Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Busy night, short post.


I really have nothing of interest to say right now but as in an hour I leave to have my butt whooped by Jack McFarland in kickboxing, followed by crock pot dinner with dessert of American Idol and The Biggest Loser, this is the best time to blog! 

I did not get a workout in yesterday. Though I wanted to walk around the park, it was windy and cold and by the time it cleared up in the late afternoon, I was up to my elbows in paint and other projects.  Figures.  Today it has been lovely, but I had work, a nail appointment and then had to take both boys to the dentist.  Now one of them is going to a lacrosse game with his crush and the other is grounded to his room till we leave for the Y, so I can't leave him alone to walk.  So there ya go.  But Jack will be beating me up physically soon enough!

Tomorrow, my first horseback riding lesson, though I don't look to actually be in the saddle for a few weeks as there is ground stuff to learn first.  All very excciting.

And can you believe that in 15 days, I will be one year out of surgery?  It blows my mind.



Monday, March 30, 2009

The Lowdown on Cardio Kickboxing




So I've been singing the praises of this class of late, so I figured it was time to get some actual information on it to share with all of you who may be considering taking a class.  What I knew for a fact is that I had to be getting a great workout from this as by 15 minutes into the class, I am already breaking a sweat and by 45 minutes into it, my hair is soaked the whole way through and as I have thick hair, that is saying a lot!

I did a little internet research on the benefits of cardio kickboxing and found some good stuff to share.

Life 123 has this to say:

If you are looking for a high-intensity workout, cardio kickboxing might be the perfect form of exercise for you. Repetition, strength and flexibility are all hallmarks of this activity. According to a study published by the American Council on Exercise, cardio kickboxing practitioners can expect to burn an average of 350-450 calories per hour.


What does this mean for the exercise enthusiast? Simply put, cardio kickboxing can increase the rate at which you lose weight, keep your heart rate in the target zone for aerobic workouts, and meet your fitness goals without you having to pursue numerous forms of exercise. In fact, if you are overweight or out of shape, you might be able to burn 500-800 calories per hour.


And A Healthy Me stated this:

Although it may seem as if every new exercise trend is hailed as "a full-body workout," these classes can come pretty close. If you do the punches with precision and power, you'll strengthen your upper body and eventually see more muscle definition. The kicks will strengthen your legs, especially the hamstrings (the muscles that run down the backs of your thighs). And the kneeing move (a strike in which you thrust your bent knee upward) will firm your abdominal muscles; in fact, all of the moves, when done correctly, will make your torso into a solid base that lets you do everyday tasks more easily - whether you're hoisting a heavy box into your attic crawl space or shoving open a window that always sticks.




Your cardiovascular system will benefit, too, though how much depends on the class. Some teachers offer a truly aerobic workout -- they keep you bobbing, weaving, and jumping amidst the punches and kicks, so that your heart rate stays elevated for most of the session. Other teachers may not have you move around as much, focusing more on proper form. Either way, a good class will leave you drenched in sweat and energized.


And to think I used to hate to sweat.

The best thing about kickboxing, IMO, is that the moves can be done at your own pace.  A kick can be high or it can be low, depending on where you are in your cardio ability.  The majority of the moves can be modified to meet you where you are.  You are going to feel like a goober your first class if you have never kickboxed before.  We knew nothing walking into class that night, but we watched, listened, and imitated and now three weeks later, we can keep up with the instructors rather well.

I also love the fact that it keeps your body guessing.  Our bodies can fall trap into the same old workout routine.  They adapt to it and then the exercise fails to produce the results we want.  Changing things up keeps the body responding well and as every kickboxing class is different; different routines, done in different order etc, the body has no time to adapt and get bored....and neither do I for that matter.  My mind is always on high alert in class, wondering what is going to come next, especially in Jack McFarland's class.  Whew, can that guy work us! 

So there you go.  Give kickboxing a chance if you are at all intrigued.  I guarentee you will have a great workout!





Sunday, March 29, 2009

I was almost on the series finale of ER!


Tonight I am feeling like the only person in blogland who does not have a life as all my bloggy buddies have not updated their blogs!

Thought I was going to be spending the evening in the ER.  Total weirdness.  I felt fine all day today then I had dinner; Biggest Loser Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry; a favorite of mine.  As I was finishing up, I started to get sort of intense pain in my belly, which I just thought was me being full.  I did the dishes and switched the laundry loads in the basement and when I came back upstairs, all I could think was "Holy crap, this hurts like hell!" 

I sat on the couch for awhile but could not get comfortable due to the pain.  I laid on the couch.  Miserable.  I went upstairs and laid down on the bed.  Ugh. Back downstairs to the couch, where I sat on the edge of it, hands splayed across my tummy as if willing it to STOP FREAKING HURTING!  The pain stretched around my sides to my lower back and I was really starting to get scared.  This was not normal "I'm full" discomfort.  This was pain.  With the pain in my lower back, I placed a sofa pillow behind me and slowly and painfully leaned back and I stayed there for about 15 minutes, just riding the waves of misery. 

When I sat up again finally, I felt the pain shift upward as if it was traveling up through my ribcage and then....nothing.  The pain began to cease and was finally gone.  Gas apparently?  Gas bubble like I have never had before?  Did I trap air or something while eating dinner?  Not a clue, dudes, but I sure don't want to repeat it anytime soon! 

Now that the weekend is over, the freaking sun is trying to come out.

Bastard.





Saturday, March 28, 2009

Desire


I want to do this:



And this:



And a little of this:



And enjoy some of this:



And give this a whirl:



And have a go at this:



And wear this:



And absorb this:



Instead I have this:



And this:



I spend over half my life waiting for warmth and it makes me sad.




More Questions than Answers


I spend a lot of internet time perusing articles on weight loss and weight loss surgery.  I get email alerts for articles on those subjects because I am always interested in what people have to say, but sometimes I find it really frustrating.

The following snippet came off the Oprah.com message board.  The history is a typical story for any of us who have had or are considering WLS.  She had it, lost weight:

"But the weight loss stopped. It stalled. It dug in its heels. It froze at nine above the weight that I had determined was the peak of success! During these past three years the creep up crept up slowly, almost unnoticeably at first. Then overnight - plop - fat globules infested my new found smaller frame. I went into a slow slide back into the world of obese."

This scenario leaves me with more questions, such as, what did she change?  Did she fall back into old eating habits?  Did she stop going to the gym?  I didn't see any accountability in her post; just that the weight suddenly came back.  I don't think that after RNY weight just comes back without us falling back into old behaviors. 

I would like to think that I am exempt from that ever happening to me, but I know I'm not, which is why I posted about my terrible day yesterday.  I needed to be accountable for the choices I made yesterday.  I also don't believe that there will ever be a day for the rest of my life when I can let my guard down.  When I can stop walking or exercising because I'm "cured".  I will never be able to eat anything I want because I'm "cured" and will no longer gain weight from stuffing crap in my mouth.

