and said, "Oh! You're complete and she's right there. Let's get this heart monitor on and get ready!" She got the room all set up as we waited for Don. This is his first after all, we wouldn't want him to miss it. He finally came back at 5:00 exactly, and I was ready to push. I did one practice push to show the nurse that I remembered how to, and she told me to stop.

The nurse and Don got me up in the stirrups. The nurse got on the phone to call the doctor and tell her I was ready to deliver. She said, "She's ready to deliver her now." and Don said, "Uhhh.... there she is....." The blood drained from his face. It was hilarious. I just kept repeating, "I swear I'm not pushing!" Her head was already out! The nurse yelled, "Oh my! She's coming, room 343!" and dropped the phone. She ran over to support her head and her shoulders popped out. The doctor came running in, took one look and said, "Oh!" and grabbed a pair of gloves and caught the rest of her. I didn't push at all. She just slid right out. She had the cord wrapped very tightly around her chest that was causing the decels during the last contractions. I did one half hearted push for the placenta. No tears, no cutting, no stitches. I was up and walking around normal as soon as the epidural wore off. A great birth experience.

I am finally a year post op. Not that I should say finally, it's gone much faster than I would have anticipated. A whole year, and a whole new person. Amazing. I finally brought some wedding pictures into work, and people kept asking me if that was really me. And these are people who knew me then... and see me almost every day. They were shocked by how much I've changed. I guess it's really a lot. Like 90 pounds of a lot.

The whole baby and pregnancy thing is going very well. I had another check up on Tuesday, and everything looks/sounds great. The baby is measuring a little big, but that's okay. Maybe she'll cook faster so I won't be so uncomfortable during Fest. Grow baby grow! Bobo is putting on a shower for me... if I ever get all of those addresses to her. So keep your eyes on your mailboxes for those invites. If I don't have your address, or if you think I have it wrong, email me so I get it right.

I get to take another peek at the baby next Friday. My doctor wants me to have ultrasounds about every 4 weeks to make sure the baby is growing properly because of my gastric bypass. I did gain only .8 pounds in 4 weeks. But I surely look pregnant. I'm starting to bump my bump into everything now. There's not a safe counter or table in sight! I think the baby is convinced it's a game though. She starts beating me up when I'm at my desk since I'm always forgetting that I'm as popped out as I am and running her into the desk. Monkey was sitting on my lap, I was brushing her hair, and the baby kept kicking her in the back. It was funny. Until Monkey started pushing on my tummy to get back at her "because she's being mean!" I think I'm going to have to start looking for some new babysitters already.

Hope you're all well. Maybe someday I'll have time to scan all of these ultrasound pictures that I'm accumulating and post them for you.

I know that it's been way way too long since I've posted anything, but life keeps me on my toes. And now I think I've at least cracked a few of them. But that's okay. I will carry on.

I guess it's time to tell you what exactly I've been up to. I haven't been losing weight. Not that I care right now. Because I'm pregnant again! Yippee for me! And for Don... and the Monkey... We're all really excited. And I'm far enough along now, 20 weeks, that I don't mind screaming it from the rooftops. That and I can't hide it anymore since I have more than a slight resemblance to a beached whale. It so strange to go through everything that I've been through in the last year to be healthy and happy just to lose sight of my feet again. But it will all be worth it.

We don't know our little one's gender right now, but hopefully the Rat will be cooperative enough next week to give up the goods. But it's not looking so promising with the attitude I'm getting from the womb already. I had a prenatal appointment yesterday, and everything checked out great. The last part was to hear the heartbeat. Well, the little Rat would take off every time we tried it get a good listen. All we would hear it two or three thuds of the heart before the "Whooosh" of it taking off to the other side of my uterus. Not just once or twice to irritate me and the doctor, but repeatedly for 12 MINUTES! We finally pushed the Rat up against a very firm hand shoved into me and cornered the sucker. The heartbeat sounds good and healthy, but that doesn't mean this isn't a brat already. It should be an interesting upcoming year with attitude like this already.

