80 Pounds Gone To Date!

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

I'm getting itchy feet… I need to go on a trip! So, I booked a cruise… Boston to Bermuda in April. We've done that cruise several times and they keep shortening the time in Bermuda! This one is a 6-day cruise with just one-and-a-half days in Bermuda, but, because we've been to Bermuda several times and actually like the cruising part of cruising better than the ports, that will work out fine for us. Can't wait!  :D  

Okay, so let me tell you about some of the things that have happened since my last edition, which was in October! Yikes! How time flies! My follow-up visits with various doctors are coming to an end… finally!

I no longer take blood pressure meds or stomach healing meds (Prilosec). My cholesterol meds have been cut in half once again and I now take 10mg daily of Simvastatin. I'm not real thrilled about that, but am half-convinced it's not a bad thing. They tell me it's not so much for my cholesterol, at this point, as that's perfect -- the good and the bad, as well as triglycerides. It's more of a heart-protectant. Guess they think I need it, because my mother had heart issues and my brother died suddenly at 45 from a massive heart attack.  So, my goal of getting rid of all my meds won't happen, I guess. ::sigh::  I still have to take Levothyroxine for my thyroid, too, but, even that's been cut down.

Since I last posted, I've been on an airplane twice and I am sooooooooo excited to tell you that I fit in the seat just fine now, with lots of extra belt left over!!!! I'm tellin' ya… this losin' weight thing is really awesome!  :D  However, my BMI is 31, which means I'm still considered obese. So, even though I continue to have to buy new clothes to fit my shrinking body, I still have some work to do. To date, I have lost 80 pounds. I have not lost anything since Christmas, so, beginning February 29, I will be going back to Weight Watchers. My support group recommended that we attend some kind of weight loss support group, once our 12 weeks of surgical weight loss support/risk reduction group had ended. That ended in the third week of October and I've basically been on my own since. I haven't gained any weight back, but I also have not lost any more since Christmas. I continue to go to the Y each weekday morning for water aerobics, but I'm terrified that I'm going to start going backwards and I don't want that to happen, so I'm going to Weight Watchers. I still can only eat small portions at a time, so that part is still working. I just need to watch what I'm eating and eat healthier foods. And I'm still working on getting enough protein, but I've been slacking off. I need the help of Weight Watchers to get started again.

So, wish me luck! That's it for this week! Have a good week and I'll try to post again soon!  J

Who'da Thunk That Large Would Be Good?

Well, so where've ya been? Oh… wait. I'm the one who hasn't written!  LOL  J  I've just been very busy with grandkids, big kids, exercising (yes, really… exercising) and just life in general. Sorry for the long delay in posts.

Okay, so let me tell you about some of the things that have happened since we last spoke… err… read… errr… typed… whatevah!

You should know, by now, that I go to the Y every weekday morning for water aerobics. They have an email newsletter that I subscribe to, and, at the bottom of one of them was a form to fill out to win a YMCA t-shirt. So, I filled it out and dropped it off the next time I went. That was before I had the bariatric surgery. And I won a t-shirt! It was a size Large and it was too small for me at that time, so I put it in my gym bag and there it stayed…. until a couple of weeks ago. After showering, I took out my towel and there, underneath it, was the t-shirt. I tried it on and voila! It fits! I was soooooooooooo excited! I put my really nice black dress slacks on and kept that gym-bag-scented t-shirt on as well! I was so proud of myself! That really was a thrilling moment! Not only because the Y shirt fit me, but because I knew what SIZE I was… I was a regular size Large! Have you any idea how exciting that is??! I have worn plus size clothes for many, many years now. To be able to wear a regular size Large is HUGE!

Then, just the other day, I decided to take out a black swimsuit I have, but haven't been able to wear, because it's just too tight around the belly and puckers around the crotch. But, I put it in my gym bag anyway because all my other suits were in the wash. I couldn't believe it when I put it on and it was actually loose! Almost baggy! It still puckers at the crotch, but for different reasons! It's baggy! LOL  Now, all my swimsuits are getting baggy, so I had to buy a couple of new ones for my cruise!

