Committing while drinking can be dangerous

I had a very nice weekend, which I really needed after the emotional week that followed my disappointing fill on Tuesday.  Friday Dave and I went to dinner with my brother, sister-in-law and a few other mutual friends.   Dave and I arrived at the restaurant an hour early because we were expecting traffic to be worse than it was, so we had a few drinks at the bar.  Then everybody else showed up and we had a few more drinks before dinner, so I was pretty loopy by the time we hit the table.  I didn't eat much because I was kind of full from the drinks and I didn't want to chance a pb episode.  We were having such a good time talking and goofing off that after dinner we went back the bar and had some more drinks hung out some more.  (I love nights like that - good conversation, good drinks and good food).  My brother and I were talking and he asked how the band was going.  I told him that I was a little disappointed with my weight loss and really needed to kick in the exercise.  He started talking about how he wanted to run a 5K in March and would I be interested in doing it with him and my drunken ass said "Sure!"  (hence, title of my post)  I used to enjoy running - um like 80 lbs ago - but now it's a lot harder.  However, I'm not going to back out.  It gives me a goal and eventhough my brother and I live about 45 minutes away from each other, we plan on getting together to train together a few times.  I'm also going to the gym tomorrow to talk to one of the trainers to see if she can help me get ready for it.  I know it's only 3.1 miles, but I'd like to run/walk it with a decent time.  I heard on Biggest Loser that only 1% of the poulation has ever run a full marathon.  That kind of intrigued me.  So, maybe I'll get back to enjoying running and decide to work towards a full marathon someday.  At the very least, I'm hoping to get the scale moving again.

Saturday Amy, my 15 year old daughter, and I did some Christmas clothes shopping for her.  The mall wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and we ended up getting a few things that she wanted and having a great time.  I am so lucky to have 2 girls who I enjoy spending time with and who get along with each other.  I can see people cringe when I tell them I have a tween and teen daughter, but (knocking on wood) they are wonderful.  I know there is time for the shit to hit the fan, but all I can do is enjoy the time with them now and not worry about the monsters they are supposed to turn in to. 

Saturday night was my 11 year old's (soon to be 12 on 12/22) birthday slumber party.  She had 5 girls and they seemed like they had a great time.  We have a finished basement and they went down there to play Rock Band and Karoke.  Dave, Amy (15 yr old) and I watched (again) "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers" in preparation for "Little Fockers" which comes out on 12/22.   It's sometimes painful to watch Ben Stiller's character screw up everything he touches, but Robert DeNiro is so freaking hilarious as the ex-CIA father-in-law. 

I love this pic of Meg and a few of her slumber party buddies.  Meg is wearing key west shirt.  Megley is the nickname her friends gaver her.  I assume it's because her middle name is "Lee" 

Sunday we went over a friend's house to watch the Baltimore Raven's win against the Saints and then it got even better when the Steelers lost their game.  Nice ending to the weekend.  Only downside was I ate like my band didn't exist (eventhough on Saturday at lunch with my daughter I got stuck after a few bites.  Bands are definitely strange things).  I'm feeling kind of sick now, but not in a stuck way, but in the "I ate too much crap way."  I haven't felt like this since I got banded and I don't like it.   

Hope you all have a wonderful week and are ready for the holiday.  Looks like we have a little snow heading our way so I'll leave you with some snow humor. 

P.S.

I finally got around to watching Biggest Loser finale that I had on dvr.  No big shocker with who won, but did anybody notice that all of the contestants had the fake tan look?

Holiday Office Humor

Thanks for all your supportive comments.  I feel much better today and am not going to let this little blip derail me.  Hope my cartoon gives you a little laugh because I know I have been very witty lately. 

So this time I'll end with the whining

I appreciate all your comments the other day about my slow weight loss and how I just don't feel that I'm where I should be restriction wise.  I think part of my problem is that I got a taste - excuse the pun - of restriction for a brief period of time and haven't been back there in a long while.  So, I know what I'm supposed to feel and I wasn't eating any differently or doing anything differently or tracking or exercising - I was living my life and losing weight easily.  It was slow, but it was steady and it was what I expected from the band.  But I loosened up and even with a few fills since, I haven't felt that constant restriction.  So I went to the surgeon's office today and have more whining to do.  But I promised that I wouldn't lead with that so I'm going to post some Christmas pictures first so if you want to skip the last part of my post, I'll understand.  I think it's mostly for me to get all my feelings down on paper for myself so I can hopefully move past it.  Because right now I just feel like crying some more, but my daughters are sitting next to me so that would be really awkward. 

