What a weekend!

Today was the 2nd Friday of the Day Job and I think I will get use to it.  My body is still thinking that the Therapy Dog visits we do on Wednesdays are still on Fridays.  It doesn't help when I work the DH shift at the 2nd job on Monday night and had the Wednesday off.  I am sure that it will feel less hectic this week (I hope)

So there is a restaurant at the corner near the Day Job where they employ folks that have a developmental disability to work cooking and serving.  So they send emails out on a daily basis of what the specials are and Friday caught McCannBeIrish and my attention since they were offering a spinach salad topped with almonds, poppy seed dressing and fresh strawberries.  So I had to go to storage and the bank for the office so I offered to pick it up on the way back.  I thought if the spinach doesn't sit well I can always pick at the strawberries and the almonds.  When I opened up the box we were both pleasantly surprised how it look and it tasted "ahhhhhmazing!"

Granted I only at 1/4 of the spinach and bits but the tummy troll didn't complain, I didn't get a blockage like I feared and I wanted to eat the whole darn thing it was that tasty!  So I picked out the strawberries and the almonds in cellophane and tossed the spinach since it would be too wilted by the time I got to it for supper.

Well I was going to have a Therapy Dog visit with Noodle at the Women's Shelter near the Day Job, until I received and email from RedRogers saying that things hadn't settled out yet and we weren't visiting.  So I headed home and chatted with the DH to see how his day was before he went off to the 2nd job.  I decided that I was beat so I took a nap and I guess I felt revived so I took the girls for a walk before heading out to get groceries.

Saturday was Mom's moving day.  She decided to move back to her "home town" and was able to find a bachelor apartment and of course she had to much stuff to fit in.  She didn't have room for her freezer and my cousin NT forgot to take the tires to the "Farm" for storage.  So lucky enough the DH and I took the truck and we came home with both.  I also got a few compliments from the family since none of them haven't seen me since Mom's birthday get together last May.  NT called me "scrawny" and told me that he hasn't seen me this "small" since we were 12 LOL  I told him that I working on the scrawny bit and walked away.  Mom even stated at one point "you have lost more. I can tell when you are standing beside me."  Just they wait until Christmas (if we get together.....)

We got home around 4 and decided to make some spaghetti with meatballs.  Well the tiny troll wasn't happy with the meatballs since I felt like my stomach was distended and hard.  So I passed on those and just let the pain pass and ate a yogurt later on in the night.  It was also my turn to pick the movie so I chose Bolt and I didn't realise how much of snuggle bug Miss Melodie is.  Here she is watching the movie with the DH.

 

 

Sunday was pretty quiet and it was Miss Nikki Noodle's 14th birthday.  We gave her a birthday "cookie" and her special supper that she shared with Miss Mel to celebrate.

 

We also had get together with the DH Day Job coworkers.  there was more than enough food but I stuck to my BLT ways and made it through.  Mind you I didn't feel to good because of the disassociation and I think I over did it.  I had a quick nap before the 2nd job but I felt a little off.  I did try to eat but when I did I felt waaaay to full and I thought if I opened my mouth you can see food at the back of my throat.  So stuck with liquids for the night and I felt okay in the morning.

More Changes

Well I things have been changing some more since my last post.

Down 66 pounds!  I was concerned about the stall (in fact a 4 pound gain) and thanks to Mother Nature, it is gone as well as another pound.  This is the first time in 4 months that "it" has fluctuated my weight so I guess I will be more conscious or the scale every 28 days.

Another change that is happening is that I am walking out of another pair of jeans.  I dug them out of the 2nd closet on the weekend thinking that they were going o be snug.  Not quite, but I wore them as they were.  I had them on again last night when DentisT was over and I kept pulling them up and stepping on the bottoms of the legs.  I guess by the end of the week they will be in the charity pile.

I honestly went looking for a pair of jeans that I thought I held on to from many moons ago.  They were a smaller jean from a now extinct Cotton Ginny.  I loved this store in high school and Curl and I were talking about how I looked in their taper legged jean. (Good grief, we have been friends that long?!?!?!?) Anyway, I thought that they were in the bag in the DH closet from the move, only to find that there are more skirts from Miss A that I most definitely will need to give charity.  I then realised that I must have given them away in a "purge" when we were going through some closets getting the house ready before I was approved for surgery.  I guess I will never know how I will look in the CG jeans now.