But the urge to do it never goes away.  What we have to learn to do is to manage it.  I still get cravings, though thankfully they are not as bad as they were a year ago and often now they aren't for things nearly as bad as a year ago.  The other plus is that now, a small piece of something craved causes me to feel satiated, but I think that is a part of learning to manage our cravings.

My love/hate relationship with carbs keeps my butt exercising at least 5 days a week.  I try not to buy many carbs, but I do have a thing for animal crackers and those stupid Cheez-Its, but though I am not yet at a place to completely deny myself, I try to manage my cravings by only taking a handful and not the box into the next room with me. 

I know I am not going to be 100% good all the time.  If I even thought I could be, I would be setting myself up to fail.  As much as I want to be a model RNY patient, I'm going to have occasional days like yesterday.  The important thing?  That they are occasional.  That I recognize them.  That I act upon them.  Do I need to stop buying animal crackers and Cheez-Its?  Probably, but I'm not quite there yet.  I fear not having them could lead to something worse when I want a snack.  A handful of carbs plus a two mile walk can still equal success. Complete denial could equal failure.

It's all about balance.  Being a balanced person trying to lead a balanced life and doing the best we can.  Remaining accountable because it is so important.

And most of all, never giving up.



Friday, March 27, 2009

Confessional


Two posts from me in one day never happens but I have had the worst food day today and have to purge myself of the guilt!

The day started out normally..my usual Special K Protein Plus cereal, 1% milk and a banana on top, followed by a 100 calorie bag of popcorn a few hours later.

Then it all started to go bad.

Lunch was a cup of cream of crab soup and half of a turkey ruben (and I even ate the bread...ugh!).
Then in stopping at the grocery store they had those damn Cadbury Robin Eggs which I love and I bought a single serving pack and ate it in the car.
Came home and walked two miles (good but the problems didn't end there!).
Dinner was fairly normal; seafood stir fry over brown rice.
Then I ate a S'more!  A whole S'more.  Insanity, I tell you!  Felt like crap from it too!
Then later tonight, the other half of the turkey ruben and a handful of Reduced fat White Cheddar Cheez-Its.

Ugh!

Now I know that this is not a typical day for me.  I'm not sure I have ever been this insane in one day since my surgery and even looking at my little list now makes me laugh a little, because a year ago, today would have doubled if not tripled.

Only it's not funny.

I'm PMSing which I'm sure has something to do with it.

But still not an excuse.

Tomorrow, I must be brilliant.
And I will be.



Healthy Dose Fridays


I'm not certain I like my title.  Kim had suggested "Fitness Fridays" which has a great ring to it but I didn't want to limit myself to just fitness.  My disclaimer here is that I am not a professional nor do I play one on television, so these thoughts on Fridays are just mine.  Sometimes I may quote a source or a person, but for the most part, just my opinions.  Disagree respectfully and we will get along just fine.  I'm always interested in thoughtful responses and if you have any questions regarding anything I do or have done regarding WLS, exercise, eating, etc, we'll deal with those on Fridays too.

I've been giving a lot of thought of late to self image.  Not just mine though it does play a part in the picture as a year ago, mine was not the greatest.  But what I do think is that though I didn't necessarily LOVE my 315 pound body, I didn't loathe it either.  I didn't spend my energy being a hater on it.  I tried to accept it even though I didn't like it, mainly because it couldn't do many of things I wanted it to do.

I have a friend who I think loathes her body, or at least talks as if she does, so I'm going to use her as the example to make my point.  She's a fabulous person, but when it comes to body image, I think it is a little bit distorted, though we tend to do this with ourselves.  She has a point of reference that I never had because when she got married she was tiny, where I have never really been tiny other than as a toddler.  I have to wonder that when we knew ourselves as a smaller version, if there isn't something in our brains that thinks we can get back to that regardless of how many years have gone by.

She also had an experience I have not had in that she gave birth to two children.  Pregnancy does things to our bodies that we often times can't get back, as can aging.  Our bodies change over the years, whether we want them to or not. 

See, when I look at my friend, I don't see what she perceives to be her bodily imperfections.  I see a body that has served her well and gave her two incredible kids.  I'm not saying she should stop trying to improve on what she has, but I don't think detesting her body is the answer either.  When we stop to think of all the experiences and the things we have done with our bodies, I would like to think that we should be eternally grateful for the things it has given us.  Sure, there is always room for improvement, but I don't think we should hate our bodies nor think that they are going to go back to the way they were years ago either. 

We have been given a vehicle to get through this life that we should be doing our best to treat well.  But with that being said, we aren't perfect and we are not always going to put into our vehicles the best gasoline.  We still need to appreciate how far our bodies have brought us so far.  So maybe instead of saying "I hate my arms!" we could instead think of all the things our arms have done for us and maybe a better thought would be "I would like to improve my arms." 

I guess I just kind of think that hating on any part of ourselves is unproductive and it puts us in a mentality of doing battle with our bodies or going to war against our bodies in a mind/body dual.   If we focus more in our weight loss of challenging our bodies and working with them, I just have to wonder if it isn't going to put us in an overall better frame of mind for what it is we hope to accomplish.  We can hate on ourselves and throw ourselves into a depression over it which can lead to being completely unproductive; it could cause us to overeat or not exercise or drink. 

Acceptance and self love are hard things to master, but when we start out with baby steps in appreciating what we have accomplished so far and the vehicle that allowed us to do those things, we may very well be on the road to winning the self image battle.



Thursday, March 26, 2009

Another One Bites the Dust


Slow and steady is apparently the name of this new weight loss game I'm playing.  I'm down another pound this week thankfully.

I have been trying to only weigh in once a week like I am supposed to as I was becoming a slave to the scale instead of using it as my compass.  I'm learning that weighing in every day is insane and causes me to see fluctuations day to day which I just don't need to see.  I'm weighing in one day a week at the same time of day, under the same circumstances; nothing more, nothing less.  The temptation is hard to resist some days especially if I feel I have had a great day the day before or if I feel I had a horrible day the day before, but I'm sticking to it. 

Spar-Kay is finally starting to heal.  Tuesday, I noticed that the bandage was really gunky looking, so I took it off to discover that my body had worked out another loose suture (isn't that amazing?  The way the body will rid itself of stuff it doesn't want?). 

Still waiting for news on my mother in law, though so far so good.  They think there is some kind of blockage going down to her stomach, though the doctor does not feel it is cancer.  They are going to do an endoscopy next week and the hospital is keeping her over the weekend.  Keep the prayers coming.  I'll be glad when we have something definitive!

The one thing I forgot to mention about my farm where I'll be having my riding lessons is that I will be getting two fixes in one as they have dogs!  Lots of dogs!  So while I continue to work on The Brit for a family dog (which could take awhile by the looks of things, but mark my words, it will happen) I can at least love on these pups one day a week!



Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Heigh Ho Silver Away!