This is the white artificial tree we have in our entranceway.  Unfortunately the photo really doesn't show how pretty it is.  The first year we got this we put it in the basement and made it our Disney tree.  Yes, we have enough disney ornaments to cover the entire tree with a Minnie topper.  However, we now decorate in red and gold and put it upstairs.  It fits in perfectly right by our staircase and the garland/lit banister is a nice accent.  (If I do say so myself.  :)

This is our main tree which is real and sits in our family room.  Again, the photo doesn't do it justice, but we put white lights with a ton of multi-colored.  Somehow we ended up picking a smaller tree than usual, but it has nice proportions.  (maybe I subconsciously looked for a tree to represent my wish for a new body?  Hmmmmm...)

This is the angel that I found the first Christmas after my mom passed away.  Here is the link to the post I did about how my mom helped me find it to show she was still looking out for me. 

This is the outside of our house.  Again, the photo kind of sucks.  We have red and white lights on the bushes and around the door (which twinkle) and lighted wreaths in the window.  Usually we have a lighted snowman, deer and santa on our lawn, but the winter wind has been whipping around so much that they just would have toppled over. 

Okay so here is the part where I vent - again.  I had my appointment with my surgeon today and explained what was going on (can eat more than a cup and am hungry sooner than 3 to 4 hours and haven't lost weight) so he put in 1 full cc and had me drink water while he had the needle in.  I took a drink of the water, but it didn't go down.  So he kept taking fluid out until the water went down, which turns out wasn't until .2 less than what I had going in.  WTF!  So then he goes on to tell me that he thinks I'm too tight and that I'm chewing food too much ,which is why I'm not getting that full feeling.  I'm sorry, but that's freaking bullshit!  I am not chewing my food too much.  Now I have .2 less than I had going in and am extremely frustrated.  Maybe the fact that I'm sitting there with a needle in me and already have water sitting from the full cc he put in at first contributes to the water not going down right away.  I'm assuming it takes a bit of time for the band to retract back?  Anyway, right now I feel like just freaking eating everything in sight, gaining weight and going back next month to my surgeon to show him that it was insane to take fluid out.

Okay, okay - don't yell at me.  I know that would be extremely stupid.  I'm talking out my ass cause I'm pissed.  I have another appointment next month and he said if I haven't lost weight he'll do an upper GI to see if there is a slip with the band (which again doesn't make sense to me).  I'm going to ask him if he thinks it's possible that I'm tighter when he's putting the fluid in than after and maybe he should just give me a fill without worrying about the water going down perfectly (he says the water should go down as normal) and see what happens. 

Sigh...I'm just disappointed because I was so hopeful that a fill was what I needed to get me over this hump and now I don't have that to lean on this month.  Then I have no idea what is going to happen next month.  If I kick in the willpower and lose weight without band assistance, will he refuse to do a fill next month?  It's just all a big mess in my mind right now.  I know ultimately the goal is to lose weight no matter what, but if I could lose weight on willpower alone, I wouldn't have had the surgery. 

Fear of Progress Pictures

So my 6 month bandiversary is coming up on January 9th and I'm scared.  I've only lost 34 lbs and the idea of doing "progress" pictures is not that exciting.  I hate to sound bitter.  Really I do.  It's just that when I thought about 6 months out I was hoping to be down more like 50 lbs or so.   I still have some time, but I've been on a plateau for a month, so between that and the usual holiday festivities, I'm not extremely hopeful that I'll have great weight loss over the next few weeks.   Don't get me wrong, I am still glad I got the band.  I've gone down at least one size, maybe even 2.  However, it does get a little frustrating when I read about people who were banded after me and have lost a lot more.   I don't mind slow and steady, but slow and STOPPED sucks big time.  If someone told me that I'm going to lose another 34 lbs in the next 5 months, I'd feel a lot better, but I'm just scared that this is it.  I've lost 34 lbs and in order to lose any more I'm going to have to diet again - which we all know how well that works.  NOT!   Again, I know that I'm not being perfect, but I didn't think I'd have to be perfect at this stage of the game with so much left to lose. 