My nose or more like the nose to brain to tummy connection has changed.  The Admin Assistant here at the day job (McCanBeIrish) likes to eat hot lunches.  This could be leftovers or something that she has gone out and bought.  So recently she has been brining in beef and that has made a nice smell in the ol' factory lobes.  Except for today.  Today it was a pasta alfredo thingy from the grocer's.  Well I walked into the lunchroom after her and wrinkled my nose.  Pre-surgery I lived on those little frozen suckers and relished in the smell.  I just went and grabbed my yogurt and protein chips for lunch.

So that is what has been up the past couple of days and sorry I don't have a topic related pic, so I will just post this one for you :)

.

Still thinking.....

I have been lurking through a few new blogs and so old tried and true ones :)  One has brought something to light for me.  She is a runner and she has most definitely made good use of her time since she has dropped a whopping 130 pounds.

She is now training for a her runs and has mentioned that she is wanting to drop another 15 pounds before she starts back on the weights to "bulk up" and that she is going low carb (Phase 1 for Pooners) to so.  She also mentions how she is being using ketosis sticks to check her urine every morning to see if she is in fat burning mode.

I remember reading when she started he running that she wanted to tone and lose the weight.  Then she started doing little races and now she if flying to marathons.  I say good on her for being able to accomplish such a feat over the years and she rewards herself with a glass of red wine afterwards.

I have given it great thought (an that is as far as it gets) for taking the plunge into running but I think I will keep with the "dreadmill" as she calls it.

This go me thinking of a question that was asked of me at my last check up at TWH.  Have I replaced the food addiction with another.  Some folks it is shopping for new clothes and some have turned to chemical devices.  I said that I haven't and then we joked that I have started smoking after surgery since I didn't do it before LOL I don't think I have picked anything new up, but I did notice this morning that the bat wings are getting a bit bigger. I am not at tis point yet but I will be keeping them in check!

 

 

I also have been given the go ahead by Susanne to see her every other month.  She was concerned about my mental state after the surgery but she has been happy that I am happy.  She is glad that I am keeping the eating sensible and that I haven't be detrimental to myself like she has seen before.

 

I think that the honeymoon phase of the surgery is over.  My weight loss is slowing down almost stalling so the body has done what it can do on its own.  We were warned that this would happen at 6 months and I am almost at 5 months so since I am ahead of the curve on everything else, why not this?  So I will be most likely going for more walks where I can and less in front of FB ;)  Don't worry I will still be blogging since I *know* it kills you when you don't get an update :)

 

“If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”   -RuPaul

RaNdOm tHoUgHtS

I have had some time to think, which I know is crazy and that is where all the spiders are coming from LOL

These are some thoughts that I have had in the past few days:

-Did you know that you can lose weight and shrink out of underwear?  Yup, this gal did it.  I had my "comfy" ones and I noticed when I was getting dressed I had "droopy drawers."

-I wasn't hungry yesterday so I didn't eat all that much but focused on proteins when I did and then I decided to eat a "meal" last night and I couldn't finish it!  Did I shrink the tiny tummy to surgery size?  Normally I am up to a yogurt cup and a "side" that is roughly the same size (an egg or cheese etc) But when I went to eat last night I could only get through half of what I made when I could eat almost all of it last week.  I guess I will take this new found tummy size and not push it.

-With weight loss come new issues.  I *love* the fact that I cross my legs but I also found out that it causes my knee caps to fall asleep.  I always have wanted to cross my legs like this:

 

 

It has been a goal of mine since I always thought the thinner we were the closer the legs got.  I now find that the leg underneath with have kneecap issues because the top leg sits on the muscle just before the knee cap.  I will uncross my legs and it is the weirdest sensation!

