Smoothie Bust! and Fruit Fly Dilemma!

Well, my recovery is still going well. I have lost about 20lbs. so far. I will have an official number tomorrow. This is when I will have my surgery follow-up appt with my doc. It hasn't been so bad. I am not hungry ever. But this is what I really, really miss. I miss the taste & texture of food. I want to eat everything but if I tried I know I wouldn't be able to.

Today I got to move on to full liquids, not just clear liquids. It was a nice change but my first attempt at a smoothie was a bust! It tasted good until the protein powder after taste kicked in. Then it was blech! And I made myself feel too full tonight. After trying to drink the nasty smoothie and giving it up I ate a yogurt instead. I ate too much of the smoothie I guess to enjoy the yogurt.

Oh well! Another day tomorrow right?

We had friends over tonight joining us for dinner. It was nice! The Harmon's and Jan Windish. The kids played and played, the adults talked and talked. Matt grilled burgers outside and it was a beautiful spring evening. (Despite the millions of fruit flies that have taken over my home! Anyone know how to get rid of them???)

Big Happenings!

I don't think anyone really reads my blogs anymore. I mean.... I was such an awful blogger to start with so why would you keep trying to read my updates? :) Anyway... since I need a place to spew I think I am going to share some of the big things going on in my life right now.

#1 - Matt is home for a 3 week vacation! Yippee! Life has been so fun! I really miss him terribly when he is away and to have him home for a short while is wonderful. When he got off the plane Samantha ran up the security corridor and yelled "Daddy!" The man walking in front of Matt saw it all and as he walked past me he said, "That is the best way to come home!" I agree.
Olivia has been eating up the time she spends with him. And Matt has been very attentive to her and Samantha both. He is spending a lot of time just being a Dad. This makes me so happy because I know it makes my children and my husband happy.

#2 - On March 3rd I had gastric bypass surgery. HUGE decision I know. But one, with support of my family, I made. I'm not going to post how much I weighed when starting... but I will say that since the start of my one week pre-op diet (starting 2/24/11) I have now lost about 17.5 lbs. Startling! But also expected. Since the actual surgery I have lost 5.5 lbs. I am recovering well I think. Today I went out for the first time with Matt for a few errands. When I returned home I was very sore and tired. But glad to get out after four days of being in bed most of the time. Although I did spend a chunk of time resting today too!
Now my greatest challenge is learning how to reform the behaviors that led me to my obesity to begin with. I am so very, very greatful for this opportunity to have a big "push start" and I hope I do not mess it up! I also want to be sensitive to the needs of those closest to me and realize that I am not the only dealing with these changes. I know it is not all about me!

That's enough for now I think. But I hope I keep talking about it. I think it will help.

Christmas 2010

Okay, so I'm a bit late posting any Christmas pictures AND these are the only pictures I seem to have of our Christmas this past year.

Not even one of Matt or myself. Kind of sad. I will need to do a better job of photo-journaling our next Christmas!

This is a picture with the lights out. It was kind of hard to get a clear shot. My hands shake too much!

We did have a crazy busy Christmas. First, Shaleign, Emily, Drew & Grace showed up from North Carolina. Then Joel & April made their entrance after a long drive from Idaho. We spent Christmas Eve with my side of the family at Casey's home. The entire family was there except Sjon because he is serving his mission in Washington, D.C.

Christmas day Matt, Olivia, Samantha and I drove down to Lake Jackson and had a nice visit with the Simiskey's. The girls really enjoyed playing with their cousins! On our way home Christmas day we stopped by and said a quick hello to James, Shelley & family. I'm glad we got a chance to see them too. We missed out on visiting with David and Kaleen. They live in Utah and so we didn't get to see them this year. And we didn't get to see cousin Zach! We missed them but we will spend Christmas with them another time I am sure.

It was hard when Christmas was over. Matt spent a few weeks with us but then he had to return to Baghdad. I am so glad his tour will be over in June and we will not be apart any longer!

Perspective

My day today made me thankful for my blessings.

To start my day a friend called me while in tears. A dear friend of her's has cancer and took a turn for the worse. She asked me to pray for her friend. Of course I did.

Next, I went to church and really enjoyed the lessons and I felt like I had a spiritual boost. I had considered staying home this week because I am really exhausted, but I am so very glad I was obedient and made a better choice.

Then, this evening after talking with another friend, I realized how much she is going through with her own family. I now feel my family problems aren't much compared to what she seemed to be dealing with. How blessed I have been.

And of course.... the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl!

Celestial University

So I am going to try out Celestial University --- a goal setting program with degrees to earn. It's kind of the last thing I want to do right now. But this is why I'm doing it. This past year I have felt my motivation level to complete any goal is really depleted. I get things done but not without a lot of procrastination and then great effort at the last minute.

Now it's time to turn over a new leaf... why does this leaf feel like it weighs 50 lbs?

I am creating a link to my blog if you want to check it out.

A Scary Week!

Golly gee! I am the worst blogger ever! :) Okay.... time to say something new. Hmmmm... well this week Dad had a stroke, minor heart attack and some other serious health issues arise. Talk about a STRESSFUL week. And what did I do? I ate. Man that makes me mad!

Anyway.... Dad is doing great. Really he is.... He is home from the hospital and very active. He's not allowed to drive though because his memory was affected some as well as his vision. We are soooo grateful that he is doing so well.

We had so many people call to check on him and make sure he was doing alright. Dad has a lot of good friends who care about him. I'm sure that made him feel warm and fuzzy inside! If you are reading this and you called to see how he was, or helped out in some way during our crazy week thank you so much!

Guten Tag!

I am so happy to be back in Germany again! This time I get to see Frankfurt. I was so anxious to come and see some amazing historical sights. What I found was quite different from my expectations. I knew Frankfurt was an international busy place but I didn't realize how much. Banks, banks everywhere.... And very little old country historical flair. We did find the old downtown area in Frankfurt am Main and that was neat. But I wanted more!

So I am heading down to Heidelburg today for a one day sightseeing tour. I hear it is a beautiful. I hope so! I have seen some of southern Germany before and loved it. I have one goal for sure. I want to get to Schloss Neuschwanstein some day. It is too far away for me to get to on this trip so I guess that will happen once I move to Italy next year.

I'm really anxious to post pictures of my trip so far but I don't have what I need to upload off my camera. It will have to wait until I get home.

Mom & Dad have been so gracious enough to take care of my sweet little girls while I am away. I miss them all so much! But I am so glad to be here with my husband if even for a short while!