Also, since I last posted, Don and I celebrated our one year anniversary. It was great. We dropped off the Monkey with Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend and took off.... to Saint Paul. It was so worth it though. We looked into flying away somewhere, but it just didn't make any sense. So we booked two nights at the luxurious St Paul Hotel. Since our anniversary also happens to fall the day after St Patrick's Day, we got to be in Saint Paul for their St Patty's Day parade. That was fun. Got to say 'Hi' to Al Franken and get a very firm handshake. We also had tickets to the closing night of Camelot at the Ordway, starring Michael York. It was a good show. We enjoyed ourselves. When we were checking out of our hotel room on Sunday morning, who comes off the elevator other than Michael York and his wife. That was interesting to watch. All of the staff of the Saint Paul Hotel were gushing over him. But he was really just like any other guy, except his job means that people recognize and notice him everywhere. While we were waiting for the valet to bring up our car, Michael stopped the doorman's cart from running into me from behind. See, just a regular guy. And very nice about it all. Don and I also got to eat a meal at the famous Mickey's Diner. That was so much fun. But I'm not sure that I'll ever get that greasy smell out of my clothes. It might be too deeply embedded into the fibers.

I'll leave you all with that for now. There are a million other things I could tell you, but this is already freakishly long. Thanks for listening!

Tomorrow morning, the hubby, kidlet, and I are taking off for the Land that Mickey Built. It should be a blast. It will be the Monkey's first time on an airplane, not to mention first time at Disney World. She's uber thrilled. It's all she's been talking about since Christmas. It's going to be a week of fun, sun, and mouse ears. I'll let you all know how it went when we get back!

I don't want to hear any more complaints about me not updating this enough for you guys. At least not until I neglect it for a while. Especially when others (BoBo) don't EVER update theirs. Anyway.

The holidays are now past. And thank goodness. They were long, drawn out, and exhausting. I think my little family had good times. The Monkey got everything that she asked for and more. And she has already lost that precious GameBoy that Santa brought her. She asked for it, begged for it, got it, loved it, and lost it.... all in a week. Amazing. We're still debating "finding" her another one. We'll have to see.

It's a new year now, and with that, I have a new job! I got promoted at work. Sometimes talking things out with higher ups pays off. Maybe I now have myself in a position where we are comfortable enough for Don to look into his other career options. Hopefully so. I think he'd be much happier almost anywhere other than where he is now.

The tattoo has healed wonderfully. I love it! The colors are bright and vibrant. It really does show what my life has been for the last year. It was a year of change, new beginnings, rebirth, and growth.

We're in the middle of planning our vacation at the end of January. We're bringing the Monkey to Disney World for the first time. She's very excited. She's been talking about it forever. We told her when she was 8 she would be able to go with us, since we've been twice without her. Now that she's 8, we're out of excuses. And I think she's ready to go. She's been working very hard in school this year. It's amazing to watch her learn and grow. She's gotten much better support at her new school along with new goals. The understanding all of her teachers and support staff have is so complete. It's great to finally have her the help she needs to be successful. And I see her success every day when she tells me about the things that she's learned, and all of the new wonderful things that she's experiencing. She has gone from being unable to read almost anything to reading some simple books. That's great for only a few months. I couldn't get her to that point by myself in a whole year! It's much easier to play the reinforcement role with her reading/writing/math instead of the lead like I had to before.

I hope this is enough of an update for now. I do have more things to share, but just don't have the time to get them all down right now. I really wish that I could. Hopefully soon.

By the way.... I want a dog... not a puppy, but a dog. A little cute, cuddly, adorable dog. *wink wink*

Here's a picture of the tattoo now that it's all done. I love it. It's amazing. I'm so glad that it turned out as great as it did.

I've made it Onederland! Woo freakin Hoo! I'm officially under 200 pounds. And I've maintained being under it for over a week. Every time I got on the scale I thought, it'll just slide back over that 200 mark, but it never did. So amazing. I can't believe that I've made it this far. I haven't seen a number that small on the scale since before I had the Monkey. Amazing stuff.

I have to show some love to Kelly Jo. She had her surgery on the Monday after Thanksgiving. She is doing great. Such a rock star! I'm so proud of her. She knew what she had to do, and she did it. I visited her the day after surgery in the hospital, and she was up and walking. All she could talk about was how good she felt considering she'd just had her insides jumbled. I'm glad that she took some of the advice I gave her and it's all working out great for her too. I hope she sees all of the success I've seen in herself. She deserves it.

