Water check-in

I still have loads of improvement to make, but as promised, here is my H2O update for the day: 42 oz.

Tomorrow I'll hit the goal of 64oz.
Guaranteed.
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Milestone-smilestone

What a week it has been! On Thursday September 1st I broke the 200 pound mark. I finally weighed in the 100's. ....albeit just shy of 200 but I will claim every ounce of it.

I didn't think it would be such a big deal, since it has been coming "gradually" (lol) for the last 5months and I have been teetering on the precipice for a few weeks now. I didn't have a huge reaction, but I admit that a few tears found their way out into the open.

It's weird to think that I am within 28 pounds of my initial goal weight. I should be able to accomplish that by Thanksgiving. That is just a bit more than 2 pounds a week. Sure, I might be able to get it done faster, but I have no idea if the weight loss is going to slow down now that I am closer to the end.

I am able to eat more on most meals, which is a good thing given that my activity level has increased. I can't tell you how annoying it is to work out and feel like crap for the rest of the day. It happened several times while we were in Idaho and I hated it. Granted, some of it may have to do with being a bit dehydrated as well.

I remember in 2001 when I was doing Weight Watchers, I was drinking at least a gallon of water a day and I didn't have a bit of trouble losing then. So, look for a water log to be posted for this next week. You can help keep me accountable.
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One hundred and fourty two and I quit counting

As many of you are either past WLS patients or have found my blog because you are considering it, you know that one of the "complications" of the surgery is that you will, at some point, begin to lose your hair.  I was never worried about this part of the processes, because if you ask anyone that knows me, I had plenty to go 'round.

I really started noticing the hair loss right around week 17 but didn't think a whole lot of it given my propensity to actually rejoice in a little natural culling of the locks.  However, this process has become a real pain the the arse. Please don't get me wrong.  I am incredibly lucky that I had as much hair as I did to begin with.  I am so incredibly thankful for that because I have heard of people losing so much that they need to get a wig temporarily.  That could be incredibly devastating and I can't imagine having to deal with that even on a short term basis.

The hair does grow back eventually and all will be well once again.  It is simply a matter of your body making a choice to support your vital functions rather than our ego's and vanity. Frankly, I would rather have red blood cells than an ounce of hair...  I am just sayin'.  But I digress..

I asked my husband the other day if he thought my hair would look good if I grew it down to my mid back.  I haven't had it that long for a while and I thoroughly enjoy ponytails, french braids and feeling incredibly feminine with long luscious locks.  Well, to my surprise he said that he thought that was an interesting choice because he thought that I would go with short hair.  As I pondered the prospect, I realized that

1. I really do like short hair
2. It looked super cute in the past even with my rounded chubby cheeks and puffy face
3. It has a more professional look
4. Allows for more versatility (if you are brave enough to try it)

....and finally, I realized that perhaps I wouldn't be so danged bothered with all this hair that is continually coming out of my head.  This morning, I counted 142 different strands of hair that came out just after I had washed it. When you have long hair, losing strands during the day is just a normal part of the cyclical process when hair regenerates itself, BUT, I am getting sick of always having hair everywhere.*incensed tone inserted here* 

The 142 strands that I counted don't include the 7 I pulled off of my clothes at work today, the 3 I removed from the chair nor does it include the countless others that I inevitably missed in the data collection process due to their tendency to simply be more attached to anything other than my head. As I was yet again saving my chair from being strangled by stray coiffure bits, I realized that the #5 reason for having short hair would be to eliminate nearly all of my exasperation with the current follicle fountain. 

So, do I or don't I? Beckham or Shields? It's such a toss up.  All I know, is that I am never counting the strands again.  That my friends, is one stat that I am afraid you are just going to have to live without.

Stupid technology!

Here I am, up at 1:30 am because I can't get the stupid friggin photo slideshow to work.  Apparently, Photobucket has something wrong with it so I can't get it to update the original slideshow.  Getting frustrated, I changed to Flickr thinking that it would be easy peasy to add that gadget to the blog and upload a slideshow.....  that was nearly 3 hours ago.

SO, with that being said, if you want to see pictures you are going to have to do a little work yourself because I am done for the night.  Click here for the slideshow:
http://www.flickr.com//photos/66721415@N05/sets/72157627382134887/show/

friggen fraggen blasted blazin tarnation hell balls.


And g'night.

Hound and you shall receive

My sister and mom have been hounding me....  chiding me... and down-right guilting me into updating my pictures on my blog.  I didn't realize that it had been a really long time since I had done so.  When I looked at the pics and realized that I hadn't uploaded pics since the 12th week and we are now at week 21.5 I was astonished at how quickly time has gone by.

We have 6 days a week of football right now.  I will be so glad when that part is over.  It seems as though we have no time for ourselves during the week.  Two and a half hours of practice every week night doesn't leave much time to do anything else.  Now, I know the moment Chad reads this he is going to complain that I don't get to practice until the last 40 - 60 minutes, however, due to relying on my amazing grandmother for babysitting support, I have had to adjust my schedule at work to accomodate the extra drive in the morning.  Chad will say that I have become a work-a-holic, a stereotype I am sure the rest of my family would agree with.  I do come about it naturally as it is genetically encoded, I have the genome map as proof.....  it's just classified information and takes a very high security clearance to have access to the document or I'd upload it.

Anyhow, I have updated the pictures to keep my family from sending Guido to my door.  I fully admit that I have sucked at blogging recently and will take full responsibility for that.  In addition, I promise to get better.  Cross my heart.

Who is that??

We had a family reunion with my Dad's side of the family this weekend and it was an incredibly special time for us. We have not kept in touch with anyone over the years and since my dad and most of my uncles have passed away, that task has been even more daunting.

We were able to get re acquainted with cousins and even meet some of whom we have never met. It is always interesting learning about your history and hearing stories that I am sure my father wishes were still a secret.

However, nothing could prepare me for the surprise I had last night when I looked at the pictures of the event that were posted on Facebook. I didn't understand how they got a picture of my sister.

Lesley lives in Montana and I couldn't understand why my cousin would have posted her picture in the reunion picture folder since she wasn't there. She was holding two boys in her lap and that was throwing me for a further loop because she has 3 girls. Finally, I clicked on the picture to enlarge it and get a look at the little ones she was holding and I couldn't believe my eyes. It wasn't my sister....... It was me!

I hadn't even recognized myself! Unbelievable! What a true testament to how much things have changed. Life is good.

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Dirty dirty and dead tired

Mud Run benefitting MS was this morning and boy am I beat! 6.2 miles has never been so tough!

In fact, we got home 5 minutes ago, and I still haven't gotten out of the car. Hahahahaha
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