So I checked out the stable today and really liked it.  It's not fancy, but they have 60 horses and 125 acres.  I got there a little early and drove around and from what I know from watching Animal Cops Houston, the horses all look to be good body weight.   They have plenty of room to graze and lots of land to explore.  Driving back the road, alongside the fenced area, there were horses all over the place and all was peaceful.  I'm no horse expert, but I liked what I saw and had a good feeling about it.  They supply all equipment (helmet etc) so there is no expense to me other than the lessons.  They can teach lessons in trail riding, competition and barrel racing if I ever wanted to go those routes.  I am going to take lessons for April and May, and then break until school goes back in session in August or September and that works out fine for them as they teach summer camps for riding over the summer.

Other sites I had looked at over the internet wanted a bunch of money up front, but Heritage is fine week to week and they recommend that at first to make sure I like riding and to make sure I like them.  If I ever want to purchase in advance, I can do 10 sessions for the price of 9.  My first lesson is April 2nd and I am very excited.  I think it is considered exercise as well, isn't it?

If The Brit is working late tonight, I may go and pick up a Zumba class at the YMCA at 6:00.  It's another I would like to try.  Of course, if he isn't working late, I would love for him to join me, but I'll just have to wait and see.

Anyone watch The Biggest Loser last night?  How about Tara being targeted for all that extra weight and she still won the challenge, dragging a car behind her as well as the extra pounds the other contestants placed on her?  She can annoy me at times, but she has been so consistent in her weight loss and she works so hard and I felt really bad for her last night when they gave her all their extra pounds.  Guess she showed them it is gonna take more than that to slow her down!  I'm also glad that Kristin became the first female to lose 100 pounds on the ranch.  She needed a win, even though she does hog camera time, in my opinion. 

I'm trying to increase my water intake.  I've been drinking entirely too much coffee lately and not enough H2O and though my coffee consumption will automatically decrease a bit in warmer weather, I need to get started early.

Still waiting for word on The Brit's mum.  She was scheduled for an MRI this morning.  She is still in the hospital and was feeling better as of yesterday as she had been dehydrated when she got there.  They said they were concerned about an area near her appendix, but they didn't feel she had symptoms of appendicitis.  So per Healthline, it says the symptoms are this:

Classic symptoms of appendicitis include the following:



Other possible symptoms are pain on urination, inability to urinate, or frequent urge to urinate if the swollen appendix is near the urinary tract and bladder. When perforation occurs, abdominal pain becomes more AGEBREAK gale:page="163" gale:pdfName="gech_0001_0001_0_00179-p.pdf">AGEBREAK>intense and involves the whole abdominal area, and fever may be very high.  (she said she felt as if the pain started at her navel and went to her bladder...hello?)

I'm not saying she has appendicitis, but the symptoms are there!  Hopefully we will hear something soon.  This feels like it is taking forever.  Thanks for the prayers!




 


 



Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Saga of my Crazy Neighbors and other news


I keep having the urge to reiterate that I live in a good neighborhood.  We are not in the hood or the ghetto or any of that.  We live on a nice street with nice houses right across from one of the most beautiful city parks in the USA in my opinion.

But for some reason, the last year, my neighbors have apparently become insane. 

Today, my eldest son, and his friend across the street, Lilah, were outside and they suddenly came into the house.  Aaron was visibly upset.  Apparently, the neighbor down the street, the one who called me last week who had housed the butthead who robbed us, approached my son.  The neighbor, we'll call him "T" for turd, approached Aaron and accused him of slashing his tires.  Yeah.  He also used all sorts of colorful language as Lilah told me.  T is obviously blind as well as dumb, as one look at Aaron could tell anyone he is in no way strong enough to slash a tire; he is a scrawny little thing.  Secondly, he was accused of doing this in the middle of the night and he takes medication to help him sleep due to his ADHD and he is OUT till morning.  Thirdly, he would be scared crapless to be outside in the middle of the night.

I hit the roof.  I started to call 911, then changed my mind and called The Brit, who in turn tried to call the turd, but got his voicemail.  The Brit informed the turd that he'd better be on our porch ready to talk at 6:00pm and that if he had any issues with anyone in our family, the turd was to talk to him and no one else.  I hung up and called the police as I am sick of the turd's crap (no pun intended).  They came out and the kids and I talked to them and while that happened, the turd called The Brit back, all apologetic.  The Brit verbally laid the guy out; told him he was never to speak to his kids again.  The police also went down to speak to the turd.  End of story for now.  Good grief!

Tomorrow, I am scoping out this stable for my riding lessons. If I chose to go during not peak hours, which suits me great while the kids are in school, it is only $25 an hour.  Very cool.  She emailed me right back today and I'm going out to tour the facility tomorrow.  I'm very excited!

Kickboxing tonight about kicked my butt.  Michael was feeling fierce and we were all dripping by the time it was over.  Still love it though, even when he is mean (he's almost another girl crush for me.  He's very Jack McFarland from "Will and Grace" if you get my drift.).



Monday, March 23, 2009

Manic Monday Take Two


You know it's going to be a crap day when it starts out with one of my neighbors.

I walk out on the porch this morning, while getting ready to leave for work.  It is chilly and all I'm doing is putting a Netflix movie in the mailbox, when I nearly have a heart attack as a man is coming up my porch steps...again at 
8:20 AM. 

Now, last fall, the city replaced our sidewalk in front of our home as the trees near the curb tore up the sidewalk a bit with their roots.  The last few weeks, the city has been replacing the sidewalks up the road from us, I'm assuming for the same issue.  Our neighbor next door is an elderly man and his wife; very nice people, it's just that he can be a little funny about some things and he has lousy timing.

I am trying to get my crap together to leave for work and here he is on my porch.  He has Parkinsons and is doing very well, but sometimes I have difficulty understanding him.  He begins to ramble on about a tiny bit of sidewalk between our house and his, which is not being replaced at the city's expense and I think this neighbor has paid the city to replace his sidewalk (he had no tree root problem) as he kept talking about how reasonable $400 is.  What he essentially wanted was for me to walk down to the workers and tell them to replace the tiny bit of sidewalk between our homes and that I would pay for it so that then "the whole street would have their sidewalk replaced."  Yeah.  I told him I would have to talk to The Brit about it as he is the money guy and the neighbor kept saying "But they are here now and will be finishing today.  $400 to replace my whole sidewalk so that little bit can't cost much."

Dude. There is nothing wrong with that little bit of sidewalk other than the fact it is not new.  I think he was annoyed that I was unwilling to go down there and tell those guys "Hey, here's a check.  Replace this little piece of old sidewalk for me, k?"

Neighbors are totally overrated.  I am ready to move where we have like 5 acres of land and the closest neighbor is like 2 miles away. 

Prayers for my mother in law would be appreciated.  We're not sure what is going on, other than she has been sick for the last few weeks with stomach pain and lack of appetite and is now sitting in Emergency Services in England, waiting to be seen.  It's late there (10:30pm) so we're not sure if we will know anything tonight; if she will be admitted or what will happen.  Kind of scary for The Brit being 3000 miles away.  Thanks.  I know you all will cover her in prayer.