Now I'm 7 months out. Yay me! I still feel great. People are telling me all the time that I look great. I'm down over 90 pounds, and under 200 for the first time in I don't know how long. It's just crazy how much my life has changed. I love my life. This is great.

But, since it is now December in Minnesota, it is cold. Damn cold. Like single digit weather cold. No snow yet, but brrrrrrr. Since I've lost the majority of my insulation, I feel like I'm living life in a giant freezer. It's going to be a long few months until it starts warming up again. I'll manage, I'm sure.

Waiting to hear from my doctor about my hormone levels. As of last week, they still weren't all of the way recovered from the pregnancy. Since I was once again put into pin cushion mode today, I should be hearing what they are showing. Hopefully close to zero. That's what we're shooting for.

Oh... by the way... found the joy of SUGAR FREE OREOS! I must say, the best thing ever! This is saving me from so many things that would just make me sick. Yummy!

Well, here is the work in progress. I love it! It's exactly what I had drawn in my head. I am so glad that I decided to go ahead with Aja and this design. It is sore. But that is to be expected. I'm going back in the middle of December to get the color added. There just wasn't enough time last night. But I do love it. It's really amazing work.

Hilarious... yet kinda gross. But still something one must share.

Go here to see what your dinner options could be. I highly recommend the "Do Not Try This At Home" section.

So, a couple of posts ago, I "mentioned" that I was pregnant. And that was really great news, especially at the time. Well, now, unfortunately, I have to let you all know that I'm not anymore. I miscarried over the weekend. Thankfully Don was around all weekend and we got through it together. It was really ugly and tough. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. From all that my doctors have seen, there is no reason for this. They assume with the lack of other factors that there was most likely something wrong with the baby. That doesn't really make it any easier to deal with. But here's the long story of the weekend if you really want to hear all the gory details. I'm tired of telling the story over and over, so I would like this to be one of the last times.

Saturday morning, when I woke up, I noticed that I had some bleeding. I called the on-call doctor, and they told me wait a couple of hours to see if it got better or worse, or if cramping would start. It wasn't a lot of blood at the time, so I waited... and watched. After 4 hours, I noticed that it wasn't getting better. If anything, it was getting worse. So, since we were out and about anyway, we headed to Urgent Care. They called me back right away after I was triaged. The doctor was a really asshole though. He did an exam on me. Don was in the room with me. I had mentioned that I had some serious spotting and mild cramping to the nurses. At the end of the pelvic exam, the doctor pulls out his hand, holds it up, and says "This isn't just spotting." If I would have been able to put my brain around that moment, I would have kicked him right there. Pissed me off! It wasn't enough that I was already in tears over everything that was happening. He sent me off to the lab to get my hormone levels checked. Then it was off to the hospital for an ultrasound to see if there was anything going on, or anything left. The people at the hospital were great. I was so grateful for that after the experience with the doctor. Don and I got to see our little baby. It had a little heartbeat and everything. The heartbeat was slower than what they would have expected. About 86 when it should be 120-130. And they couldn't see any reason for the blood. Not all that great news. But the baby was still there, and still fighting. At least for now. They sent me on my way with directions to take it easy and just hope that the baby can fight it's way through. There is nothing that they can do.

So, I didn't really want to go home. We had planned to go to a King of the Log party, which is really just sitting around Char's house. We went there after we stopped by Cub and grabbed some snacks to share. It was nice to see everyone. I could tell by the blood that something was happening though. So I told Don that I wanted to leave. He understood and we left very shortly there after. When I got home, I confirmed that I had passed what was the baby. It was all done. There were many more hours of cramping and bleeding. And it's still going on. It's not nearly as bad as it was on Saturday night. I thought I might run out of blood then. It was horrible.

But now, it's Monday. And I got to see my regular OB. She is amazing. She's very understanding and compassionate. She understands just how confused I am at all of this. I am very lucky to have someone like her who is willing to look into every option for why. She confirmed that it had nothing to do with me or my surgery. She checked my levels from my 6 month surgery follow-up just to make sure that everything was within the normal range. And it was. So now I have to get another ultrasound to make sure that everything gets out of me. If it doesn't I can get infections and other horrible things. She's also monitoring my hormone levels closely to make sure that they get back to normal. I just hope that this all goes smoothly. She said that we will be able to try again as soon as we feel up to it. Of course, she recommends at least a couple of weeks of healing time for my body. Especially if I have any problems getting everything to bounce back. But it looks like I'm well on the road to recovery at this point. Hopefully the ultrasound will confirm that for us.