I decided to break down and buy some clothes for my cruise and Florida trip with the girls. I really had no shorts or dressy clothes that fit me. While I can get away with wearing baggy, somewhat ill-fitting clothes around here, I just can't go on a cruise looking sloppy! But, I didn't want to spend a fortune on clothes that may not fit me in a couple of months, so I went to the Salvation Army store! I got four pairs of shorts, one very lightweight skirt suit, one dressy rayon pant suit (okay, they're capris, but on me, it's a long pant suit!), and a couple of casual tops. With the two new swimsuits, I should be all set! I can wear shorts and pants in 14-16 size! Woohooo!  :D

My weight loss is definitely slowing down, as I'm able to eat a bit more food at mealtimes. However, I am down 7 more pounds since my last post… 68 pounds all together, so far. I have to watch my fats intake. I've discovered I really like fatty foods (no, duh, right?)… mostly buttery foods. I need to keep tabs on that and try to find something else that will satisfy that need for buttery things! I still get nauseous if I eat a lot of fat, but, even the little fat I have is too much, calorie-wise, according to the nutritionists I see weekly, and that may be why my weight loss has slowed some. But, that's okay. I wear a size Large. Life is good!  J

I've had my blood-pressure meds cut in half. I see my primary care physician on Tuesday and am hopeful that I will be able to stop taking those all together. My good cholesterol has dropped since my last blood analysis, so that might mean that I can also eliminate my cholesterol meds! You should know by now that eliminating all these meds was my reason for having the weight loss surgery! Losing weight is a delightful bonus, but I don't want to have to rely on prescriptions to live!

As I type, it is utterly delightful outside! It's 75 degrees on October 9, 2011, in northeastern Massachusetts! The leaves are glorious. The sun is shining brightly and I'm sitting in the house typing, when I could be outside admiring my Halloween Lily… what's a Halloween Lily, you ask? Well, it was an Easter Lily that I planted in a planter outside, after Easter. It is now in full bloom, right in front of the scarecrow. So, now, it's a Halloween Lily.  J  


Oh, and if you believe old wives' tales... we're going to get a LOT of snow this winter! Check out this beehive in my yard! It's about 50 feet high! We're gonna get buried!  

I enlisted the help of my grandson again to get a photo of me to put on the blog. He did pretty well. And, you'll see what I mean about ill-fitting clothes! LOL  


That's it for this week! Have a good week and I'll try to post again next week!  J

I Have Belt Loops!

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."   — Mother Teresa

I love that quote from Mother Teresa. I discovered that quote only recently and it rang a bell with me. It is how I have tried to raise my children. My words were not quite as eloquent… "yeah, people might take advantage of your kindness, but be kind anyway. Better to be known as a really nice guy that people will remember, than as a jerk who is soon forgotten." And, yes, we do get taken advantage of occasionally, but it is only very occasionally, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Not too much to report this week, as far as weight loss goes, but… get this… I have belt loops! I can now wear slacks with zippers and belt loops! I can now hang my phone on my belt loop, just like all the normal-sized people do! And, what's more, I can tie my shoes without holding my breath! And, I can wear a non-plus-size large! Have you any idea how excited I am? Oh! And, my towel wraps around my entire body, so I can run around scantily clad at the Y and not worry about things showing that shouldn't be showing! Oh! And one more thing... I can now cross my legs when I'm sitting. I am such a lady!  LOL Oh, the pure joy of it all! I'm tellin' ya! I should have done this a long time ago! People who have never been obese really have no idea how much effort it takes to do just simple day-to-day tasks, like tying shoe laces.

My weight loss seems to be slowing down these past couple of weeks. I think it might be because, while I still can only eat a small portion at a time, I've not been eating very healthily. I'll have to buckle down this week and just eat healthy things and more salads. I'm not eating much for vegetables. I need to work on that this week. But, I have belt loops, so all is right with the world!  LOL

Once again, I got lots of exercise this week! On Tuesday I went to water aerobics in the morning, and then had my group exercise in the afternoon, consisting of 20 minutes on a recumbent bike and 20 minutes on the treadmill, at 2.5 miles/hour and an incline of 5. On Wednesday, I went to water aerobics at the Y. On Thursday, I went to water aerobics again and then headed to the senior center for an hour of line dancing. On Friday I went to water aerobics. I think I'm beginning to like this.  And I have to thank my neighbor, Barbara, for keeping me going!  :)



This week, my 3-year-old grandson took my picture! I think he did a GREAT job! Thanks, Caiden! By the way, the boy LOVES those temporary tattoos! He's covered with them!