Sunday, March 22, 2009

Likes and Dislikes


What makes me happy:

Friday nights
Saturdays
Walks
Exercise
Family
Friends
Animals, all of them
Books that pull me in
Comfy clothing
Warm days and nights
The ocean
Travel
One on one time
Carbs
strawberry crystal lite
Acceptance
Fireplaces and firepits
Music and singing
writing
facebook
Peace



What makes me unhappy:

Judgmental people
ignorance
Stressful Sundays
Carbs
Bickering
Cruelty
Contention
Being late
negativity
narrow-mindedness
cold








Saturday, March 21, 2009

Saturday Bliss


Today was rather nice.

I was up early; 8:00 and The Brit and I went out to get pavers for our fire pit which is on our deck (I'll take a picture as soon as we have some warmer weather as we now have our deck furniture too).  Then we headed to Gaithersburg to visit Whole Foods and Trader Joes; both very cool.  I think my preference was Trader Joes, though Whole Foods was its own brand of spectacular too. 

Okay, topic change....

I have great difficulty understanding individuals who want to comment on other people's blogs in a nasty manner.  I don't have much patience for them.  Sadly, the other Kim seems to be a magnet for these kids of people.  I can completely understand disagreeing in a respectful way with blogger, but to be nasty or hateful is completely out of bounds.  A blog is essentially someone's diary...READ as "someone's personal thoughts and opinions."  You don't need to be nasty with someone's opinion on a site they are possibly paying for, or maintaining.  If you don't like the person's opinions, don't read, dudes!  I don't always agree with the bloggers I read, but if I'm going to state my opinion and how it doesn't agree with theirs, I try to do it respectfully.  And for someone to pull the "She says she's a Christian so why does she feel this way?" card, is absurd.  Oh sorry, I forgot that Christians aren't supposed to have opinions.  Hate to break it to anyone but we are as human as anyone else.

All I ask is that people are respectful of my space and this domain is my space.  I would not allow a stranger to come into my home and be nasty, but would allow a stranger into my home who was respectful.  Same goes here, or on any blog you read.  If you feel the need to state your opinion in a nasty way, there are free blog sites out there; start your own on-line journal and go to it. 

I'm still waffling about Grease, but am leaning towards "no."  I really like my life right now and just don't feel the urge to mess with it yet.  I'll see my friend, the director tomorrow so my thoughts could change, but gotta tell you, the working out thing is a really big deal to me and not something I want to jeopardize.



Friday, March 20, 2009

The Greasey Issue


So with "Grease" auditions next weekend, I, of course, have started waffling. So I want to audition? Do I not want to audition?  Do I want to make life complicated?  Will I regret it if I don't audition?

Here are the facts.  I have not done a show in over six years.  I used to perform one show on the weekends for eight weeks, and rehearse for the next one during the week; that was how involved I was prior to marriage and kids.  A friends of mine is directing this show and old theater friends of mine are auditioning.

The Pros (providing I were to be cast):

Spending time with friends I have not spent time with in a long time.
Doing theater again, which I dearly love.
Doing theater again as a fairly normal sized person (oh and I lost another pound!  Slow and steady wins the race, yes?).


The Cons:

Not being cast.  Yes, it sounds vain as hell, but I would rather not audition then to audition and not be cast.
Time.  When would rehearsals be?  I may not be able to continue kickboxing and regular workouts which I am growing to really like.
Warm spring evenings are right around the corner and I will be spending a few a week in a theater.
I rather like my quiet evenings at home.
There is a commute to the theater, so it is going to make for busy days to make sure the family is fed and stuff is done I would normally do in the evenings.

Grease is also not a show on my "to do" list. I love the show, don't get me wrong, but there are a few shows I VERY much want to do before I die and this is not on that list.  Yes, I would have fun doing it, but you get my drift.

So I have a week to figure it out.  I'll keep you informed.



Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Saga a Spar-Kay


This may be short because I am in the middle of a dumping syndrome kind of thing from the four bites of dinner I ate and didn't chew well enough, so I'm feeling crappy!  This is the only side effect of RNY I hate but thankfully it rarely happens to me.

So, got up at 5:30 this morning to head to my hospital to the Wound Care Center to take care of "the hole" as my hair stylist called it.  They cleaned it up and the doctor removed the loose suture that was in there.  He felt that was what was causing the tissue to not grow back together.  They gave me this stuff that looks like hard cotton but is really some kind of medicine to wet and then stick over Spar-Kay, and then put a waterproof bandage over it.  One of the nurses dressed it, I made a final appt for next week, and I was on my way.

Got to work early and had to pee, so I went into the bathroom.  After taking care of business, I realized the goofball nurse had bandaged the wrong thing!  I have a tiny healed incision right about Spar-Kay and she bandaged that!  Thankfully, they gave me materials to take home, so I dressed the right wound.  Sheeh.  Tiny healed incision.  Much bigger HOLE in my stomach.  Which should I bandage?

Went to Frederick today with Kelly and met up with Robyn was a delicious lunch at Danielle's, which left me stuffed and I did not eat the rest of the day other than the four bites of disastrous chicken.  Then we went Goodwill (second hand store of those of you who may not know.  I know the Salvation Army is all over the USA, but is Goodwill?  Basically, they are the same thing.) shopping.  I love second hand clothes.  I love a good deal.  I got like 6 summer shirts, a sweater I could not resist as it was big and cozy, a pair of capris, three belts and a book for $23.  My kind of shopping!  We are considering picking a town a month and checking out their second hand stores! 

From there it was home for an hour to start laundry, vacuum and complete dinner and then head to kickboxing.  From there, I left for Praise Band rehearsal and then home to blog, pack a lunch and go to bed!

I'm behind on my blog reading so forgive me.  I'll catch up soon!



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Action Plan


So tomorrow at the ungodly hour of 7:00 am, I am heading to our local hospital to the Wound Care Center to deal with Spar-kay, the hole in my gut (I named it Sparky just now.  Can you tell?).  Not sure what "dealing" entails but I will have a full report tomorrow.

made mention of the neighbor up the road who freaks me out a bit.  Today, the neighbor down the road called; this is the cousin or something to the dude who robbed us back in September who is now serving time.  This neighbor wanted to clear the air about what happened (huh?) and to tell us that the only reason the guy robbed us was because neighbor up the street had told him that if he ever wanted pain meds, we had some.  I guess he knew that due to our surgeries, we had pain medications in the house.  Of course, this ticked me off.  I told him that unless neighbor up the street was holding a gun to the head of the dude who robbed us, then no one else was responsible but the one who was serving time for the crime.  Anyway, he really wants to speak with The Brit and I have passed that message along.  Ya know, for a gal who doesn't much trust men unless I know them really, really well, I sure do have to deal with the whackjobs!  Insanity!

We kickboxed again last night and ya'll, I love this.  It is fun, it is a workout, it is a challenge.  My hair was dripping by the time I left and I'm not yet even doing the last fifteen minutes of floor work due to my gall bladder healing crap and Spar-Kay.  I cannot say enough about this particular workout!  It's just fun!