Don has been a rock for me. He was way more attached to this "Little Rat" than he ever thought he would be. For a guy who met me saying "I don't ever want any kids." He's pretty much asking everyone possible when we can start trying again. I am so glad that I have a wonderful guy with me to help me through all of these really hard times so that when those joyous occasions come along they mean that much more with him.

Enough self pity for one night. Time to turn in. Thank you guys for all of your thank yous and congratulations earlier. I'll keep them for next time. And I'm sure they'll be a next time.

So now that I think pretty much everyone knows we're expecting, I have Baby Brain. So much to do, and now... a deadline! Ahhh!!! It doesn't help that I'm starting to show already. How sucky is that?!?!?! From everything that I've read it's because this is baby #2 for me, so my body is bouncing itself into pregnancy belly mode faster since it already knows the drill. Oh goody goody for me. Thank goodness I haven't given away ALL of the clothes that are/were too big for me. I should be able to keep out of maternity clothes for a little while yet. Since I don't remember showing this early last time around, I'm assuming I'll be looking like a huge pregnant whale before Christmas. That also means that I'll be just as miserable and missing the sight of my feet by then too. *Sniff*

Morning sickness has kicked in and is kicking my butt. I can't do anything without my world starting to spin, nausea setting in, and dry heaves starting. I'm sure that my coworkers love me right about now. There is no way they can't hear the dry heaving. And there's nothing I can do to keep them from hearing it. I hope they forgive me when I bring the baby in later and they all can oooh and ahhh.

Well, I've been really lacking on updating this blog. There has been so much going on, and they've blocked blogger at work. I don't always have time or energy to get to this at home. But I'm doing it today. It NEEDS to get done.

Bob, my father in law, passed away on Tuesday, October 24th. He was surrounded by his family and cats. It was just how he wanted it to end. At least he's no longer in pain. We were in Hibbing all of last week due to that. The funeral was on Friday. We got home on Sunday.

Sunday was my birthday! Woo Hoo! Now I'm older. Just what I always needed. It was an okay birthday. I got to get home. Start to put life back into "normal" mode. It was a long week previously, and all 3 of us needed our routines back.

On the Thursday before Bob's funeral, Don and I found out that I'm pregnant. That is really good news! We had decided to try when Bob first got sick. Now it's something that will help keep his memory alive. I'm about 7 weeks along, due in the end of June. Just a tiny little bean of a kidlet right now, but growing quickly. I'll be sure to keep all of you updated on how this goes. It should be interesting!

I also hit my 6 month surgiversary yesterday. I'm officialy 6 months out from surgery. I feel great. Everyone tells me I look great. Even those that don't know that I'm pregnant. We haven't told everyone. I had my 6 month check up with my bariatric nurse. After she gave me "that look" when I told her I was expecting, she told me how great I've been doing. I've lost 9 inches from my waist ande 9.5 inches from my hips. I'm only 20 pounds from their ideal goal weight for me. That's some pretty impressive stuff. At least I think it is. She said that I should make sure that I have an OB that is comfortable with my WLS status and will be understanding of the limitations of my food intake. She also said that a good OB will be one that monitors my labs closely. Oh yeah... more pokes. I go in for my first appointment on December 1st. I'll let you know more then.

This is about what the baby looks like now:


Yesterday Don and I met with Aja from Tatts by Zap. She's an amazing tattoo artist that was very highly recommended to me by many people. She's going to be doing a phoenix for me. It will be on my right calf. I'm scheduled to have it done on the 21st. Very excited. Should be uber cool. I'll post pictures as soon as I have any.

