Living the Good Life

So I am back from the beach...again :) This time I went with my mama, her partner, and my cousin. They all left last Friday, but I didn't go with them when they left. The Rockstar's birthday was last Sunday and I didn't want to be gone for his birthday. We had a pool party on Saturday and then on Sunday just the two of us hung out in the pool and then I took him to dinner.


I got up early, early, early Monday morning to drive to the beach. Yes, I broke my "no alarm clock in the summer" rule, but I figured going to the beach was a good reason. It is an 8 hour drive from my house. I am not used to making that drive by myself. I had to find things to do to keep me from getting bored. I made videos of me singing in the car. I would post them so y'all could laugh with me, but I don't know how to do all that :)


It was a very relaxing and fun trip. During the day we hung out on the beach all day.

 

 

We didn't get in the water too much because Jelly Fish were really bad. There were kids out there with nets catching them...nothing I was interested in doing. I told my mama if I get stung by a jelly fish everyone would think I had been bit by a shark because I would act a fool screaming and crying.

 There was a young, hot cabana boy who hung around quite a bit :)

 

 

We went in every afternoon around 4:00 and showered and got ready to go out shopping and to eat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We shopped every night...

 

 

 

 

We also ate out every night. No matter what time you go out to eat, or where you go, you always have to sit around and wait to be seated....

 

 

 

 

We hung out on the balcony every night. There was a full moon last week, so it was really pretty...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got home late, late Thursday night. Since we ate out every night I knew I had gained weight. I am super sensitive to sodium and when I eat out a lot I tend retain a lot of fluid. I had gained 9 pounds in 5 days....how is that even possible????? I had not taken Lasix (fluid pills) since I was gone, so I knew most of that was fluid. I have already lost 6 of those 9 pounds...I peed them out :)

 

 

Don't be too jealous, but I am going back to the beach in a week. This time it's just The Rockstar and me....bow chicka wow wow :)

 







 



Unfill Update

I went to the doctor's office Friday.

This little model of the lapband always takes me by surprise. In my mind the stomach and the band are so much bigger than the model. That model is actual the only thing in the room that has anything to do with the band. Everything else in their has to do with the sleeve or gastric bypass. I told you my doctor doesn't do very many bands. They have a support/information fb page and I think I am the only one banded out of the 150 people on there. Needless to say, I don't go there much for support or information.


So my appointment was fine. Apparently I had lost weight over my vacation. I had not weighed myself a while prior to vacation and I guess I had lost some weight before I went as well. I thought I was still at 83 pounds lost, but according to their records I am now at 91 pounds lost since my highest weight, which just so happened to be exactly 2 years ago today.


I had to wait a while to see my girl. At first she didn't have any appointments open. When she found out that I had an appointment with the other nurse she agreed to work me in...she knows I don't like to see new people. So I had to wait lomger than I normally do...which was fine. I know how to entertain myself...

 

 

 

I had to get a buttload of bloodwork done since they had not done all of it since surgery. It all came back great! My liver enzymes came back in the normal range...that was the first time in 10 years that has happened. I will get the endoscopy later in the summer. My doctor only does them on a certain day of the week, so he stays booked up on them pretty far out. Of course I told them if he has a cancellation to give it to me since I am off and be there on a days notice.

On to the unfill...

I didn't see the doctor. The "band clinic" is on Friday's. You can go on a day other than Friday, but they try to set all band stuff on Friday's because that is when they have the guy that does all the xray/fluro stuff. And they like to do fluro with all the fills/unfills.


My band looked great. No slippage. She said it didn't look tight at all. I told her it may not look tight, but it felt tighter than I would like. So she said had no problem with taking some out. I don't remember exactly how much she took out, but I know that I now have 4.25 cc's in. I don't feel a difference as far as how much I eat, but I can definitely tell as far as when I eat. Before the unfill I wasn't eating a thing until early afternoon. For the last several days I have actually been eating breakfast. I may gain a few pounds with this unfill, and I am ok with that...as long as it isn't too much.


Happy Monday! I hope all of y'all have a fabulous week!!!

TTT

Thanks to the gorgeous (and preggo) Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday!!