And Jillian Michaels and her podcast kind of freaked me out today.  Well, not freaked me out exactly, but she dispelled a myth that I always thought was truth.  Muscle weighs more than fat.  Ya'll have heard that before, right?  Apparently, not true.  They both weigh exactly the same.  She goes on to talk about the "losing inches" people talk about.  For those of you watching "The Biggest Loser" this season, Aubrey worked out at home for a handful of weeks and came back to the ranch to weigh in and only lost two pounds, but she insisted she had "gained a lot of muscle."  Doesn't work that way.  The excuse for only losing two pounds was that "muscle weighs more" but it does not, and after a week of working with Jillian, the girl lost ten pounds.  And where you can lose inches, it cannot replace the scale if you are trying to lose weight.  The scale has got to move.  She's teaching me tons, I tell ya!



Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Waiting for Directions


So I have finally contacted the surgeon's office about the wound that doesn't appear to be healing.  I haven't seen any improvement in it in over a week and it looks to me as if there is a suture in there that came loose, thus not allowing the wound to close.  I'm hoping they will either give me a wound regiment to handle on my own or allow my own PCP to arrange for it, but as it was done at Hopkins, the directive will have to come from them.  Ugh!  I'm over this already!

Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful and though JJ's room isn't finished, I will do not be inside if it is indeed 74 degrees tomorrow!  I'm sick of being cooped up inside because it is too cold to play outside.  I have never though I was much of a Leo, other than the sun sign part of it!

We're heading to kickboxing class soon and hopefully my healing muscles will cooperate tonight.



Monday, March 16, 2009

More than just another manic Monday


If today is not a full moon, it should be.

Sheesh!  Insanity abounded this morning and carried over into the afternoon.  Monday mornings are bulletin days for me.  I like to get the Confession and prayers and lessons in on Mondays and then leave the bulletin "open" for any changes or announcements until it has to be printed Thursday morning.  Add to that a Lenten bulletin that needs to be ready for Wednesday night, so during Lent, the first order of Monday business is that bulletin. 

Except for the fact that though the pastor had emailed me what he wanted in the bulletin, he had cut and pasted the lessons without giving me the verse or book of the scripture....and he couldn't remember one of them, other than it was a Psalm.  SO, while he is digging for that...

Papa comes into the office (we call him Papa Don because we love him and he went on the mission trip with us last year.  The nickname came from somewhere and just stuck) and asked if our treasurer had been in to print out financials for the council meeting tonight.  Our Treasurer is on AIM so I messaged her and asked about it and she'd had the stomach flu and had not been in to do it, so she was trying to walk me through printing out a financial report I had never done before. Then once it was printed, Papa had questions, so I had to type those to the treasurer and then wait and relay the responses to Papa.

I love all these people but this whole process took a lot of time, which was fine, except then the church lady came in and thought she was going to run the Lenten bulletin.  Well, think again!  Explained to her how my morning had gone and then she had the nerve to ask how long it would take me to get it done!  Told her it would not be in time for her to be at work (I still didn't have the verses from the pastor yet and once I got those, I had to call the music director for the hymn number). 

By the time I left, somehow, the Lenten bulletin was finished and one of the Sunday bulletins.  Came home and went back to work painting JJ"s bedroom.  This all went well and when Aaron got home, I quit because I didn't really want him to paint, because in all honesty, he's really bad at it.  Our walls are textured, so it means you really have to take your time and make sure you are covering the walls, and he is really not about time taking.  So, I quit and went downstairs to fix a chicken and cheese wrap and to watch "Brothers & Sisters".  I ate the wrap, watched the first ten minutes and remembered that JJ had won a bike from the school and I needed to go pick it up.  About that time, lunch decided it was not going to agree with me, and I began with early dumping symptoms; more incessant belching than usual and feeling like I needed to yak. 

I called the school to see if I could come over around 4:00, but was told 3:30 would be better. Hanging up and still trying not to puke, I checked the time; 3:28.  Fabulous.  So, I got in the car, with a mad case of the foamies and drove to the school to get the bike, which thankfully someone else loaded for me as I am still not to be lifting (and I still have pain in my left side..ugh!).  Got back home, finished watching my DVR'd show and then both kids were outside playing with friends, so I took that opportunity to return to JJ's room for more painting. 

I have real trouble letting projects sit when I can be working on them.  Add to that the fact that Wednesday is supposed to be in the 70's and I know I will want to be outside.  So, I fix the ceiling on the side of the room we have been working on and Aaron apparently smells me painting from outside as in he comes.  "Need help?"  Nope, not with trim..too intricate.  He came back three times until I finally knew if I didn't let him paint something, I was going to wind up trying to paint my ears closed, so I gave him a wall to paint with instructions on how to deal with the textured walls.  He was done in record time and when he left I had to redo it because of all the places he missed completely.  *sigh*

I have now quit for the night but there are only two walls left to do, but they may have to wait till Thursday.  Tomorrow is hair and nails and kickboxing.  Wednesday, I'll be damned if I am going to be penned up inside if the weather is nice.
Tuesday, really needs to be a better day.



Sunday, March 15, 2009

Another Weekend Draws to a Close


We started painting JJ's room today, aka, the depths of hell.  The room was painted before the boys moved in, five and a half years ago, and for four years, both kids lived in there, before Aaron moved into the spare bedroom.  So the room they bothed lived in, wrote on the walls in, left dirty little handprints everywhere in, looks bad.  We got the walls on one side of the room done today, but I still have to do the trim and the doors and the ceiling needs to be done as well, before we can do the other side, as it all means moving furniture around.

I really want to get it done because next weekend I want to take a little trip to Whole Foods.  I hear lots of things about this store and the closest one to us is about 41 miles away.  I'm always looking for new stuff to fix or nibble on that is healthy and good for me, so I have high hopes of maybe finding a few alternatives.

I'm really struggling with my carb intake over the weekends.  Weekends screw me up something fierce, though I do think things will be better once warmer weather gets here, which encourages me to be more active.  But on weekends, I'm not as regimented as during the week.  I tend to nibble more, and mess around on the computer more,which encourages me to nibble on carbs.  If I'm reading, I don't eat, but again, most of my reading is during the week and not on Saturday or Sunday when kids are home all day, and the weather is too chilly for them to be outside.  I don't eat when I am outside working in the yard or walking around the park or biking somewhere.  I am insanely jealous of Meg who lives in Florida where it is WARM year round! 

I'm still having abdominal discomfort and I still have one incision that remains open and gross-looking.  I think I'm going to neosporin it in the morning and bandage it and see if that speeds up the process.

Goals for the week:

Get JJ's room finished.
Two kickboxing classes
Walking
Limit the stupid carbs!



Saturday, March 14, 2009

Over it already


Can I tell you how sick to death I am about hearing about Nadya Suleman?

Dr. Phil is beating this dead horse to death!  I didn't have much opinion to begin with, other than whether or not the babies were going to get proper care.  The rest of it just didn't feel like my business.  All the controversy about "should she have done another IVF?" and "Should that doctor have implanted six embryos?" was water under the bridge. She did and he did and it cannot be undone, so leave it be already!  I'm glad the babies are going to be well taken care of by the looks of things, but can we shut up about it already?