I decided to take my granddaughter to the 2nd Church today, as there was going to be a 9/11 remembrance ceremony involving the town's firefighters. I wasn't sure what I would be able to find to wear. While clothes that fit me are in the 18-20 range, I have no dresses smaller than 24. But dresses are wonderful things -- depending on the style, one can wear many sizes! Many of my size 24 dresses fall off me -- literally. But I found a sleeveless sheath with a matching short jacket -- made of rayon in a robin's egg blue. It looked really nice on me. It was very loose, but not so huge that it looked sloppy. And I found a pair of ivory sling-back pumps that I'd never worn -- actually forgot I even had them! (I'm NOT a hoarder! I'm NOT a hoarder! I'm NOT a hoarder!) I haven't worn any kind of heeled shoes in years! But, I did and I could actually walk like a lady in them! I added a pearl choker and, I must say, dahling… I looked mahvelous!  :)  My granddaughter had on a pair of black velour slacks with a very cute black and white top that tied in the back. She had black patent t-strap shoes and she wore nude panty hose! We were totally stylin'!  LOL  :) 

The ceremony was very nice -- short and sweet. The church has a gigantic flag that covers the entire front of the antique congregational church in the West village. It looked especially lovely today. The Fire Department members wore their Class A uniforms (dress coat and hats). They were all lined up outside the church while the minister spoke and prayed. After the minister finished her prayer, one of the firefighters read the Firemen's Prayer. Two of the firefighters walked across the street the lower the flag that hangs by the monument. It was a poignant community ceremony and I was proud to be there with my granddaughter and my fire chief husband.


When I am called to duty, God, whenever flames may rage;
Give me strength to save some life, whatever be its age.
Help me embrace a little child before it is too late,
Or save an older person from the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out.
I want to fill my calling and to give the best in me,
To guard my every neighbor and protect his property.
And if, according to my fate, I am to lose my life;
Please bless with your protecting hand my
children and my wife. . -- Author A.W. "Smokey" Linn

Well, that was my week. How was yours?  :)

Another week another pound... down 61 pounds

"By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer."

-   Helen Hunt Jackson, September, 1830-1885

I think, if I was just starting out as a new AOL member today, my new screen name would be AutumnLove. :)  Those AOL buddies of mine will understand. At least a million years ago (or so it seems), I discovered this nifty little pastime that I would take part in after I got home from work at 11pm. It took place in a chat room on AOL. The chat room was called the Game Parlor. I remember my very first venture into the Game Parlor. I was terrified that my next Amex bill would reflect thousands of dollars worth of time online. Back then, there was an hourly charge to be online. I kept asking everyone if there was an extra charge to play these word games. Everybody kept saying there wasn't, but I wasn't convinced until my Amex bill came and there was no extra charge posted, but I think my first online bill was over $100! Yikes! But I kept playing, because the games were fun, the players were fun and the game hosts were very welcoming. Each night, the same group of people, from all across the country, would show up to play the same games. Over time, we got to know each other quite well. The atmosphere was not unlike hanging out at your friendly neighborhood bar, with your favorite group of friends. After awhile, someone suggested that we all get together for a Game Parlor "Bash". And we did! We all gathered in New Orleans that first year. Then it was on to Las Vegas another time, Orlando another time and I even hosted a few friends here, at my house. What was really funny about meeting people at a bash was that nearly all of us only knew each other by our screen names, but we knew we couldn't go to the front desk at the hotel and ask them, "Hey, has Toonces checked in yet? How about ForTSumthin? Anyone seen LaMer?" LOL :D  Those first few bashes were a bit of a challenge, but we eventually learned everyone's real names. I still keep in touch with many of those friends I made online in the early 90s. Nearly all of them are on Facebook now!

