Gasparilla, Golf, and Good news!

This weekend was very busy. I took Jakers over to the Gasparilla Pirate Invasion Children's Parade. I was kind of nervous taking him there by myself because the crowd is usually millions thick. The parade was from 3:30 - 6:30. We got there around 1 and took a shuttle over to avoid the traffic. We found the ticket sales area and were able to buy front row bleacher seats. man this was the way to go... Also, we were conveniently located just yards away from the port-o-potties! (I hate those fricking things) At one point during the duration I did give in and go potty. I actually managed to squeeze both myself, and Jake and our enormous book bag full of beads and not tip the damn thing over! Go Me! I went walking a few time in the past week as the weather has been amazing. Sunday we decided to go golfing for a bit (this means I read and the boys golf.) We had a great time and I got some really cute pictures of Jake. Afterward we met up with some friends for a dinner at Chili's. I did well, I had the chicken fajitas. I ate 3 of the 5" Tortillas with about 1/2 of the chicken (I gave the rest away) and for toppings I used only cheese and ranch dressing. Also i have been bringing my crystal light mix ins with me so I can avoid drinking extra calories. Apparently it is working, when i weighed myself this morning I was down 14 lbs since my original dietitian appointment! Woo Freakin Hoo!!! I am thrilled and I don't feel horrible which makes it even better. Tonight I am making breaded and baked chicken breasts with honey mustard dressing to dip in as well as some sliced and broiled potatoes. I know I know, I'm becoming Suzy Fucking Homemaker! Holla!

Fortunes and family time...

I feel like it has been forever even though it has only been

5 days. It was an exciting long weekend and I came back to an exciting day of work and history.

Friday morning I met with the dietitian and got a "high Five and a great job" We went over the post surgery diet.
Friday night we were getting ready to go out of town, we decided to order PeiWei (an Asian diner, owned by PF CHANGS) for dinner. I had Mongolian chicken with white rice, I ate about 1/2 and the hubby finished mine along with his. I opened my fortune cookie and low and behold my fortune perfectly fit with my formula for success post. I know fortunes are made to apply to everyone but I feel like it was meant to be...

The next morning we headed out to Orlando for a Halloween themed birthday party, it was great we got to hang with some great friends and had a

blast. Jakester dressed u p as a boney pirate! Too cute!

Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom and I have to say, I felt great walking all day, it was chilly but nice out. Animal Kingdom is very hilly and I faired quite well. It felt good. That night after the theme park, my parents returned home and Carrie (my sister) and I took Jake to Downtown Disney. We walked around for quite a bit and then surprised him with a trip to Lego Land. I got out of the store and only spent $50.00! I was quite impressed with myself.

The next morning it was breakfast with extended family, outlet shopping for new baseball cleats (one of Jake's requirements for playing T-Ball) and then we decided to head over to Hollywood Studios to walk around for a bit and take the drawing class. Again, I felt great, it was beautiful out and I felt great walking. Normally I get sluggish and want to chill on a bench but we remained on the go the entire time!

Now it's back to work, If the weekend was any indication, this week will be great!

The Formula for Success

Just to give you a quick bit of background, I am a college Instructor. I teach Medical Insurance Billing and Coding at an Academy in Tampa and I LOVE my job! One of the courses I teach besides my normal curriculum is a course called "Tools for Success." It is basically a work/reference book that is distributed to the students in conjunction with an 8 hr lecture and activities on becoming a successful individual. It is motivating and self empowering and I have alot of respect for this course and I love when I have the opportunity to teach it. So yesterday I was team teaching this course along with 2 other instructors to a group of about 55 students. Miguel (my boss and former professor) did the introduction to the program and Chapter 1 entitled "What it took to get here." I love listening to Miguel lecture, perhaps it was his dynamic presentation that kept my interest in our field to begin with. He is known to dance, beat box, as well a lecture while standing on the table that you are sitting at. (Just for the visual he is a tall and "SLENDER" Puerto Rican, think Marc Anthony). Anyways so as usual I sat there listening, and as he dove into the content he basically drove the point home that the formula for success has only 3 components... Desire + Courage + Determination. Mind you I have taught and heard the Tools for Success lectures many times since it was introduced but this time something clicked. It was my "A-HA" moment as Oprah calls it. That formula, the one I have been lecturing about is the exact formula that I need in order to be successful. The DESIRE to change the way I feel about myself and my current state of health. The COURAGE to endure the process and to trust that my surgeon is going to take care of me. and The DETERMINATION to create the best outcome for myself. WOWZERS! I am totally motivated, I mean more then I thought I could be. I feel great about it! Not to mention when I weighed myself this morning the scale told me I was down 9 lbs from when I started this process on Dec 18. That's 9 lbs in less then a month and I am happy with that. It is at a healthy pace and I don't feel miserable. Yeah for me! Also, 2 people in the past week have asked me if I have been losing weight.. Thank god I can finally say YES! Bring on the lapband! I am totally ready!

Clowns, Calories, and Anxiety.. OH MY!