1. I love summer. I sleep late every day, I lounge in the pool, and I watch lots of trash tv. Life is good.


2. Apparently I have a step mother now. The rumor is that my dad got married. He has not told me...well I also haven't talked to him since I got back from the beach. You would think that something like getting married would be a big deal and you would mention it to your daughter(s). I guess my dad doesn't think it's newsworthy.


3. I am going to get my first unfill ever tomorrow. I have had 2 fills. The last time I had a fill was over a year ago...February, 2012. I knew when I got the band that I could never have a tight band because it would be dangerous with having Barrett's Esophagus. My doctor didn't even really want to do a band on me for that reason (as well as he thinks people aren't generally as successful with the band). Any way, since the tummy tuck I have felt like I am tighter than I should be. I can't eat at all until early afternoon. I am also past due for having the scope to biopsy my Barrett's, and I feel more comfortable getting an unfill before the scope.


4. I go back to the plastic surgeon on Tuesday for my 3 months post op visit. I couldn't be more pleased with this tummy tuck. If you saw the before pics you would never ever think it was the same person. My brain hasn't caught up with my body yet and I am still buying clothes that are too big and have to return them.


5. Speaking of buying clothes, I did some shopping while I was at the beach. I bought a dress for a wedding I have to attend next month. Guess what size it was???? Size small. I started off trying on the Large. It was too big and they didn't have it in a Medium. My bff told me to try on the small. I said "Are you crazy???? I can NOT wear a small." Apparently, I can.


6. I love burned meatloaf and burned bacon.


7. I love being tanned.


8. I love sweet tea.


9. Harleigh has developed severe separation anxiety since we have been home for the summer. When we go out to the pool she cries so loud we can hear it from the pool. I am going to start taking her to doggy daycare one or two days a week. Hopefully that will help.


10. I haven't weighed myself since my return from vacation. I will find out tomorrow if I gained weight. I didn't eat a lot in volume, but what I did eat was junk. And I went 7 whole days without pooping. Sorry about the TMI. I can't help it. My body goes on lockdown when I go out of town. I would be in serious trouble if I had to go away from home for a long time.

Back to Reality

I'm back from the beach and back to reality. But let's be real...my reality is pretty damn good in the summer :)

I had a great time at the beach, but after a full week without The Rockstar, the boys, and Harleigh I was really starting to get homesick. It was pouring down rain when we left, so I really wasn't sad at all the day we left.

So let me tell you all about my vacay....

We left the night of my birthday. We drove for about 4 hours and then I started getting really sleepy. So we pulled over and got a room for the night. We got up at our leisure the next morning and got back on the road. We got to the beach in the early afternoon. We had some time to kill before check in so we went and bought some trashy books for the beach.

We got to the condo and immediately unpacked everything....

 

 

Yes, we did have enough flip flops for the beach :)

 

 

We went to dinner and then did the grocery shopping for the week. The next morning we got up and got ready for the beach. Every day we stayed on the beach all day.

 

 

 

 

We met new people every day. Some were very interesting....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every night we got ready and hit the town. There was a lot of waiting by the elevators....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went shopping every night. We also ate out every night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ate entirely too much junk while we gone. The snacking on the beach was a bit out of control....

 

 

 

 

It wasn't all fun and games the entire time. On our 3rd day there the water was very rough. In fact, they put up the red flags. If you don't know what they means, one red flag means the water is dangerous...it's probably best to stay out of it. Double red flags means you can't get in. Unfortunately, some people either don't know what the flags mean or they choose to ignore them. As we were sitting on the balcony drinking coffee (I actually had chocolate milk...she had coffee) I saw someone going out into the water. I made the comment that I couldn't believe someone would get in the water as rough as it was. Within minutes that person was pretty far out. I told my friend I knew he didn't mean to be that far out and I thought he was in trouble. I was right. The current had taken him out. The cabana boy went running out there trying to save him. Then another man went out. Then a lifeguard got there and went out. It was painful to sit on the balcony watching all of them struggle for their lives. They finally all got back to shore, but the teenager (the first person who had gone out) was lifeless. We watched as they performed CPR on him. We watched his mother sobbing uncontrollably. We watched as they took him off the beach to the ambulance. It was horrible and weighed very heavy on our minds all day.