So, when I opened my first online account, I had to come up with a screen name. I chose Judi Stickney… original, eh?  LOL  For whatever reason, that name was not available at that time, so I was given JudiS19187. How boring is that?? I discovered one could create multiple screen names on one account. So, after I ventured into the Game Parlor and found people with all kinds of fun screen names (one of my favorites was NewYorkJew… wonder where he is today), I decided that I, too, wanted a fun screen name. I love the Summer, but LovesSummer had one letter too many… the max was 10. So, I decided that SummerLove was perfect. Plus, I really like Neil Diamond's "Summer Love" song. So, SummerLove it was. And just like it is offline, friends gave me a nickname… I was "Summie".  :)  Some still call me that even today! LOL

But now that I'm getting older, I'm enjoying the autumn season more than the summer. The air seems cleaner, the sky is clearer, the days are warm and the nights are cool… perfect weather to do most anything!  And, so, were I to make an AOL screen name today, it would be AutumnLove.  :)

As my mother used to say, that is neither here nor there.  :)  This is week 13 post-surgery. I have lost a total of 61 pounds. Yes, it's only one pound more than last week, but I think I've eaten more this week than I have since before I had my surgery! We went out to a dinner dance on Friday night. The dinner consisted of cheese and crackers, with kielbasa for appetizers, three boiled lobsters, corn on the cob, salad, and mini cream puffs and mini cheesecakes for dessert. I ate two pieces of cheese, a couple of crackers, a couple of bites of kielbasa, about 1/4 of the salad, the entire ear of corn, and the claws and tail of one lobster. Later, I had a couple of the cream puffs and a mini cheesecake! I don't know how it all fit in that tiny little stomach of mine! But, it did and I didn't get sick! I danced more than I've danced in about 10 years! Slow dances, fast dances, medium dances. I was a dancing queen! And I had a blast!  :) I am definitely moving much better than I have in a long time!

I exercised a lot this week! Monday was line dancing, Tuesday was water aerobics and my group exercise at the hospital, Wednesday was more water aerobics, Thursday was line dancing and Friday, I went out dancing! Exercise every week day! Wow! Hopefully, I can keep up that pace this week as well! 

We took the family on a whale watch on Saturday. It was a challenge getting everyone up and ready to go by 7AM, but we made it there on time! And we saw whales! Not a lot of whales, but about five of them. The kids were all excited. This was their first whale watch and they loved it! The little ones were so well-behaved! Everyone was very well-behaved… even the older girls who almost always manage to get into trouble together! But they didn't. They were good girls.  Four hours on a boat and nobody went overboard! Amazing! But, after about two hours on the boat, my little grandson was ready to go home… "Daddy, I want to go home now." But, he got over that when another whale popped up.  Here are my handsome sons.

Today, I had them over for a cookout, which gave me yet another chance to cook up a storm! I made two pans of stuffed shells, a Greek pasta salad, a tossed salad, potato salad, marinated steak tips, hotdogs, fruit salad, and a ricotta pie with apricots! If you happened to have seen the link I put up on Facebook this week, it was THAT pie that I made and it was delicious!  My brother brought over some marinated chicken, so we cooked those up, too. We had a great time!

Well, that was my week. How was yours?  :)

60 Pounds in Three Months!

Well, here it is… the 28th of August. Irene came for a visit, in Tropical Storm form. Here's a photo of the devastation in my yard. Not sure what Glory's sticking her nose into!  :) 

It occurred to me, as I write this, that it's been three months since I started the liquid diet, two weeks before my gastric bypass surgery. In those three months, I have lost 60 pounds! That's 20 pounds each month! Today, I weighed in at 188. I am halfway to my original goal of 125. Amazing… simply amazing.

I apologize for not posting an update last week. I forgot and I was sick. I had another stomach bug and came down with an ear infection in each ear. Thank goodness I only have two ears! But, the illness put a damper on getting much exercise last week and I missed Tuesday's group two weeks in a row. :(  Illness is gone now and I'm feeling GREAT and I hope to catch up on my exercise and get back on track again this week.