I'm really not that thrilled about anything lately. Maybe that plays a part with the musical hair. I just can't be satisfied with anything completely. There are those things in my life that I don't want to be without, family, friends, and I don't want them to change. But the things I do have control over in my life feel like they're just not right. I can't really explain why though. It's like I've lost weight, gained confidence, and now I'm expecting so much more out of the rest of my life. I feel like I have be more involved with every part of my life more. And there's just not enough hours in the day. So, when things aren't getting accomplished, the head games start. "You should know you don't deserve what you have." "You know that you need it/them/that more than it/they need you." It's really irritating me. I don't like to fight these demons all the time. What I do KNOW is that I'm bigger and stonger and better than what the voices are telling me. (Writing that made me chuckle a little... the voices... hee hee.) I guess I have to do some more personal reflection to see what might be causing all of this. In the meantime, I'll just keep telling the voices, "Gosh darnit, people like me!"

I so need to get me one of these! Can you see the damage I would do? Look out office mates, here I come!

I wonder if they sell refill rockets by the 100s.

My main lunch plans crumbled, so I came up with a back up plan while I was driving. Now I have yet another new hairdo. Love it. It's fun. It's spunky. It's funky. It's totally me. At least for now it is. And I'm covered in little hairs. Can't wait to take a shower and get them all off me.

Had a quiet weekend. But the family needed it. We're all much more rested now. A weekend without running. I never thought it would happen.

So go ahead and give me the feedback on the hair. Looking forward to it!

I've finally snapped another picture of myself. This is what I decided to do when I was trying to make up some extra time at work yesterday. Notice the iPod ear buds and cube surroundings. This is my home away from home. Beige, ugh. Hopefully you all like the updated picture. Can't be any worse than the hot chick.

I love getting update emails from Bobo. She makes me laugh. Especially with her sale of 1 McDonald's uniform. I'd tell her to offer it to BigButt, but it wouldn't fit her. She probably has more than one already. I guess that means we'll have to go through the Rogers McD's drive thru next weekend on our way to the bar. Hilarity WILL ensue.

Not a shabby deal being called a hot chick... too bad I don't have the tan lines to go with the picture. Maybe after PV. Not that I should ever wear a two piece again. Gotta cover those stretch marks.

John C Dvorak's Blog

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Don't chew my head off! I've been a busy busy chickie for the last few weeks. So here's the update that I have.

Bob, my father-in-law, is home now. There is nothing that the doctors can do for hime right now, and probably ever. He's living life to the fullest for his last days. We don't know if it will be weeks or months, but we appreciate every day we have with him. If you want, you can read updates for him at Caring Bridge.

The Crazy Monkey has had her 8th Birthday. Yippee! She's so excited to be an 8 year old now. We are very glad that we've made it that far with her. She had a great day at daycare and school on her actual birthday. She loves being the center of attention when it's super-uber positive attention. She also had a great time at her birthday party on Saturday. She had a pretty good turnout of her friends from soccer and softball. Now we have more pretty pink girly frilly toys than any house should ever have. But she wouldn't want it any other way. I'll post some pictures of the party once we get them off the camera.

Bobo and I have finally planned our mutual birthday party. It will be a blast. A night at a comedy club that is preceded with dinner, all for $25 per person. Should be a great time. I know that Bobo just loves being called Bobo... hee hee.

As for weight loss, things are still going great. I'm down 83 pounds now. Just checked on the scale this morning since I've been too busy to even remember that I should check that too. I'm down to size 16 clothes... even some 14s. That's amazing considering I was at 24s and 26s less than 6 months ago! I'm feeling great. Not that I can ever say that enough. I'm at a point now where if I stopped losing now, I don't think I'd care. Well, I'd care if I knew I could do better, but I'm reaping all of the rewards of being a healthier weight. Life is good. All of the clothes that I first bought after surgery to wear to work are now getting too big. Makes me smile every time I put on something that was tight in June and is huge and baggy now.

For my newest "WOW" moment. (WOW moments are when I realize just how successful this surgery has been for me in sudden moments.) I was at soccer practice watching the Crazy Monkey on Saturday afternoon. Suddenly Big Coach Steve asks all of us parents watching (all 5 of us) to play against the girls. Hmm... okay... one dad, the rest moms... and me wearing sandals. Should be interesting. So I kick off the sandals, and I'm in. I'm wearing a new sweater, that's a little tight, but covers all the goods, and pair of cords that I got off ebay and are starting to get too big to wear anymore. Well, running around the field to kick the crap out of some 7 and 8 year old girls, my pants almost fell off about 6 times. It's hard to run and hold up your pants when you're barefoot around a bunch of cleated girls. Hilarious for the dad and coach playing behind me, slightly freaky for me. Next time, I'm wearing tennis shoes and pants that fit well enough to run in. No more free undie shows for anyone!