 

 

 

 

Every time I saw a kid getting in the water I just wanted to punch the parents in the face. When the water is that rough even getting in up to your knees or ankles can be dangerous. The water can knock your feet out from under you. As we sat on the beach we watched another girl (probably around 10 or 11) go out in the water. Within seconds she was in trouble. Her mother ran out there to try and save her. The girl was hysterical and almost pulled her mother under water. The cabana boy went out there once again (same cabana boy) and saved the girl. Although she never lost consciousness like the first boy, they took her to hospital anyway to get checked out.

 

 

My bff's kids are grown (late teens/early 20's), but we told them they could not get in the water at all. So since we couldn't play in the water, we played in the sand...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every night after we returned to the condo we would enjoy some adult beverages on the balcony...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our last night there we hit up all the little souvenir shops. We don't usually buy much there, but we always have fun just looking at all the stuff...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year I gained 7 pounds in 7 days while on vacation. Since I also lost that 7 pounds within the 7 days after getting back, I have decided not to weigh myself for at least a week. Actually it will be more like 5 days since I have a doctor's apt on Friday.

 

I had a great time, but I am glad to be back home. I have no other immediate plans except to sleep late every day and lounge in the pool....aaahhhh, the life of a teacher in the summer :)











 

 

 

 





 

 





It's Party Time!

Today is the day I wait for all year...I leave for the beach tonight!!!! It's also my birthday :) I have been busy, busy, busy this weekend...tanning, shopping, getting a fresh pedi, packing, etc.


This time last year I was already at the beach. We left the day before my birthday. During that trip I gained 7 pounds in 7 days. Fortunately, I also lost 7 pounds in 7 days when I came back. This year I have decided I won't weigh myself until a week after I get back....not really a hard thing for me to do since I usually only weigh every week or so any way.


When I am on vacation I honestly don't worry about my weight or what I eat. I eat what I want, when I want, and how ever much I want. It's one week out of the year. Of course I may regret only packing bikinis when I am feeling all fat and bloated from the junk food :)


I hope y'all have a great week :) Toodles!

Triple T!!!!!

Thanks to the gorgeous (and preggo) Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday!!

1. Only one day after today people...just one more day. No alarm clock, no pants, no real shoes, and not even a bra if I don't want one.


2. My birthday is on Sunday. I will be 22 with 21 years experience :) I will also be leaving for the beach that day. Woot woot!!!


3. OMG, the teacher that used to teach next door to me last year (she is no longer at my school) was arrested yesterday for murder. Yes, you heard me right...MURDER. Crazy stuff.


4. We had our end of school year party yesterday. I bought pizza for all of my kids. I drove off post to get the pizza and just as I was coming back on post I realized I had left my government ID in the computer at school. They aren't supposed to let anyone on post without their ID or a visitors pass (which is an ordeal to get). Apparently if you have on a dress that's slightly hiked up showing a little leg, big boobs, and bat your eyes at the guard they will let you slide through with just your school ID.


5. So I mentioned I had on a dress. I was carrying 6 large pizzas back up to the door of my school. You can't get in the school without sliding you school ID beside the door. So, I am trying to balance 6 large pizzas on one arm, while I try to fumble to get my ID out of the badge holder. In the meantime it is a tad bit windy. A big wind comes up and completely blows my dress up. I almost drop the pizzas and my pink drawers are still blowing in the wind. Finally, I hear a voice come on over the little speaker by the door. It was our secretary...and she was laughing so hard I couldn't even make out what she was saying...but I think it was something about buzzing me in. Great, now the office staff calls me pinky every time I walk by the office. Apparently they were all sitting there watching the security camera and wondering how I was going to manage to slide my card with all those pizzas in my hand...and they all lost it when my dress blew up. I hope they peed their pants from laughing and had to sit in urine soaked drawers the rest of the day :)


6. My kids loved the pizza party. Today is my last day with all of them since I am moving to the other class next year. I am sad about leaving my babies, but I know I will love the new ones too.


7. I want to make this fruit dip that I found online. It calls for vanilla bean paste. Nobody in my town sells it. I read online that you can get it at Sonoma Williams (??I don't know what that is) or Trader Joe's...and we have neither of those places.


8. Whoever suggested that I try Old Navy to find shorts...thank you, thank you, thank you! They have the exact right length me. However, I ordered 3 pairs of shorts, all same style but different colors in size 8. Two of the pairs fit perfectly and the other did not fit at all. Isn't that odd??