So many topics, so much to share!

Ok clowns first, Went to the circus yesterday with the Jakester and my sister. Has an amazing time. We were in the 3rd row right in the center, had a great view of everything and Jake was in awe! We got showered with confetti in the end and it was a lot of fun (minus the wrinkled confetti pieces I found in my bra later that evening!) Some pictures are attached. I can not believe the amazing things the acrobats do with their bodies, it is just unbelievable.

Later that evening after dinner Jake "worked out" with me. Lol I have been doing some basic strengthening exercises to get my booty moving again. We did 3 sets of 10 on wall push ups, crunches, chair sits (squats) and calf raises. Today my legs feel like spaghetti, I guess that means it was effective! Jake had a blast exercising with me, he kept telling me I was doing good. LOL! I want to squeeze him to pieces!

I weighed myself this morning and am down a total of 6 lbs. Who knows if it is accurate or not but I will take what I can get!

Can I vent for a sec? (course I can, this is my frickin blog!) So, In return for me doing all the childcare duties in the morning (getting Jake up and fed for school as well as getting myself ready for my 45 minute drive) The hubby makes both mine and Jake's lunch. So this morning I go in the bag to get out the bottle of water I drink on the way to work and there is a huge sandwich in there. Of course I immediately call him and ask why on earth he would pack that. He said "I thought you could eat what you want and throw the rest out." Now mind you he has never fought a weight battle in his life, although he has fought my battle with me the entire time we have been together (almost 11 years!). The first thing I did before responding was count to 10, I had to because I was fit to scream at him. I said calmly." If I had the willpower to eat just what I needed and throw the rest out do you really think that I would be in the predicament that I am in now?" Is it all men who act borderline ignorant or just mine? He seemed to take note of the quasi ugly tone I used and simply said "Point taken." I hope the message I was going for really got across. I would like to screamed and yelled but I contained it since Jakers was in the car! LOL!

Ok so we covered clowns and calories, moving right along to anxiety... I am scared to death! I have never had major surgery before and I am seriously scared about the anesthesia. A friend of mine who had gastric bypass said she felt the same way but she is so glad that she went through with it. I am just nervous that the closer I get to the surgery date the more anxious I am going to feel. UGH! One of the things that I know I need to do is write a will just in case but that has me tripping out as well. I just don't know what to think. By all means I fully intend to go through with this but man oh man are my nerves on edge!

Saggy Ass Rocks!

So... (why do I always start my posts with "so"? I have no idea but it seems to get the point across so (haha) I will continue.) I have been noticing some odd happenings with my pants but chalked it up to the possibility of the pants being stretched out or maybe they weren't fully dry or something. The first 2 days back I didn't feel like dressing up so I wore scrubs and they were a little roomier but I didn't make anything of it. Well, low and behold, today I put on a pair of dress slacks and I have saggy ass yet again! And these pants are like my tighter pants, so imagine my surprise when the sag was noticed this morning by the hubby. SA-WEET! I have been still watching my intake (I figure I get more restrictive about foods now post-surgery should go a tad easier) doing the yogurt for breakfast thing, a sensible lunch and then a lighter dinner, plus me and the hubby and occasionally Jakester have been walking every other day. The scale hasn't really been too friendly but I am keeping myself down to only checking my weight 1 time a week so we shall see what happens come Monday. For now, Its just me and my saggy ass! (*note to self, that could possibly be a one hit wonder for the country music market!*) Anyways, more later!

back to the norm...

So today has me completely off. After having a well deserved 2 week break from work today is my first day back. I feel out of sorts! I got used to sleeping in with Jake and getting up at 6 this morning really threw me for a loop! Not to mention that I had to lecture twice today so that is never fun.
I started my exercise routine yesterday. I made it through a mile at a really good pace and plan on going walking again tonight. It was suggested that I start off kind of basic to recondition my body back into the swing of things. So I am doing what I was told to do (that's a first, I know!)
I was kind of bummed because I weighed myself and I gained back the 4 lbs I lost. What the hell? I have been a yogurt for breakfast water drinking machine. Oh well, We shall chalk it up to the holidays and move on trying again this week.
Went to a hockey game Saturday night, hence the pic above... Love my Lightning! Go Bolts!
On the agenda for tonight is another walk around the neighborhood followed by dinner at mom's.
I'll post more often now that I am back at work.

Happy 2009!

Wow. I can not believe it's 2009! 2008 just flew by. I have officially decided that I am not going to make any resolutions for the new year because resolutions always seem to get broken. I am however looking forward to the amazing changes that I have in front of me!

New year's eve was spent picking Unc up from the airport and doing dinner with the family. Then a night of catchphrase and firepit ensued! It was alot of fun and I actually made it up til midnight! Go me! Major accomplishment! I know I know I am getting boring in my old age! ha!
Anywho, this morning it was back over to the parents for a New Year's brunch. I was conservative with my food choices and I feel good about it!

Happy Happy 2009! (Imagine me holding up an imaginary drink) Here's to health, happiness, and a successful surgery! Holla!