Our house is currently full of projects.  We are planning on painting JJ's room tomorrow, after church and grocery store.  I rubbed down and polyed one of my Cracker Barrel rocking chairs today that are about 8 years old and I still have one more to do.  Spring cleaning is still well under way, though I have taken a little break from it in order to recooperate a bit more from my surgery (today discomfort is in my lower left back.  What on earth?) to try to get to that 100% I'm working towards for myself.

I have also decided (Brit, pay attention) that for mother's day this year I want to go to "If the Shoe Fits" in Frederick and find a pair of beginner running shoes.  I think I have found the right sports bra here.  I really, really want to give running a go.  It's important to me.  Something about trying to do the things that were a year ago, impossible, is an incredible thing to me.  It's exciting.

Okay, on with the weekend!  Hope ya'll are having a good one!



Friday, March 13, 2009

Answers


So I didn't skip the kickboxing class last night and the pain/discomfort is no better or worse this morning.  I did call the surgeon's office and am waiting for a nurse callback.

It's not awful.  More uncomfortable than anything and had I not had surgery two and a half weeks ago, I'd be sure it was only a pulled muscle.  But as it has been a discomfort off and on since surgery which has now intensified a bit, I'd rather err on the side of caution.  It isn't constant.  When I'm sitting still, there is no pain, only when I move about.  Weird.  No fever.  No chills, though I am cold, but that is just me whining because it isn't warm outside today.

I probably should have skipped the kickboxing but it is so hard for me to chose to skip a workout now!  I was looking forward to it, so I went and tried to keep things low key.  Excerising is just something that has become ingrained in my soul I think and as I was not in unbearable pain, I went.  I'd really call it more of a discomfort than pain, though it almost feels as if there should be an incision there, as that is the kind of discomfort it is.  But the incision sites on the left side are a good bit above where this is.  *sigh*  I'm really really ready to be at 100% again. 

Speaking of being at 100% again, I finally started doing some more research on this burping thing.  I discovered a condition called Aerophagia, which is defined as: Swallowing too much air, a common cause of gas in the stomach and belching. Everyone swallows small amounts of air when eating or drinking. However, rapid eating or drinking, chewing gum, smoke,
or ill-fitting dentures may cause a significant increase in swallowed air.  I have also found out that being lactose intolerant is a part of this too, so I've thought about stopping my dairy products for a time, though it breaks my heart, especially regarding cream in my coffee.  But I need to start experimenting to try to get to the bottom of this problem.

Hopkins just called me back and nurse Tara said not to be too concerned.  Dr. S had to cut through muscle to get in there two weeks ago and she said it could take about 6 weeks for all that to heal, and honestly, it does feel like a muscle as I stated above.  She said I could use a warm compress on the area to see if that would loosen things up a bit.  Cool.  I feel much better now.

Still unsure of what to do with my Friday blogs.  Kim suggested a Fitness Friday.  What do you all think?  What do you all want to know about?  What would interest you?  Heaven knows, I am not a professional at anything, but can speak from opinion or experience. 

Thoughts?



Thursday, March 12, 2009

Ummm...Ouch?


Today after work, I bit the bullet and went in to clean the youngest child'd bedroom as the room needs painted desperately, but it has to be clean first.  I was doing lots of bending to pick things up off the floor and now I am having pain in my left side.  Not agonizing or continuous, only when I move.  Is this from the gall bladder thing and should I be worried?  I'm contemplating a pain killer, but haven't yet decided.

The youngest child won a bike for never missing one of his morning reading groups.  They drew names today and he was one of the two winners so of course, he is over the moon.  He just got a new bike for his birthday in November, but now he is a two bike family of one.

I'm supposed to go to kickboxing at 6:30.  But now I  need to decide what to do about this pain and should I be concerned.  I assume there are stitches inside of me from the surgery?  The pain is not at an incision site and I have been having some discomfort there off and on since surgery, but nothing quite this sharp. 

Tomorrow is Q&A day, but again, no questions.  Maybe I should discontinue it and come up with another weekly theme.  It just takes the pressure off having to come up with something to blog about one day a week as you guys were giving me my Friday topics.  So what else could I do that might be of interest to you that would lower my need to think on a Friday after a long week?  Suggestions?



Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Calgon? Hello?


The weather is a bit warmer today, which means that the kids are outside playing with other kids, which means arguments abound.

Our rather strange neighbors (the ones who kept the oldest son when we were in Atlantic City without telling us), the wife actually, runs a daycare out of her home.  On more than one occasion, she has allowed a four year old boy to come down the street with my youngest (age 9) and her own daughter (age 6) to my house which bothered me greatly.  I am not responsible for this child.  This child's mother is working, thinking her child is in daycare when instead he is out in the neighborhood with a 9 and 6 year old, going to some person's house she doesn't know.  Charming.  If that were my kid in daycare and I caught wind of this, I would be pissed.

Anyway, oldest son comes up to me a little while ago and states that strange neighbor's daughter (age 6) would like to jump on our trampoline with the four year old.  Was this okay.  Ummmm....NO.  I explained to oldest son that I was not responsible for this four year old, did not want to be responsible for this four year old, and did not want sued by four year old's mother if he got hurt on my property.  Told oldest son I did not even want four year old down here without meeting his mother.

Oldest Son looks at me like I am the biggest bitch in the world.  Yes, this is why I am the parent (though a bad one apparently; just ask my mother.  Sorry, I still struggle with letting that one go...) and he is the child.

Then the youngest son comes in crying hysterically because the oldest son broke "his stick".  When asked why the oldest son broke his stick, the youngest son states "Because I said I was stupid."  Okay, as I am not stupid, that translates into the youngest son called the oldest son "stupid" thus the broken stick.  I told youngest son to go back out and play before I made him clean his room.

I am now blogging while awaiting the next tragedy...and there will be one.  One more hour and Oldest Child will be going to Lenten service with my mother and then harmony will ensue.  There is only insanity when both boys are around and playing within the same group.  Apart, they do great.

I walked the two miles around the park again today which was nice.  I've enjoyed getting out of the gym the last three days; once for kickboxing and twice to walk.  I've been in the gym with my friend, the elliptical, all winter, so it is wonderful to be doing some different things.

Oh and I lost another pound today!  Finally!



Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Something New


One of the other things I have learned from my girl crush's podcast is that when it comes to exercise, you have to switch it up, or your body and muscles become complacent.  She talked about a study being done awhile back on mailmen, who walked the same route day after day, year after year, and how eventually they started burning less calories than they were orginally.  The body becomes immune to the same old thing and the muscles simply adapt instead of being challenged.

So last night, when The Brit said, "Wanna try a kickboxing class?"  I was like "Of course!"

Gotta say it kicked my ass and I loved it.  I did aerobics back in high school and in many ways it was similar though I thought it was a bit higher impact.  I kept up fairly well, but did have to stop a few times and due to my still healing insides, I did not do the floor work at the end.  I know it is something that in some ways will get easier once we learn some of the combinations of moves.