9. The Boy told me he is moving out in 2 months. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't know if I am ready for my baby to leave. What if he goes hungry? What if he runs out of clean underwear? What if nobody reminds him to change his sheets every week????


10. Do any of y'all sell Oragami Owl stuff? If so, please let me know because I wanna order something.

Rippin and Runnin

This has been a very busy weekend. I was rippin and runnin most of the time. I will tell you all about it...one day at a time :-)

Friday

I worked all day. The Rockstar is already out for summer break, but I still have to work until the end of this week :( After I got off work Friday I went tanning. I came home and The Rockstar wanted to go eat. He loves buffets, especially the Chinese buffet. It is such a waste of money for me to go to a buffet, but since he likes them, we still go. Let me tell ya, I still fix my plate like I did before getting banded. I don't know why, because even as I am fixing it I say to myself "Self, you know you will never eat all this food"...and I don't.

Here is my plate before I started eating...

 

I still pile it up with all my old favorites. Here is my plate after eating...

 

 

 

 

I told you...total waste of money for me to go.

 

 

After eating we went grocery shopping. Nothing fun or exciting about that. I hate to go grocery shopping.

 

 

Later that night I went to my mom's house. My ex brother in law and niece were in town for my nephew's graduation and they stayed with my mom. I visited for a while and then decided I was really tired and needed to go home and sleep.

 

 

Saturday

 

 

I slept in for a bit. I think it was because I was dreading going to my sister's house and the longer I stayed in the bed the less I had to think about getting up and getting ready to go to her house. I did finally drag myself out of the bed and get ready.

 

 

The visit to my sister's house was pretty uneventful. She didn't speak to me at all until I got ready to leave (and I actually stayed there almost 2 hours), and then all she did was give me a courtesy hug (you know, the kind where get a little pat on the back and a sideways hug) and said thank you for coming. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was expecting more than that. I was, however, happy to see my niece again.

 

 

 

 

I even got her to duckface with me :)

 

 

 

She does a great duckface, doesn't she??

 

 

After leaving I still had another graduation party to attend. This time it was the nephew of my Colorado bff. In case I have never told you, I have no sense of direction and need to use a gps to get any where I go. My bff's sister told me it was super easy. I put the street name in my GPS, but not the house number. I didn't put the house number in because she told me it was just a few houses down when you turned on the street and that I would know which house because they would have an awning set up and there would be balloons on the mailbox.

 

Sure enough, as soon as I turned on the street I saw a house with an awning set up, smoke coming from the grill, and balloons on the mailbox. I parked the car and joined the small crowd under the awning. The man running the grill welcomed me and told me to have a seat. The woman setting the food out asked what I would like to drink. Everything was going just peachy...good food, great atmosphere, nice people. I finally asked where my bff or her sister was. They looked at me like I had 2 heads and said "who?" I said "Isn't this Billy Bob's (not his real name) graduation party???" And they said "Ummmm, no. But you are more than welcome to stay. We have plenty of food"

 

 

Yep, that's how we roll in the south. If you are having a cookout any ole body can come up and you welcome them to your food and beer. I kindly thanked them and quickly made an exit to find the right house...which was about 5 houses down on the other side of the street :-)







I stayed at the party for several hours and ate way too much yummy junk. My bff left with me and came back to my house with me to spend the night. We stayed up till all hours of the night just laughing, and talking, and laughing some more.


Sunday

My local bff came up and spent the day with Colorado bff and me. I have been friends with Colorado bff for 23 years and local bff for 13 years and the two had never met. Can you believe that??? They both felt like they knew each other, but had never actually met. It was a great day.

 We went shopping and laughed and had a great time. The Rockstar cooked us dinner and ate until we were stuffed.

After the local bff went home the Colorado bff and I went and did a little more shopping and then I took her back to her sister's house.

I came home and I was exhausted. I took a bath and slept like a baby :)


Sunday

I slept in again. I got up and made a big ole pan of baked beans for a cookout we were going to attend. This cookout was a lot of my coworkers. Far different group of people than The Rockstar's group we usually hang out with...but it was all good. We are diverse like that. We can roll with all types :)

The cookout was great. We came home and now we are both just laying around like lazy people.

I hope y'all's weekend was just as good as mine!

Four more days and the alarm clock is out of site for 2 months!!!!