So, there you go. The latest from my life.

I am writing this from Duluth. I'm up here because my father in law is in pretty bad shape. So we're taking a break from the hospital at Barnes and Noble. Thank god for wifi. Thank god I remembered to bring the laptop.

Monday night Bob, my father in law, drove himself to the hospital because he thought he was coming down with pneumonia. Well, it turns out that he probably had a minor heart attack about 2 weeks ago and now has congestive heart failure. He lives in Hibbing, so he was at the Hibbing hospital, until today. After giving him quite a few rounds of Lasik without any results, they decided he needed another hospital. So now he's in Duluth. And we're here. He seems to be in better spirits, but he's still out of breath all the time even though he never leaves the bed. Forget the fact that his kidneys are shutting down and he hasn't urinated in over 12 hours. One of the first things they did when he got to St. Mary's in Duluth was give him a PICC line. Hopefully they'll get the drugs into him better and we'll start seeing some results. He's a good man. He's only 62.

So I entered "random monotony" into Google and looked for images. Interesting.

It's been a long week, and a REALLY long day. But that's okay. This too will pass. It always does.

Anyway. I'm really all over the place today with my thinking. Hard to focus. But the picture I've got here has inspired me to write. It made me think of boobs. More specifically, my boobs. There are so many people who have this surgery that talk about how they've lost their wonderful breasts and been left with tennis balls in long socks. I, however, have not encountered this. I keep waiting for the deflation to begin. I wonder if it will be a sudden loss of tissue or more of a slow leak loss. Some people don't lose them at all. Maybe I'm one of those. I have had to buy some new bras. My band size has changed... a lot. But the cup size remains the same. They aren't sagging any more or any less than they did before. I lost all perkiness when I had the Monkey. I thought I was going to be a tennis ball tube socker, but now I'm starting to reconsider. It should be interesting to watch.

So, now I'm more than 4 months out and feeling great... still... yet... again. I'm sure that all of you are sick of hearing that. But I really can't explain just how much better I feel each minute of every day.

I did have an infection this month that required I get an antibiotic. That was quite the experience. I knew that I needed it, but they aren't just going to call me in some good drugs without seeing the doctor. Have to collect that copay. So I get an appointment the same day. Not with my normal doctor, whom I adore, but another doctor in Internal Medicine. I didn't care. I just wanted my drugs. I just wanted to go home and make the uncomfortableness go away. So they do their tests. "Yep, you have an infection." I must have given her one of the dumbest looks ever. My head was screaming, "Duh!" She looks at all the meds I'm taking, aka the whole fickin vitamin section. She tells me that she's going to prescribe me Cipro. That's fine. I ask her what the pills are like because I've had this gastric bypass surgery and can't swallow large pills whole and some don't absorb correctly. She tells me that I can cut them in half, and I shouldn't worry about absorption. But she can't tell me that before an almost 5 minute pause. I said okay, took the scrip, went to the pharmacy and asked my pharmacist. The pharmacist had a quick answer. Cut them in half or smaller. Whatever I'm comfortable with. Take them with milk so that they dissolve in the pouch a little longer and then I'll have better success with absorbtion. She was amazing. She said that if I don't feel better, have the doctor call her and she'll make some liquid recommendations. I think I've found my favorite pharmacist.

So, it's now September. Tomorrow I will be 4 months out from surgery, and down over 70 pounds. I feel wonderful. People tell me that I look great. Still don't see it. But whatever. My brain will catch up to my body some day.

School is starting for the Monkey on Tuesday. She's so excited. A new school, new teachers, new friends. She already knows a lot of people in her school. Thanks to softball, soccer, and daycare, she's going to be just fine. I'm very glad that I started making to conversion last spring. I think she'll have a much more seamless change because of the more gradual change.

Still thiking PV. I need a beach. With a hot cabana boy who speaks little English. Oh yes... I do.