The trainer for the class was great and when we were waiting to go into the room once the spin class was finished, he recognized us as new folks, and made it a point to talk to us.  He went over keeping the class on our level, modifying things to suit us as newbies, stopping when we needed to.  He also told us he didn't take a break the whole hour, but his students were encouraged to take a break as it was needed.  Most importantly, we were to have fun and not take it too seriously. 

Sometimes when I couldn't get the move right, I just did something else as long as I kept moving. 

I plan on doing the kickboxing class again and next on my list?  I want to try a six 'o clock Zumba class.  I always thought the classes cost extra!  As they don't, look out!  I foresee a little experimentation in my future!



Monday, March 9, 2009

Learning Lots in a full day


Today has been very busy!  First work, where I realized I had left my ipod at home, and I am unable to go to the gym without it.  So, beings the weather was fairly decent, I went home, changed out of my workout pants into jeans and walked two miles around the park instead, with my ipod (I couldn't bring myself to run all the way home for my ipod and then back to the gym).  When I fell a few weeks ago and screwed up my left foot and right knee, I am still having some issues, so now my foot is aching something fierce, but I've also pretty much been on my feet spring cleaning ever since my walk.  I want to get all the spring stuff done so that when the weather stabilizes, I am free to walk the park or take a chair and a book over there after work to read, etc.  I want to soak in the warmth after being cold all winter!

When I walked around the park, I listened to my second Jillian Michael's podcast and dang, I love them!  She knows so much stuff!  Today, she talked about happiness and how sometimes, even the bad stuff is just part of the journey to happiness and we just need to accept that and enjoy this ride called life.  She also talked about some really scary stuff that the food industry doesn't want us to know, such as *shudder* that there is an acceptable amount of certain things that can legally be in our food....such as rat hair, maggots, some other kind of tiny bug but my mind is drawing a blank at the moment.  She is very "buy organic" oriented and after hearing what is considered by law "Acceptable" I completely understand the organic thing!  Ick!

But check out that link to her radio show!  Well worth the listen!



Sunday, March 8, 2009

The Amish Project


I have to plug this show.  Shamelessly, as it was amazing.

The script was written by a gal I did theater with many moons ago, when she was sixteen and I was in my early twenties.  Jessie was always one of my favorite young people to work with and we did "The Sound of Music" and "My Fair Lady" together.  She was (and is) just a bright spark of a personality with a quick smile and quicker wit.

As theater goes, we lose track of people eventually and that is what happened for me with Jessie.  I did catch her on a guest appearance on "Law and Order" once and remember being tickled to death that she was working in the business.  She has since been teaching acting and voice in NYC at the ripe old age of 29.  She is amazing still.

Her play "The Amish Project" premiered at the Fringe Festival in 2008 and The Cherry Lane Theater in NYC was planning on giving the show it's first off Broadway run this Spring.  However, due to the financial crisis right now, and shows shutting down in NYC right and left, The Cherry Hill Theater has placed The Amish Project on hold.  Jessie is now trying to fund her own opening by a Barn Raising fundraiser, which is what the performance I saw today was all about.  Ten bucks a ticket to see a show worth way more than that. 

Based losely on the Nickel Mine shootings, Jessie has created amazing and memorable characters in this one woman show; each character possessing a different dialect and persona and there is never any question of who is talking in her work.  The show brings a message of hope that the world sorely needs in these troubled times.  It speaks about both truth and grace. 

If the show comes to your city, go see it.  If you are a theater supporter, please consider making a donation.  Whether it be five dollars or fifty, every penny counts.  I believe in the power of this show and I believe in Jessie.  Please see the links below for more information.

The Amish Project

Jessie's Site



Saturday, March 7, 2009

Blog Fodder


Tidbits tonight, gang!

We are back from Amish country.  Nice little jaunt to see some stuff and buy me wine.  Yeah, my wine comes from two hours away and we buy a case at a time because it is a little journey to get it.  It's deliciously sweet and I adore it.  I have a bottle chilling in the freezer now so I can have a glass tonight!

I need someone to explain to me the purpose of women making decisions.  What I mean is that men, or at least, my men, don't like to make them; they always want someone else to do it.  The Brit gets very "Okay, someone decide what we're doing.  I got us here, I got the hotel, now someone decide what we are doing."  This translates into all three men sit in front of the television while the female, aka, me, surfs the net looking for something to do, though any suggestion is met with a disapproving grunt.  So finally, we just leave the hotel with no known destination and we find a few things to do and then we need to work out lunch.  Again, no one has any suggestions, so I make one, and my suggestion is met with annoyance (apparently it was no where near where we were, but I am directionally challenged in some places I don't often visit.  So then when the husband swings into a parking lot of a different restaurant, not only must it be okay, but it must be enthusiastically more than okay.  It's work, I tell ya!  Work! 

Once in the restaurant, the oldest child selects things like sushi based on the prices.  Meaning, he skims the price list before even looking at the items as for some reason he has it in his head that the most expensive things surely must taste the best.  I told him when he was old enough to get a job, his first check he was taking us out to dinner and we were going to order our meals based on the prices.  Work!

But all in all I love little weekend adventures, give or take a little moodiness or attitude.  I love just looking out the window as we are traveling and darting in little places I have never been inside of before.  I'm a really, really good shopper!  

Tomorrow, I am going to see this.  More details on it Sunday.  I know the gal who wrote the script and does the acting.  Huge surprise to me!



Friday, March 6, 2009

Q&A Friday


Thanks to Susan, we have a Q&A today.  We are getting ready to leave on an overnight trip to Lancaster, so I'm trying to do this quickly.

And very briefly, Kim's hubby, John, had his WLS yesterday and is doing great!  Check out her blog for pictures and details!

Susan asked:

Kim, We're you always very involved with your church even when you were young? You mentioned you moved a lot so I'm wondering if you had the time to meet and connect with church?

Susan, I grew up in California and went to a private Lutheran school and the accompanying church up until when we moved to Maryland in the 5th grade, so I have always been a Lutheran.  When we moved to Maryland, we church hopped for awhile, trying to find a fit, but nothing really felt right to me. 

In high school, I met a girl (PM if any of you remember that post from a few Christmases ago.  We aren't friends anymore) who urged me to come to her church, which was Lutheran.  So, I started walking to her church on Sundays and loved it.  Eventually, I joined their youth group and about a year later, my parents followed and joined.  We've been there ever since.  I had a period of maybe 8-10 years when I didn't attend at all, but after my father died, I returned and have been there ever since. 

That's all I have time for today as I need to go help load up the car.  Keep the questions coming!  Maybe I am too much of an open book and tell you all too much voluntarily as you have no questions!

Have a great weekend, peeps!



Thursday, March 5, 2009

Tidbits from The Biggest Loser


By now ya'll know I am fairly well addicted to this show and that I have a total girl crush on Jillian Michaels (for those of you who do not lead youth groups, "girl crush" does not mean I swing both ways or any of that.  She is just my fitness hero). 