I have an appointment with my surgeon on Tuesday and I'm going to talk to him about what's going on to see if he thinks I should get another fill.  I've read time and time again that if you have to ask whether you need a fill, you probably don't need one, but I have a few signs of needing one.  One is not losing weight.  Two is not staying full 3 to 4 hours on a cup of food.  Three is I can eat more than 1 cup of food without feeling full.  However, I have had a couple PB episodes, but mostly first thing in the morning.  I definitely can't eat as much food as before the band.  

Sorry for the pity party.  I'm hoping the magic of blogging will work for me.  I've seen others who post about plateaus and within days the plateau is broken.  It would indeed be a Christmas miracle if I could lose a few pounds. 

In apology for my whiny post, here are a few more fun pictures from the cruise.

Here are the girls and I at Key West. 

I love having a balcony room.  So does Dave. 

Dave and girls bonding in the pool.

Meg wanted nothing for dessert and nothing is what she got.  Our waiter was interesting.  He was from Turkey and had a very dry sense of humor.  We didn't laugh at everything, but this was funny. 

Girls chilling in the jacuzzi. 

Dave playing volleyball.  He's the guy with the black hair in the back.  His team won against the ship officers.

Here we are on Thanksgiving, which was the second formal night.  Earlier that day we were hanging out by the pool enjoying the 80 degree weather.  What a great day!

We spent too much money on Bingo, but at least we won $75.  It would have been more, but of course the time we finally get to yell "Bingo" so do 2 other people.  Oh well.  At least we had fun. 

The shows were great.  They had variety shows, magic, comedian and a Temptations tribute group. 

Here we are at dinner on the last night with our head waiter. 

Here we are when we have to get off the ship.  They had to carry us off kicking and screaming. 

Heart Rate Watch

Do any of you use a heart rate watch?  I used to have a heart rate monitor, but didn't like having the strap around my chest, so I never used it.  I'm skeptical about how well a heart rate watch can work, so was wondering if you all have any input.  I was thinking about getting one for Christmas. 

As always, your help is very much appreciated. 

I survived

I took my first Zumba class tonight and lived to tell about it.  I've got that good sore feeling and am so happy that I finally got my ass to the gym.  I will definitely go back and also have my eye on a body combat class.  

Come Sail Away With Me

I'm back from my wonderful 9-day cruise to Port Canaveral, Key West, Nassau and Coco Cay.  I really wish you all could have gone with me.  It was so much fun and so relaxing.  I ate and drank what I wanted and only gained 1.8 lbs.  I was very happy with that.  I'm sure preband it would have been a 5 to 8 lb gain - at least.  

The trip was awesome from beginning to end.  It was such a great experience leaving out of Baltimore versus having to fly to get to the ship. We could pack what we wanted - didn't have to worry about luggage weight - didn't have to worry about getting up at the crack of dawn to catch a flight - didn't have to worry about being crammed in seats and then getting to ship -hoping luggage wasn't lost along the way.  The day we left we got up at 8 am, had breakfast, dropped off our luggage, parked, went through security and were on the ship (enjoying a drink of course) by 1 pm. NICE! Great start to the vacation.  Here is a picture of the girls and I having our first drink on the ship.  Please note how healthy my mai tai looks - it came with fruit and everything.  (he he)

I'm glad that the concerns I had about taking a cruise out of Baltimore were unfounded.  I was a little nervous thinking that the smaller ship wouldn't be as fun, but we had a blast. In some ways, it was nice not having to walk miles to get from one end of the ship to another. (However, don't get me wrong. We still want to do Oasis or Allure - the new Royal Caribbean mega-ships.  Check them out when you get a chance. http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/video.php?ship=allure).  I was also nervous 9 days would be too much time on a cruise, but NOT!  It was so relaxing not having to worry about checking work emails and Dave's phone going off every hour.   I was a little nervous that the 4 of us in a room for 9 days would be a recipe for disaster, but not at all.  We had enough room for all our clothes and the suitcases went under the bed.  There were 2 queen beds so sleeping was comfortable.  Probably the most crowded time was getting ready for dinner, but we worked out a system for that.  The girls would get ready first and then go save us seats for the show, while Dave and I got ready.  There was minimal bickering and we only tripped over each other a few times. 

