Wow.....

Well today is day 4 of opti and I graduated to one packet per one litre of water. They have mentioned on OH board that there is some weight loss while on opti so I thought I would get on the scale at home. Well according to my math, I am down 5 pounds already. I doubt that they will kick me out of the program now :)

Well I have to admit that it is hard to miss something that you have thoroughly enjoyed in the past.I had a relaxing day with Nash on Tuesday that resulted in movie watching downstairs. I did miss the popcorn and chocolate milk but I just worked on an opti for the movie. Not quite the same at all! But I did endure the movie and decided that a nap was a great thing to do after the movie so that I could sleep off the craving.

Last night Nash order some pizza and she got a standard pepperoni and she has been adding barbeque sauce to it. Something one of the youngin’s got her hooked on. Now granted I am not a fan of the pepperoni at the second job but it was all I could do from grabbing a slice last night. Now I will admit that I was curious on what it tasted like. I have discussed this with Susanne in regards to my eating and she said just to take a bite and walk away. Well I did one better last night. I picked off a single pepperoni and swiped it through the barbeque sauce lid. It tasted like barbequed hot dogs.

Also working my shift last night was also trying. I went into the system to check something and accidentally produced the last order I had in the system under my name. Cheese sticks with taco seasoning. The kitchen automatically made it and when the order was 71 minutes old I inquired about it to find out it was my mistake. Normally I would have bought those up in a heartbeat but I wild the rest of the staff to fight amongst themselves to see who was going to buy them. They ended up going to Smick and she enjoyed them. I was able to get my deliveries done and the usual quiet time at 9 loomed over my head. But I stuck it out and played more than normal games on my phone. Once I got home I grabbed a drink and headed to bed.

Lucky enough the DH wants to stay in tonight and relax.

My DH is smart......

Or as DoxyLover says "trams"

I got home and I mixed the Opti to the consistancy of mashed potatoes and tried to shovel all in with 5 tablespoons of ickky-ness. My gag reflex was not having any of it. But I pushed on and got it all in.

So he suggested that rather than making it worse why shouldn't I dilute it? So I told him that I would try it for breakfast and see how it goes. Well it as worked! I have use 1L of water to half a package of Opti and I have been sipping on it all morning. I haven't even touched the other stuff I brought for lunch.

I was told to drink it all when it is made and not to let it sit. So far no one has given a real reason why not, so I am just going to keep sipping away. This way I am keeping up on my water and the hopes of keeping off the Opti-Stops that might occcur.

Well I better get back to sipping and take Miss Mel to the pet store that is downstairs.

Thank You

To all of you that joined me over the past few weeks before I embarked on my Opti Fast journey. I don't think it was possible but by the end of it all I thought I could got out for another meal!   For those of you that are curious my last supper was a festival special. YUM!

So I started my Opti this morning and I am trying to make the best of a bad situation. The stuff tastes awful. I tried it this morning using some suggestions I was given at BWLSSG by adding vanilla extract to some of it, nope; added cinnamon to some, nope; and one last attempt with ice at lunchtime. Definitely not.  So I have decided that I am going to just put the loose powder in my mouth and wash it down with water. I mentioned this to Nash and she hopes it doesn't react like dry cinnamon in the mouth. I guess I will see when I take my last opti of the day just before bed.

I made a mistake thinking that it was a complete meal replacer and waited 4 hours before eating again. This put me out of sorts for a few hours until I got some chicken broth in me. So I think by chugging the drink and then eating the foods allowed I should be okay.

That brings me to my shift tonight....we were super busy earlier which kept me going but now it is quiet and this when I get a bite to eat.  I just want to munch on some chunks of cheese or cheese sticks.  So to occupy myself you get to read about my whining lol.

I will let you guys know how the dry opti goes down later (becuase I know you can't wait to find out! )

T Minus 10 days....

Until I start Opti.

The more my friends hear about the more they want to get together.  Regrettably I had a "farwell to food" tour. It wasn't intentional but I do feel the love lol.

There are some Christmas parties coming up that I will need to prepare for so I am hoping people enjoy my company more that what I  eating.  I see a lot of French onion soup in my future.