Tuesday night on the show, they had Sugar Ray Leonard on as a guest for some shadow boxing and he gave words to place with the word "Power" that has been a mantra running through my head ever since:

P ower
O overcome
W in
E very
R ound

I upped the resistance on the elliptical today and man, did I ever want to quit before the half hour was up!  I was sweating and tired and telling myself, "You can quit.  You had surgery a week and a half ago for crying out loud!"  Then the words "win every round" popped into my head and I doubled my effort and worked through the needing to stop.  Once I got over the hump, all was well.  I love stuff like that.

I also discovered yesterday that Jillian hosts a radio show for two hours every Sunday morning and you can download the past shows to your ipod or listen online.  I listened to one show today, and she packs a buttload of information on diet, exercise, food and fitness into that time slot and she also takes live calls.  The link for anyone interested is here.  Great stuff.

I also discovered today and joined The Biggest Loser League.  It's an online group where you join a team and keep your stats, food logs, etc and you have support from your team members.  They do challenges and the like and it's fwee (as the Geico gecko says).  Don't know yet if I will love it, but I like trying new things to keep things interesting in this weight loss/healthy new way of life.  It's all about experimenting. 

I'll share some of the tidbits from Jillian as I learn them.  I get so much more from her on this radio show than I get to see on the show, so check it out!

I need questions for tomorrow in order to do a Q&A, so if you have anything, sock it to me!



Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Cool News on the Exercise Front


I forgot to tell you all yesterday that when I was in Baltimore for my one week post-op check up, Pat was checking over my vitals that the nurse had taken when they first took me back.  She commented on my low heart rate, stating I had "the heart rate of a runner."  Assuming this is good, I was thrilled.  Though I am not running yet, my cardio has been a huge help in getting my fitness level more to where it should be.  I'm telling you all, exercise is not overrated.  Fun?  No, not really, but so incredibly beneficial in more ways than non-exercising people can probably imagine.  Not only is it good for the body, but it is great for stress release, mental health and energy level.  I'm telling you, if you aren't exercising, suck it up and get a move on.  No matter how much you hate the act itself, you will LOVE the benefits.  I promise.  You can hold me to it.

I did get to the gym today and did my 30 minutes on the elliptical, which kicked my butt after over two weeks away.  But, I did it.  I got through it.  A little bit lower than my normal intensity, but with having surgery just over a week ago, I was quite happy with being there and completing the half hour.

My friend, Tod, called me today.  Tod is the friend who had to have the emergency appendectomy in November and as his mom lives over an hour away, I helped care for him in his recovery.  He had told me right after Christmas that his mother had a gift for me (which I told him was totally unnecessary.  I don't need a gift for helping to take care of a friend) but I hadn't talked to him since the end of December as he has been in rehearsals for "The Mousetrap" at the Apollo.  Anyway, today he told me what he and his mom got for me:  an hour session with a personal trainer!  Woot!  As soon as my restrictions on lifting are lifted (ha!) I'm setting up a time to work with the trainer on what to best do to tone my upper arms and my abdomen.  I really don't want plastics at my age, so I want to be able to do the best with what I have.  It was a perfect gift and I am so grateful!

I've had a difficult food day today.  Not with food choices but with my pouch not being tolerant.  Don't know if any of it has to do with my gall bladder removal or not, but for both lunch and dinner, I was able to eat very little, ie, less than usual and then immediately felt like hell.  Hopefully tomorrow will be an improvement as all I've really managed to do okay with today are things of cracker substance, ie. carbs, which are not my first choice.  But sushi didn't go well and neither did a little seafood.

Tomorrow, Y again after work, then taking the oldest kid to therapy.  I'm hoping the elliptical and I will be friends again after tomorrow.



Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Post Op


So post operatively, I am healing well and my doctor seems to think my burping is because I am an "air swallower".  I have to Google this to find out about it and how to cure it is that is it.  I find it odd that there would be a sudden onset of this on January 3rd, but then again, I have been thinking about it.

I was really stressed out that day because I had to go someplace, that due to a situation, I did not want to go.  Though things wound up being fine, when I was at home, a few hours before having to leave, the burping started when I have having a glass of wine to try to calm my nerves.  Could I somehow have been breathing differently because I was under stress?  Not a clue.  I'll let you know what I find on the internet about my newest diagnosis.  Pat, the NP, stated that finding the gallstones were just a coincidence then as my symptom has not yet gone away, but I suppose my gall bladder would have had to go eventually anyway due to the stones.  i guess I would rather it go now when pain was not a symptom.

I have been crazy busy this week; I am behind on my blog reading and my email and my Facebook.  I still exist, I promise!  Once I am finished playing catch-up from last week, I should be able to get myself up to date. 

Oh and through the whole gall bladder thing, I lost another pound.  I don't care how it happened, but I'll take it!



Monday, March 2, 2009

Back to our regularly scheduled programming


Wow.  Feeling much better today.  Yesterday was kind of a blur.  Today I put in a normal day; work, library and cleaning up my neglected house and I still feel good...with the exception of one tiny problem.

I am still burping.

Yeah, you heard me right.  It has not stopped.  Is this just an RNY thing?  I've heard patients say they burp more after having this surgery.  Would that be A LOT more?  My post op appointment is tomorrow morning at 9:30 in Baltimore (which sucks as that means driving to the city in rush hour traffic) and I'm going to ask.  My incisions feel good and I was actually able to sleep on my right side last night.  My left side still has that weird distended thingy, so I need to ask if that is normal too.  Doesn't hurt.  Just looks freakin' weird.

I'm going to really try to get back to the gym on Wednesday.  It's been over two weeks now and I start to get nervous.  Gotta get back and kick obesities ass.  No lifting for several week, but cardio is a go.

The cold has settled in again here, which bites.  Mother Nature teased us a few weeks ago with a hint of Spring, and then yanked it back with a "nanny, nanny, boo boo", the ole hag.  I know it is only March, but the first day of Spring is in March, so it would be nice if the weather would at least start heading in that general direction.  I mean tonight, we have a low of 13 degrees for crying out loud!  But at least by Thursday, we are going to be in the fifties.  I keep hoping to see the first groundhog of the season, but no signs of them yet (I don't gauge Spring by Robins, but by Groundhogs.  I've seen Robins in the winter so they cheat). 

Have finished Twilight book numero dos.  Not as good as uno, but still enjoyable.  Now, I have to break before reading "Eclipse" because I have a book out from the library I have to read and one I borrowed from someone at church in January before she went to Florida for three months.  She comes back at the end of the month and how odd would it look that I had not read her book in three months?  So I need to get on it.  It's Nicolas Sparks and I like his stuff, so it should be an easy read.



Sunday, March 1, 2009

Okay, not as right as I thought


Okay, put in a full day today; church, singing without pain meds=ouch with trying to breath in deeply, Sunday school, errands.  Now I'm feeling absolutely shattered (exhausted.  British term).

Sorry for the crap blog post.  I plan on having dinner, cleaning that up and then doing little more than lying on the couch the rest of the night.

More tomorrow.