 

-The Tiny Tummy is giving me trials again.  What was good last month is a no go this month.  Just when I get it all figured out!  This go around I am having the sweats and the heart palpitations over orange juice.  Even if it is diluted.  The other thing is tortillas.  The Troll chats up a storm after eating a 1/4 of one so I guess I am going to just eat the filling out of them and I really liked quesadillas too!

 

-Lastly, I am on the hunt for some shrimp.  The kind that you have that is already seasoned that I can throw in the over 5-6 at a time.  I have a box in the freezer but I think it was from M&M and as we know that place isn't the cheapest for food.  So if you come across something like this please let me know so I can get some for the freezer that I can make when the DH works.

 

 

Thanks for listening to the randomness and who knows what I will post about next :)

People get confused easily.

I have to admit that I had a great weekend this week.  I had a St John Conference that everyone in Ontario got to go. So RedRogers and I were there and an gal I will talking about in the future so I am going to call her GrayHorse.  There was over 300 people there that were either administration, MFR (Medic First Responder) or Therapy Dog.  So as per usual I take the Nikki Noodle and she wears her vest. 



Well I have to say when you have a group of folks that are around the Therapy Dogs on a regular basis some forget that some can be a service dog and therapy dog.  Nikki is a dual purpose dog and is one of these.  She knows the difference between her vest and her bandana because of the way I talk to her and the way that I put them on her. I will tell Nikki it is time to go work and she put her head through the vest.  I will tell her that it is time for hugs and snuggles and I will tie the bandana around her neck.  The want us to start using a large cotton vest for the dogs and I am going to have to figure pout a way to put it on her so that she doesn't get confused.  I think I will modify it with Velcro at the neck so it goes on the same way as the bandana and then since up the waist. /me pondering

Anyway, I would walk to the registration to get my badge and I would have to tell one person not to pet her since she is working.  As I am telling this person, I turn around and see more hands on her back.  SHEESH!  So I finally get to my seat and divert a bunch of "drive by petting" that Nikki got.

We get in line for lunch and was soooooo cold from the conference room that I put my Therapy Dog jacket on to stay warm.  I wasn't the only one that was cold so I can't say that I got the post surgery chills that others get from losing weight.  Well a lady from "the Sue" as we call it was all excited that there was a Therapy Dog to pet.  I asked her not to since Nikki was working and can't be distracted.  Well that is when she decided to have an adult temper tantrum. She rather rudely said that I shouldn't be so confusing with wearing a therapy dog jacket and have a service dog.  I calmly replied that Nikki is wearing a service vest that should have addressed the issue of her working or not.  Well she huffed and looked at her friend that was with her and her friend just shook her head at me.  REALLY!?!?!

So I grabbed my little bites of food and headed back to the table of 6 and started to relay my story with the group of the ladies that were there.  In the meantime the hospitality staff came over and wanted to take my plate away thinking I was done!  He thought what I took was the leftovers I didn't want.  I told him that I haven't even started yet and he cleared someone else's plate.  Wow....I officially eat the equivalent to table scraps.  No wonder the DH and I can share a steak LOL  So I ate my bits of chicken and tomatoes and called it lunch.

I decided that I had some time left I would let Nikki go out to romp and do her business.  Well she was out there she played and I soaked up some sun since it was warmer than tee-shirt and a light jacket weather.  She was her little solar panel for a bit too and just squinted her eyes at me in enjoyment.  As we were walking back I caught a sideways glimpse of myself in a mirror.  I did a recheck since I really didn't see the "muffin top" on top of my jeans.  I then realised that I have been looking at myself straight on when I get out of the shower and see small differences.  It wasn't until I saw myself sideways that I am starting to look like the girl in my head. I had a little smile as I walked down the hall back to my seat for the rest of the conference.

The afternoon sessions were "break away" tracks that focused on the areas we were in and I this is where I found out that RedRogers is leaving us to go back home to Newfoundland.  I know she is taking a lot of knowledge and her 2 Westies with her and that leave GreyHorse as the new area manager.  I was able to talk to her and she has asked for some help so I offered to help out with keeping track of the volunteer hours and keeping the vaccination records for everyone.

Needless to say people are confusing!