So, anyway, I waited too long to get treated for my ears. I called my doctor's office, during office hours, but got voice mail and I didn't leave a message. Instead, I thought I'd run down to CVS's Minute Clinic to see what the nurse practitioner would do for me. I've only started getting ear infections in the past three to four years. Never had one before that, but now I get them once or twice a year. It's quite annoying, but I do know what I need to fix them. Even by the time I got to CVS, my left ear canal was so swollen that she couldn't get that ear instrument in it. She confirmed that, yes, I did, indeed, have an ear infection and the Minute Clinic's protocol says I need ear drops. I explained to her that I would not be able to get the ear drops IN to the ear and that I needed antibiotics to get the swelling down, from the inside out. But, no. She was only able to prescribe ear drops and I would need to follow-up with my doctor for antibiotics. Basically, a waste of my time and money. I was feeling pretty miserable and, by the time I was through with the nurse practitioner and ready to fill my prescription, there were 7 people in line at the pharmacy for their prescriptions. I never even filled the ear drops prescription. I won't go there again for an ear infection. So, by the time I got to my doctor, two days later, my right ear was also swollen up tighter than a drum. And my doctor, God love her, prescribed antibiotics, ear drops AND prednisone to help the swelling go down. Now, you KNOW I have a real issue with most prescription medications, but I really do appreciate those miraculous prescriptions that almost instantly fix simple ailments. And I do not have an issue with temporary medications. It's those drugs that are advertised nonstop on TV and in magazines that drive me crazy. It's all those drugs that appear to be just the thing to cure imaginary ailments or ailments that many physicians imagine you have that drive me crazy. But, again, I digress. Please read my first few blogs to get an idea on how I really feel about modern medicine.  :)

So, now that I'm feeling quite well, every day that goes by, I am feeling more and more energetic. Whether I'm exercising or not, I know I am definitely moving more than I have in a very long time! I don't like to sit for very long periods of time any longer. Even at the computer, where I used to love to sit for hours either working on a project or playing games. Except for using the bathroom, I could sit for hours on end and never move a muscle, except for my finger muscles, as they typed, or moved the mouse around. Not anymore. I get restless, even playing games… even watching TV. I get up during commercials and find something to do… dust, pick up trash, put something away. I just don't like to sit idle for long periods anymore. And I get up and do things that I would never have done just a short three months ago. I climb on furniture to get to things. I walk out to my car to get something. I go up and down my stairs more than once a day. Time was when I'd bring everything I would need for the day downstairs with me when I got up, so I wouldn't need to go back up there until it was time to go to bed. Now, I'm up there three to four times a day for one thing or another and I don't need to worry about making sure I have everything when I get up in the morning. When I was 60 pounds heavier, it really was such an effort to even move and I remember getting so down and frustrated and mumbling that to myself so many times… "It is such a freakin' effort to move!" Not anymore!!   :)

In fact, on Friday, I, Judith A. Stickney, went to Water Country! I would never have gone to Water Country 60 pounds ago!  Too much effort. Too far to walk from the car to the park.  Too much walking around the park itself! I would never have gone, but go, I did! And we had a ball! I met my Scotty and Kirsten and their two girls there and I had Cailey with me. The weather was absolutely perfect and we stayed until the place closed! So, I didn't get the gumption to go down any of the slides, but I did go into the wave pool with my youngest granddaughter, Taylor. I was content to watch over everyone's belongings and do a lot of people watching. The wave pool was just my speed and not far from the picnic table we put claims on. I ventured out, from time to time, just to see where the kids were and what they were doing… and to get up and move some! That was for the first half of the day. The second half of the day, we ventured over to the other side of the park, where there are two great areas for smaller children, but the older girls loved it just as much. There was nowhere to sit there, so, I did get a lot of walking around for an hour or so, just walking back and forth, trying to keep up with where the kids were. Then a few chairs opened up, so I plopped down for awhile. Overall, a great time was had by all!  Here are the kids on one of the kiddie slides. 

So, what do you do when there's a storm comin'? I cook. You know… just in case I won't be able to cook or get to a store for more than 8 hours. So, I made about 60 gwumpkies (golabkis), those Polish stuffed cabbage rolls. I made ground turkey ones and regular beef and pork ones. And I made a pan full of manicotti. Now that the storm is winding down, I'm thinking dessert. Maybe a peach crisp. I can make that without too much added sugar and may be even able to eat some of it, sans the required vanilla ice cream!  :)  I must look for a recipe!

Well, that was my week! How was your week? Talk again in a week.    :)  

Here I am with Caiden, bracing against Irene's wind!

I am ONE-derful! :)

I am delighted to report that I AM ONE-DERFUL!  I now weigh 197 pounds… forever out of the 200s! Yay!  I've lost 51 pounds since May 23. This is just unbelievable! If anyone reading this has even had just a fleeting thought of having bariatric surgery, all I can say is… DO IT! DO IT!  I wish I'd done it a long time ago! Read up on it! Go to an informational meeting. Salem Hospital has informational meetings all the time. Go to them! I was so afraid of having this surgery… terrified, really, but after attending the informational meeting and the monthly support group meetings… and after completing all the prerequisite evaluations and tests, I was more than ready to have the surgery. So far, it's working. I have every reason to believe it will continue to work, as long as I can follow instructions and manage to … oh… here's that dreaded word… EXERCISE!