I love the Renaissance Festival. But, man, it wears me out. I actually feel a million times better this year than I did last year. It helps to be 70 pounds lighter. Amazing how much better I feel. I loved seeing all of the people I've seen at other WLS things throughout the last few months. I ran into Tiffany, her brother AJ, Jen and Dorothe and her husband. They all look so great too. I wonder if they thought it was as great to be out there post-WLS than however many pounds before. I love being around such wonderful people.

Here's some of the other highlights of the weekend:
I love Sasha... I'm determined to find a way to keep her some day. Such a princess.

Getting a new bodice for the new costume this year. Great deal from Erica. We all love Felix Needleworthy pieces.

Bastard, you are hilarious, and I love you for it. Thanks for making me laugh all day and all night.

The Pyrates are cool. So so so cool. One word Cappy... Cinnamon!

Cinci looks so odd when he's not smiling. But he does look good in red.

Blair, thanks for bringng out the life in Ducky again. Nothing better than a Privy Drive By.

It was all great. I'm so glad that everyone I ran into kept the magic of that wonderful place alive. It is the Fest we make it, and we make it great!

My sister is doing the Race for the Cure in Reno, Nevada this year. For those of you who don't know, our mom is a cancer survivor. She's overcome breast, thyroid, and kidney cancer, all within the same year. She is the stuff stories are made from. So I ask you all to support my sister by donating if you can here.

The best part of Fest... mmmm....

So I've had a really strange week. I think I've had more comments in the past 5 days about my weight loss than ever. I think everyone is noticing how much healthier I'm looking. I'm down over 65 pounds now, almost 70. I'm wearing between size 16 and 18, depending on the cut. I'm probably a perfect size 17. I feel great. This is much better than the 24s I was wearing 3 to 4 months ago.

Renaissance Festival starts on Saturday. I'm looking forward to those long, hot, dusty days. I really do miss that place. It helps ground me from the reality that is my Monday - Friday job. Of course I'm having costume issues this year also. Things just don't fit right anymore. Even though I've lost some serious weight, and some serious inches, my boobs haven't changed. Damn them! I had to get a couple new bras because I've gone down in band size, but the cup size remains the same. They just aren't shrinking with the rest of me. Not that it's all bad, but now I'm at a point where dresses and bodices that fit my waist don't fit over the girls correctly. I really need to buy a new bodice. But that's some serious money, over $50, and I'd hate to wear it for a year and then have to fork over the dough again for next year. We'll just have to see what I can piece together. I'm a peasant after all, so nobody said I had to look good every year. It's just a shame that I probably won't be able to give the girls the wonderfully poofed look they deserve.

Other than that, Don is starting venture out to find new "employment". I loosely call it "employment" as it is more a means of making money outside of Menards, but isn't a standard career. He's got a couple of websites up to generate some money that might get him out of home improvement hell. So, if you have some extra time, or money, or both, go to http://www.duckyplanet.com and check things out. I'd love to see him make his first sale. Also, click away on the Google ads on his page, and check out his blog at http://webpages.charter.net/don_espe you might even find some pictures of us. :)

Good luck and love to Bobo. She had to have emergency surgery to take out her gallbladder on Tuesday. She's home now, but well drugged. I'm glad she's feeling better and I hope she has a speedy and uneventful recovery. (Just a reminder Bobo: it's RIBBON!)

Just creepy. And another reason to buy a shotgun and keep it under my bed.

I'm pledging $8 to get SpectacleFest going. I've always wanted to go to CES, E3, or any of those other techie trade shows. But since it doesn't look likely, I'm going all out for this one!

Find out for yourself at http://www.spectaclefest.com

I think I blinked and missed summer. Not that I'm ever busy. I mean, gee, why would I ever be busy? Now I have a lot to do in the next 2 1/2 weeks before Fest starts. Costume doesn't fit right. Oh bummer. I'll find something to wear.

It's been freakin' hot for the last couple weeks, but this morning, super early, it rained. It rained good and hard. Now it's much more comfortable outside. And my lawn desperately needs it. I'd hate to have it all die on me.

My hair is still growing like a weed. Must mean that I'm getting enough protein in. I keep waiting for it to start falling out. I guess it happens to everyone. It just hasn't started happening to me yet. Waiting... waiting... still waiting....