A day of follow ups

Well I had a few appointments yesterday that I can post about J

The first one was getting my hair done with CC and I wanted to make sure that she knew about my hair loss. She mentioned that with the weight loss in my face, my scalp most likely has shifted and that is why the old hair cut just wasn’t a vigour in curls as it used to be.  I never though about fat being stored in the top of my head, but I guess I am not a “fat head” anymore LOL  So we decided that since the hair is being lost at the root, I will start “wisps” of hair that would contrast with my length when it grows back in so we went much shorter.  So know I have a head of curlier hair and with that the new hair won’t be that much noticeable compared to the old cut.  The waves/ringlets at my temple will hard to get to since I can see them just at my peripheral vision and I keep thinking my hair has gone crazy J  it is only hair and I am sure it will be fine.  Before you say anything about styling or product, I am a wash a wear kind if gal so the best you are going to get out of me a few seconds long in the mirror fluffing the ‘do.

She also mentioned that my eyebrows seemed thinner too.  The hairs themselves were growing in all sorts of spots like they do, but she didn't rip out a second eyebrow worth of hairs this time. 

From there it was off to TWH for my 3 month (actually 4 moths had lapsed) appointment with the Nurse.  This is the appointment where she looks at the blood work that I had taken a few weeks and go and see if I am deficient in any areas due to the malabsorption of the Tiny Tummy.

While I was sitting in the waiting room filling out yet another survey about me here and now, I had a lady sit down beside me and looked nervous.  Nikki actually picked up her jitters and Nikki wouldn’t sit still.  So when I finished my survey I asked if she was alright only to find out that she is just starting the journey and had her Social Worker’s appointment at 4.  So we started chatting and she asked me all kind of questions which I was more than happy to answer since I was there before.  She asked me how much I had lost, so I told her.  She then asked when my surgery was, so I told her.  Then she was shocked and replied that by looking at me I should have been for at least a 1 year follow up since I was so skinny!  I blushed, thanked her and thought to myself I am still in the process of losing so I wonder what I will look like a year from now and what will the waiting room think of then?  I guess I will have to wait and see.

Well I found out that I am normal!  I asked if I could get that in writing J  I am not deficient in any vitamins or minerals and my good cholesterol is up.  I have also dropped out of the “pre-diabetic” range which I was in before the surgery.  I was at 63 points, normal is 60 points and I am now at 57 points!  That is load off my mind since we all know that it runs strongly through my Dad’s side of the family.

The only thing that concerned her was my bad cholesterol had not changed. She thinks there are two reasons for this.  My blood work said it was a “random” cholesterol test which means I didn’t fast which affects the results and the other is I have fallen into a newbie pitfall.  We have been told over and over again to eat moist proteins and if they aren’t to add sauces such as gravy.  Well that is what I have done.  Every time we are at the Swiss, I put dipping sauce on my white meat and when we have roast beef I add mushroom gravy.  So I have been advised to try it first before adding the sauces and then add it gradually so that I am able to cut back on it.

So I took that into consideration when I met the Little Brother and the Girlfriend for dinner since I didn’t feel like dealing with downtown traffic in the truck.  I ordered the pork chop that came with a spiced apple sauce, mashed potatoes and rapini.  Well I started in on the chop and by passed the potatoes and the applesauce.  The rapini was a little on the raw side for my liking so I just took the pork chop home.  I don’t feel like I missed anything since I took small bites of each and focused on my protein.

So I am going to do it all again on June the 3^rd, but this time I am at TWH from 10 am to 4 pm seeing the psychologist, nutritionist and the nurse again with new blood work results.

No commercials!

I am sorry for the long delay since my last post since I know there are a few “lurkers” that have come forward stating that it has been a while.  With those of you that have come out of the “lurking closet” to let me know that you have been reading for a while and are proud of me, I thank you. 

This blog was to help me keep a journal of my adventures since the days of LDS paper journaling have long gone for me.  I remember watching RaRaRa write in hers every night and I used to this when I was at home at Mom’s.  I have looked back on them on occasion and smiled.  It is amazing what I thought was of vast importance back then and I am sure if I go back and read what I wrote when I started this blog I will get the same reaction.