I feel that I am getting all my ducks in a row for surgery. As odd as it sounds I am getting excited to start opti since it the second to last step before surgery. the DH has been helping me plan for the surgery since he good a logistics. We decided to have Grandma S come over to take care of Nikki on the Monday since she will be a basket case while I am in surgery and she will be trying to find me in the waiting room.

I did start a PT job and I was stressing out since the offered me the job and they didn't know about my surgery. So I placed all the cards on the table and thought for.sure.they would retract my letter of offer but they were quite content the cover me while I am off.

The DH and I hit Wonderland one last time for Halloween Haunt (go on the rides late at night and spooky mazes etc) and was really concerned at one point. With the weather being cold I wore my down filled winser coat and mittens so my overall size was a little fuller than normal. Well we went on the Fly and we have to wear a seatbelt plus a lap bar. The seats are snug at the best of times so I sit in  the front and the DH sits in the back.  I wrestled with the belt and panic set in since I couldn't do it up. The guy came over and looked at me wrestling with it and said "you might not be able to do it up since this is a kids ride."  That made more determined to get it on.so I lifted up my jacket and buckled it up. I am sure that I am reading more into it but I was really feeling that I was becoming too fat.

I did get a text from Mrs.Henry asking about "plus sized" rides so I gave her a list of ones that I could/couldn't do and she took the list to heart. I understand that she had issues and I am sure we will have a lot to discuss when we get together next.

Other than that I am getting nervous about Miss Mel passing the Royal on Sunday so please keep your fingers crossed that she does well.

Just about there!

I know it has been a bit of time since my last post but not much really has gone on to update you on until now..........

I have been going on interviews to the point the Edge has enough reference calls that she figures I should have had something by now. She also believes that I will find a payroll career in the healthcare industry. She was able to peg DoxyLovers new payroll position before she got it. So who knows what the universe has in store.

Nash is still at the house and the DH and I were able to get her a second job where we are and she is loving it so far and enjoys the extra cash.

The house warming was a blast and there weren't any pictures taken which I am fine with.  I think that I am at my highest weight and really didn't want to see myself. It was great to see friends and watch the 6 degrees of seperation around the yard lol.

I haven't been to BBWLSG in a while since they meet at a busy coffee place for the meetings. Now they are back at Sunshineherders I will most likely start going again.

Now for the exciting bit........I have a surgery date of December the first! I will need to be on a skake for 2 weeks before my surgery date so if you have any dinner dates you want me to come partake of, it will need to be before November the 14th.

The process of introducing food back into my stomach will be a 8 week process so Christmas and my birthday will be most likely at home and made with a magic bullet lol So I am embracing my 2 Thanksgivings this weekend and next.  I decided not to the "food farwell tour" that others have done in the past. I don't want to look at the 2 weeks of shakes as a chore or resent them, but as a stepping stone of this process.

So I am sure that there are posts to follow soon with food cravings and my trials with the shakes.

Everything is settled

I do believe that the house is finally in a state of order that it is a home.  We are having a garage sale tomorrow that will let me clear out the last of the clutter that is hanging around.  Don't worry I won't have a price tag on the dogs or the DH LOL

Nash has made herself at home here and I think that I have taken on a maternal instinct with her.  I felt like I should have washed her bed linens yesterday when I washed ours and then I figured that there are boundaries set and the reason she moved out was to become independent.  So I said no to myself and thought she can was her own linens.  I talked to Susanne about this and she mentioned that Nash has become more of an extended family than tenant.  I just need to remind myself that she is 26 not 12.

NavyWife and Mr.NavyWife have moved away to Pickering.  For those of you that are wondering where that is, that is an hour on the eastern side of Toronto.  I really miss having her close since she was a jaunt and call away. It was nothing to make a quick call and we were at a restaurant an hour later.  I guess I will have to make more of an effort to make it a half day away to see her and the pup.  Mr. NavyWife is off on his boat for the next year so I am sure she would appreciate the visits.

We took some holidays to Rockford IL (an hour outside of Chicago) for the 2014 International Conference.  We needed to go since we were hosting the Hospitality Suite for the 2015 Conference.  We had various foods and drinks through out the weekend that kept people coming back to the room.  At one point on Saturday we had almost everyone in the room that there was only one couple on the dance floor and a table of about 5 people at the dance!  That makes for a great party LOL  I did meet up with DenverU that has had the sleeve done in the US.  I was sitting back and observed him and how folks were mentioning his weight loss. He really didn't mention what he had done, and was simply taking the compliments in stride.  DJ even mentioned that he was tossed in the wash and shrunk.  I like that and will think that I will use it!

