What a journey!!!!!!!

I originally had posted "what a trip" in the title but a trip means a holiday in my mind.  This past week wasn't a vacation. :D

Let me start off by saying that the DH has been nothing more than AWESOME through all of this. he has been my butt kicker, my medicine man and greatest supporter.

I will be breaking this up into different posts so that you will won't be swamped with so much stuff.

Friday Before Surgery

I was treating it like any other day and Nikki and I had reading group all day.  

Our first stop was at RLPS where the whole class made me get well cards and wanted to eat something special as a farewell.  They decided that since they know I like hot chocolate and over heard a story about Puppy Pancakes that was what we were to have.  I didn't have the heart to tell the kids I couldn't eat any of it since I was on Opti, but I did pull the teacher aside and she snuck me an herbal tea and the pancakes were for Nikki. The kids all gave Nikki a hug good-bye since we weren't going to be back until the new year.

Our visit at ICPS was a different story all together.  We went, we read, we told the student that we are now done until after Christmas and got a non-chaluant "okay" and off she went.  Kind of a let down really.  I wasn't really expecting a grand farewell like we got in the morning, but something that made me feel like we would be missed.

I headed over to see V to get my nail polish taken off and realised that I forgot to call the surgeon's off to see when my surgery was on Monday.  Well I got through and found out I am the first one at 7:45 am and I needed to be at the Hospital for 6 am. I also found out that I had to remove all my nail polish and just not the first fingers. :(

I worked my shift at the other job and it was just me and my opti.  There was an oopsie pizza sitting at the back that looked delicious.  I did have the thought of "eat a piece, you have had opti all this time and there isn't much more you an do. So I had a bite.  The taste was sooooo good on my tongue and then the brain kicked in.  I didn’t even get to the swallowing part and I was spitting it out.  I guess I am tougher than I thought.


 

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.