That being said, here is your next episode of “Tales of the Tiny Tummy”

Since my last post Mom has been down and I went through the stuff she brought me.  I am not sure what her friend looks like but my hips and her hips are nowhere close to each other.  All the pants would fit around the waist but the hips made me look like I was wearing jodhpurs!   For those of you that are wondering what the heck they are, these are them.

 

Ya know if you Google this there are really confused folks out there.  I was finding pics of breeches that were full seated one and even styles on the runway.  O_o

Anyway, I have purged the middle closet and have reduced by a shelf and half.  What is left in there?  Well that would be the clothes that are still too lightweight to wear but fits and my “few more pounds and I can wear it” wardrobe.  Since I know what C likes to wear I divided the clothes out to charity and C’s.  C is getting a garbage bag and working on a second one, and the charity shop got 2 garbage bags of stuff. I know that C & F have just moved so she asked me to hang on them a bit longer.  No biggy since I keep adding to the piles.

I keep adding shirts that are just not fitting right anymore.  I am finding myself looking down at the body of the shirt and pulling it side to side thinking that I am swimming in it.  The shoulders aren’t fitting either.  I am finding that I am sitting at my desk and I look over my shoulder to talk to the boss and I see a bra strap peeking out since the shirt is slipping off my shoulder.  That makes the shirt go into the pile too.

I was sick as well since my last post.  I headed home from the day job on Monday not feeling 100% and worked the second job to wake up on Tuesday feeling like death warmed over.  The DH was great and headed out to Wally-Mart to get me some meds before headed off to work.  I ended up sleeping the morning away and vegged in front of the upstairs TV for the afternoon.  Lucky enough I didn’t need to work during the day on Wednesday and slept some more.  I finally had enough meds in me to work the 2^nd job that night and headed back to the office on Thursday.  Reading group in the a.m. was cancelled since they had a field trip of mini-putting so I still didn’t feel 100% so I decided to bow out of the p.m. reading group.

With me not feeling well I really didn’t weigh myself all week and so when I finally did on Friday I had hit the 60 pound mark!  I was feeling pretty good but I didn’t want to jinx it so I just accepted it and chalked up to being sick.  The DH is concerned that I might be losing too fast and what happens if I drop below the target weight?  I guess only the staff at TWH can tell me when I have a follow up. So when I go back to TWH on April the 8th to check out my blood work to see if I am getting enough nutrients and vitamins I should ask how things are faring.

Well I did something I thought I never would do again since my last post.  I went to the Manadarin with the DH, DoxyLover and her DH.  I was nervous to see her since I hadn’t seen her since Christmas and also I was wondering how I was going to deal with the all the eating that goes on.  Well she was very proud of the work that I had done and said that it looks like she is only talking to 2/3 of me LOL I was able to explain to Mr. DoxyLover the surgery since he hadn’t heard all the details yet and was really shocked about what I went through.  When the hostess sat us at the table I took out my little card and she said that she was going to talk to her manager.  I thought I was going to have to go on the defensive since the things I have read on some of my forums the Mandarin hadn’t wised up to WLS yet.  So he came back and said that he would be happy to charge me a child’s rate which was only $10 for the lunch!  Geez, I am a cheap date LOL So I was very selective on what I put on plate.  I had a lot of “self-chat” of what the brain wanted for lunch and then I needed to remind myself of the BLT size.  It actually wasn’t that bad only taking part of a Lo Mein noodle, or just one rib.  When I sat back down I was looking at the plate and only took 1 or 2 bites of each item and now I realise that my taste buds have changed.  The bite of the rib I took didn’t taste like the way I remember it.  I wasn’t even thinking of taking a second bite.  Shrimp on the other hand…….for some reason I never touched it before surgery and now I don’t mind it and look forward to trying different variations on it.  So I am proud of how I handled myself and who else can say that they went to the Mandarin and lost weight? Ha ha

I haven’t been to a BWLSSG for a while since they were having it a very busy coffee shop.  I have missed the chatter on what is coming up next for me but I am sure there is one in April that I can get too.

So that gets you up to date on me and the tiny tummy and it was commercial free!