But… here's more good news! I have exercised four days this past week! FOUR days! That's like a record for me! I tried the belly dancing (oh… quit yer laughin!) on Exercise TV. It's actually fun! I actually ENJOY it! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh… don't tell Joanne that… I'll deny it! She's the personal trainer at group therapy on Tuesdays.  So, two mornings this week I did the belly dancing routines. There are three of them. One day I did all three. This morning, I just did one… so far. One day I went walking and then there was the group therapy exercise class. Four days of exercise. I can hardly stand it! So, I'm hoping this is the start of getting it all together! I just need to keep that up. It's much easier to get through if I can get it done first thing in the morning… well, after Kerry's gone. LOL  And I think my neighbor and I are going to start water aerobics Monday. If it works out, we'll go Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. So, there's three days right there! And I'd still like to take a look at the line dancing. I found a class right in town, at the Senior Center. They told me I could go as a "senior in training."  LOL  :)  Some of those seniors will probably outpace me in the dance class! Their classes are Mondays and Thursdays. I think I'd enjoy that, too!

I'm still working on getting enough protein and water in. I don't think I'll ever get enough water in. I used to drink MUCH more water before I had the surgery, but, since the surgery, I can only sip a little at a time and I just am not sipping enough in the course of a day. If I sip too much or too fast, it's not comfortable and feels like it's going to come back up… it did once. 64 ounces is the recommended minimum, and, when it's hot and humid out, they want us to drink even more. I don't know how people fit it in, but I continue to try.

Protein is another story. I've sort of given up on getting enough protein, which means, I may be losing some of my hair. Well, I know I am losing hair, but it isn't noticeable yet, unless you look at the bath tub or my hair brush. Yikes! Well, I've always liked hats. Even when I fill in the day's menu with Greek yogurt (it has more protein than regular yogurt), I still don't get the recommended 60-70 grams a day. I just can't eat that much. I can't eat beef. Beef makes me uncomfortable. I can't eat pork… same result. I don’t really like eggs. I can eat chicken and seafood, and that's what I've been existing on. I did discover that I really like turkey burgers and they really like me! I had one last night at a cookout we went to. I brought them and I had one and Kerry had two. We both thought they tasted just like beef burgers! I had mine on grilled Texas toast (to cut down on the carbs, I sliced one slice into two, before grilling -- thinner bread) with provolone cheese. So, okay… I probably added too much fat with the provolone cheese, but, I must say, it was DELICIOUS!  And, once again, I can feel normal at a function!  Yay!  :)  I have some veggie burgers in the freezer that I haven't tried yet, but, that may be another option at a future cookout.

I was with "my girls" last night… my best buds… the girls I go to Florida with each fall. They are a crazy bunch and I love them to death! We got to talking about Sanibel this year and, it saddens me, because I may not be able to go with them this year. ::sniffle::  :(   I may have to go on a cruise, instead. So sad. Here's the deal. In March I got an e-mail from Norwegian Cruise Line inviting me on a free cruise to enter their qualifying slot tournament. I looked at the e-mail and said, "yah, right… what's the catch?" So, I got out my NCL casino card and called the casino marketing number on the card, rather than the one on the e-mail. Yah.. that's right. I do have a casino preferred player card for NCL cruises. LOL  Kerry and I like the slots and, apparently, NCL knows that. And, yes, the e-mail was for real. They are inviting me and a guest to a free Caribbean cruise, to qualify in their slot tournament. I could choose from four dates, one the end of March, one the beginning of April, another at the end of July and the last one in October. Well, by the time I got the e-mail, the March cruise would be coming up in a week or so. That one was out. Kerry and I were going on a cruise the second week in April, so the April one was out. We were going to Maine the last week of July, so that one was out. The only one I could go on was October 22. So, I booked it. Now, if I qualify for the final tournament, I'll have to go on another cruise that leaves November 13. The girls are going to Sanibel on November 12.  :(  While no one, including me, wants me to lose the qualifying round, we all want me to go to Florida! So, we'll see what happens.  :)  In any case, I get the free cruise and, by using frequent flyer miles, I have free first class flights to get there as well!  ;)  And I DO so love cruising! But, I'll miss my girls!