Here are a few pictures of the trip.  Unfortunately, they are not the best.  We got a new camera before we left and I don't think we quite figured out how to use it.  Some of the coloring in the pictures are off.  Luckily we had quite a few good professional pictures done.  Hopefully I can figure how to scan and post. 

Here is a stock picture of the ship.  We went on Royal Carribbean's Enchantment of the Seas

Here is the atrium of the ship. 

I was just as excited as my daughters to see what towel animals were waiting for us each night.



I became very attached.

Our 3rd port was Nassau and we did Atlantis.  I don't do the water slides, but Dave and the girls did.  For those of you who watch Amazing Race, they featured the "Leap of Faith" slide last year and one of the contestants would do it.  Well my 14 and 11 year old did it - as well as hubby.  Unfortunately, it was hard to take a picture of them doing it.  Below is a small part of Atlantis.  It is HUGE and very spread out.  We were only there for 5 hours so could only see a small part of it. 

Here is a shot of one of the pools at Atlantis. 

Here is a shot of my girls underwater.  I love this picture. 

This is what I did at Atlantis. 

Atlantis has an awesome aquarium.  You walk through a cave and each room has different types of sea life.  Here is a picture of the eels.  I'm not going to lie.  They kind of freaked me out.

Here are girls on 1st formal night.

Here are Dave and I on the first formal night.  I have a quick story that I wanted to post about before I left, but didn't get a chance.  I just have to tell you about my wonderful BOOB friends here in Maryland. I mentioned in my last post that I was a little down that I didn't have any great dresses to wear on the cruise. (I know, my life is tough). Well, before I knew it, I had an email from my friend Read who said she had some dresses that I could try. She lives 10 minutes from Linda who works 10 minutes from me.  I had the dresses in hand in no time and I'm wearing one of them in this picture.  And to top it off, I had MLM leave me a comment that if only I had mentioned it sooner, she had a dress that she could have sent me. Geez, if only she lived in Maryland.

I don't want to inundate you with pictures, so I'll post some more in my next post.  I don't think there is any way I'll be able to catch up on all the posts I missed.  Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

Cruise, gym friend and goal setting

I'm leaving Thursday for a 9-day cruise and am excited, but nervous.  Not about the cruising part - I've been on 5 cruises prior to this and love it.  But a big part of what I love is the eating and the drinking (alcohol - that is).  I know there are lots of of other things to do and will be taking some workout clothes to hit the gym.   Will be an interesting experience crusing with the band - hope I still like it as much and don't gain too much. 

I am a little bummed that I don't have some awesome dresses to wear for formal nights, but it makes no sense to put out the money.  I have 2 beautiful gowns that I wore 2 cruises ago, but I was about 40 lbs thinner and can't get into them this go around.  I have a black dress that Linda gave me a few months ago, so I plan to dress that up with jewelry.  I also have a sparkly top and black flowy pants that I will wear on the other night.  Please know that I realize how ridiculous I sound whining about what to wear on my cruise - my life is tough - but hopefully you ladies understand where I'm coming from.  Sometimes - especially times like this - you just wish you were at goal instead of still needing to lose weight - or were at least further along in your journey. 

We are going on another cruise January 2012 and be assured I WILL be buying some sexy cocktail dresses for that trip.   This cruise has been in the works for a while.  My brother and wife are taking their daughter who will be turning 21 in November 2011.  In addition, they both will be turning 40 in 2011.  They invited us and a bunch of other friends and family to help them celebrate.  It works out well for us because my daughters will be turning 13 and 16 in late 2011, so we will have our own milestones to celebrate.  I will keep you all informed of the details in case you'd like to go too.  More the merrier.  I know we are going on the Carnival Liberty and it will be mid January 2012 so you have over a year if you are interested.   I think we are leaving out of Miami, but will have definite details in a few months.