Speaking of the surgery, I have completed the initial leg work for the round table of discussions.  This is to see if I am mentally and physically able to handle the surgery itself as well as the after care that will arise.  Well I got the call and I am able to meet my surgeon Dr. Rotstein on September the 26th at 9 a.m.! I have talked with Susanne about a fear that I have going into surgery.  I haven't had surgery before so dental work is the closest thing I have to compare it to and whenever I have any dental work done and something happens the first thing I do is make expressions with my eyes.  So I do understand that they will tape my eyes closed for the surgery and I am afraid that if I am not completely out and I feel something that I am not going to be able to do anything with my eyes.  So Susanne suggested that I mention this to my surgeon and see what he has to say about it.  I mentioned this to the DH this morning and he said the there is no way that I am going to feel anything and I will be fast asleep.  He also mentioned that I will count down from a hundred and not even hit 95 and then I will be waking up.  I hope he is right.

So I am still looking for work and I have been on various interviews but nothing has cropped up.  Until then, I will keep plugging away at life.

Fortune Cookie

"look under your bed and what you have lost will be found"  Hmmmmmm

That could be a few things. My Dean Koontz collection? My organizational skills for the middle room? My ability to hang something straight on the wall?  Pictures that haven't seen the light of day in 10 years? Who knows.

The move has been great and it has been 4 weeks and I have to admit that the house is getting more organised as the days go by.  There have been quite a few things bought for the house that I will most likely enjoy ranging from a huge sectional in the "rec room" downstairs to the little Swiffer vacuum that I bought to keep all the puppy tumbleweed at bay.  Dark floor plus a Miss Mel Mel requires constant work.

I was glad for all the help we got for the day of the move.  My mom, NavyWife, Mr NavyWife, Maine, her kids, PizzaGuy, Grandma, Nash, and FerFord all stopped in to help. Big thanks from the DH and I really appreciate it!

We were able to get a bunch more done than expected and even Maine and PizzaGuy came back on Sunday with the kids to help out.  We had them all over earlier in the day since their AC is on the blink and it was way too hot to have them melting while we were just watching t.v.

The girls are loving the yard and there are times it is trying to get then back in when we are out there in the afternoon.  We have a fire bowl now with a permit so our Canada Day was spent with Maine, her kids, PizzaGuy, Aircoolin', Corrie Fan and their little one.  We had a fire with marshmallows and have talked about getting together again cook a whole meal over the fire.

Work is still eluding me but I have been on some interviews and there have been a couple that have emailed me or called me back before the date of the interview stating that there are allergies in the office.  Now don't get all defensive on my behalf, because if they were there first there isn't much I can do.  There is no discrimination that can be claimed or any HR policies that have been broken. So I am going to complete my EI reports and keep searching while working on the house.

The stuff for surgery is going along great as well.  I have been able to get cancelled appointments since I have been off.  I have had the Nutritionist appointments, I have met with the Psychologist and she has given me information to take back to Dr. Sarah to changed my meds up.  I was little concerned about decreasing my happy pills to almost nothing but after talking with Susanne and Dr. Sarah we have it all fixed up again.  I am able to stay on the Happy pills after surgery since I am going to sprinkle them in my food morning and night.

Ran into MommaHenry at Wal-Mart and we were able to chat for a bit.  We are talking about having a girly day at Wonderland with Jensen so we will see if this comes around.  But I do know that I am going this weekend with the DH and Nash and I think this is the first "outing" we have had that didn't involve the house LOL

Mel is working on her "issues" with bangs and the compressors from the bowling alley.  According to my trainer, Mel is to sit and wait out the stress until she lies down.  In the meantime we act like nothing is going on.  She had that test all morning at the Milton Market when we were at the St. John Ambulance booth. The tent beside us were using helium for balloons and they also had a few pop.  When it came to the 4 hour mark she had enough and was trying to get under the table to hide.  I guess we all have our limits.  Below is her and Cookie strutting their Therapy Dog stuff at the Market and I will post again soon.