Well, that's about it for this week! I am now officially ONE-derful! How are you?  ;)  Talk atcha next week!

Two More Down..... 75 to go! :)

Another week and another two pounds! One more pound to the ONE-derful Club!  Today, I weighed in at 200 pounds! Woohooo! I've now lost 48 pounds since May 23, the day I started the liquid diet, two weeks before the surgery.  And, I feel GREAT!  My standard comment this week has been… "I should have done it a long time ago!"   :)

Exercise… it's still a dirty word. I just can't get myself motivated to exercise on my own. I bought weights. I bought exercise bands. I borrowed yoga books from the library. I haven't opened the weights. While I did take the exercise bands out of the box, they have yet to be opened… really. The yoga books were returned… unopened. What's worse… I can't be trusted to get any exercise when left to my own resources. I have a neighbor who goes to water walking class with me. She couldn't go last week, so, neither did I. It makes me very disappointed in myself when I do that. Other than my support group day, I got virtually no exercise this past week. That's just not good. It's been my worst week yet for exercise. I didn't even reach my goal of getting to the Y to work out twice this week. Hell! I didn't get there even once this week! The only thing I did do was half an exercise class on TV. It was hip hop dancing and it was too fast for me… and there was jumping involved. I'm still too heavy to jump. Go ahead… I know you want to ask… What in hell were you thinking? HIP HOP??? Well, I thought it might be easier than belly dancing. Although, God knows, I have the belly for it!  :)  And, those were my two choices, as far as I could see. I'd like to do some line dancing. Maybe I'll look for that somewhere. I used to love line dancing, when I used to dance. Maybe… just MAYbe I can find something I like to do and just do it!

So, I'm at Stop & Shop yesterday, shopping for ingredients to make ground chicken stuffed peppers. They were having special gas points if I bought certain products, so I did. I bought the baby back ribs, the bag of frozen shrimp, and a family pack of chicken drumsticks, in addition to my stuffed peppers ingredients, when who should I bump into, but the therapist who directs our exercise at support group. I wanted to jump into the shopping cart to cover the ribs and drumsticks! God knows, I won't be eating them, but I didn't want her to think I would be eating those! Good Lord! I can't eat more than a bite or two of ribs and I might be able to eat half a drumstick. If she saw them, she didn't comment, but I don't even think she looked into my shopping cart. Thank God for her, really… else I wouldn't have gotten any exercise last week at all. She pushes us to do more than we've ever done before. While I absolutely hate it at the time, it makes me feel good when I'm done. I feel like I've accomplished something… something more than I've ever done before. She's very good at what she does. But I was relieved when we parted ways at the supermarket. "Yup! See ya next week! Bye-bye!"  :)

Two of my grandchildren were here this weekend. My grandson is my youngest grandchild. He'll be four in October. He can be the sweetest little thing and a minute later have you pulling your hair out. This morning, he decided to be sweet. I was up around 6:30 this morning. I was at the computer, wasting time until I could eat breakfast (1/2 hour after thyroid meds), when I heard him making his way upstairs. He's almost always awake before his sister and the both of them are almost always awake before their father. So, up they come to visit with Granny until Dad gets up. My grandson was still half asleep when he came up and crawled up on my lap to gaze out the window at the "pretty slowers" (flowers) hanging outside. I'd just bought the hanging petunia at Ingalsby Farm on Friday for $10!! What a deal! So, he hadn't seen it before now. He was just mesmerized with it. It's white petunias with deep purple veins and very full. He wanted to go outside to pick a few for Granny, but noticed that it was raining, so Granny sang him the "Rain, Rain Go Away" song… "Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day. Rain, rain, go away. Little Caiden wants to play." The boy loves flowers and he loves it when Granny sings. Finally SOMEone who appreciates good music!  :)  He wanted me to sing it again, using his sister's name, instead of his. Naturally, I obliged. He decided he was tired and soon went back downstairs and back to bed for awhile. But, I cherished that time with him. It was a sweet rainy morning.  :)  And, just to give her equal time, here's my youngest granddaughter. Beautiful teeth, eh?  LOL 

That's it for my week! How was yours?  Talk to you again next week!  :)