I'm in a pretty good spot on the band front, eventhough I'm not losing a lot.  It's not that I'm eating too much - it's that I'm not making sure I get my protein, water and exercise in.  However, for those of you in the Holiday Challenge, don't write me off.  While I may not lose on the cruise, I am excited to say that I've found myself a workout friend to go to the gym with when I get back from my trip.  I have a gym membership, but feel funny going to the classes not knowing anybody.  I went on the facebook page for my gym and found a woman named Michelle who is also looking for a workout partner.  I friended her and asked her if she is interested in meeting when I get back and she is.  After she made me a friend, I went to her wall and saw that her father passed away a few weeks ago.  Maybe it's just me hoping that my mom is still watching out for me, but I swear she is the one who gave me the push to check the facebook change because she knew - in addition to me wanting a gym buddy - Michelle could probably use someone to talk to.  I know what it is like to lose a parent and until you have, it's very difficult to understand all of the emotions.  I gained 60 lbs when my mom passed away so am hoping that in addition to Michelle helping me, I can help her work her grief out in the gym.  She gave me a tip on a good trainer at the gym and plan on signing up for personal training when I get back . 

So, things are going really well.  I'm sorry I'm not posting as much, but it's not because I'm depressed.  I'm trying to keep up on all of your blogs and making comments and sometimes it just feels like that is more important than posting on my own blog.  Do any of you feel like that? 

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Lady Lap Band Has a Giveaway

Lady Lap Band is having a giveaway.  Stop by and enter to win. 

A weekend of fun, a Ravens win and dinner with 2 BOOBS.

Sorry I seem to keep dropping off the face of the earth.   Everything is fine.  Better than fine, actually.  Last weekend was great.  I had a weekend alone with hubby and it was FABULOUS.   Friday night we went to a romantic dinner in Lancaster, PA at The Old Greenfield Inn, a farmhouse from 1790 that was renovated into a restaurant.  They have a wine cellar with only 2 tables on opposite sides, so it's very secluded and romantic.  We meant to get the waitress to take a picture of us, but after my 2 dirty martinis it slipped my mind.  Shocker.  However, my hubby did take one of me. 

Here is all the wine right by our table.  Took a lot of willpower not to reach out and grab a bottle, but I assume they must have a monitor watching you.  The food was very good too.   I had tomato basil soup to start and 2 of my 4 scallops for the entree.  Yummy!  Hubby had filet mignon with the other 2 scallops from my plate.  One of the best things about the band is being able to enjoy a nice dinner and not feel stuffed after.

We spent the night at a nice hotel and had lots of sex got a good night's sleep.    Saturday we spent most of the day shopping at the outlets for US.  The reason I say US in caps is because we haven't gone clothes shopping for US in a long time.  Usually it's all about finding this dress for my one daughter or a pair of shoes for the other.  I got a few new things, but, of course, I didn't want to spend too much money because I still have a long ways to go with losing weight.    I found that even being a few sizes smaller totally changed my shopping experience.  Of course it was more fun, but I was more critical of how the clothes looked.  Before, I was just happy if it fit.  Now it has to fit AND look good.  What a concept!   I also had a hard time knowing what looked good on me.  I'm used to wearing fairly loose clothes and my husband was liking the more form fitting things on me.   I'll try to get the courage to take some pictures of me in what I bought.  While we are on the topic of clothes, Band Groupie did a post today about the history of her clothes.   You should definitely check it out if you haven't already.

After shopping, we went to Hollywood Casino for a little dinner and gambling.   Unfortunately, the minimums at the tables were a little rich for our blood so I let Dave play while I watched.   He sat at the "Let it Ride" table for about 2 hours and lost $400.  Yikes!  I guess the game was more like "Let's Bend Over".  After being screwed in the casino, we decided to go back to our room and - well, the same thing that happened in the casino, but it felt a lot better.  We came back Sunday, picked up the kids and went to a football party at my brother's house.  The weekend was topped off with a Ravens win.  So sweet!

Then on Monday night I got to meet Linda of Linda's Bandwith and Read of My Trek Downward.  Unfortunately, Banded Mommy of This Banded Mommy's Journey had some child care issues and couldn't make it.  Hopefully she can make it next time.

Here's a picture of us all.  Notice all the takeout bags.  Part of it was leftovers and part of it was dinners for our hubbys. 

Next week this time we'll be packed and ready to go on our cruise.  I'm so excited! 

Hope you all are doing well in the Holiday Challenge.  I'm hoping to get down to 40 lbs down by the time it's over, which is 6 more pounds. 

I know I shouldn't ask, but I'm going to anyway

I know I've been a crappy blogger lately and I don't have the right to ask, but we have a newbie in our midst, AshleyB, LipstickedCigarrettes, and she is getting her surgery on Friday.  I'm her first follower so if you have a chance stop by and wish her some good luck. 

Thanks!