The Weekend Report

Some people would say this is a 3 day weekend, and I should wait and include the ongoings of Monday with this post.  But I call shenanigans. My job doesn't give us MLK JR day off. Is it OK to be bitter about that even if I'm not actually going back till Thursday?  

I have finally been able to get out the the house a little this weekend. Which is good, because I was starting to get bored, and I don't think it is good for any couple to be together 24/7.  Not that we are arguing, but we are just two people who value our alone time, as much as our together time. 

The best thing has been getting out and taking walks, I am still moving sooo slowly, but it feels good to use my legs. I like to go in the evenings. It is cold, but it is the kind of cold that feels clean and reinvigorating. I'm up to walking about 30 minutes and 1.5 miles. My first 5k is scheduled for May this year, so hopefully I'll be in good jogging shape by then.  

Adam and I also broke out some of his Lego Christmas sets he had not built yet today. We really enjoy taking turns and building these together, while catching up on some of our favorite shows.  It is not the most exciting activity, but it just feels so homey and comforting to me. Plus, isn't that little airport control tower totally adorable (I was going to write totes adorbs just now, but I was too worried people would think I actually talked like that, and then would want to murder me. That phrase should only be used in a ironic way, don't you think)?

Last but not least, we are pet sitting my mom's dog, Carlee, this week. She is such good company and a sweetheart (if not totally, hopelessly spoiled). All I have to say about her picture above is, "What does the fox say?"

Post Operative Appointment

 (Via)

Today I had my post operative appointment with my surgeon to talk about how I'm recovering. I purposely have stayed away from the scale all week because I don't want to get obsessed with the number, good or bad. But I was pleased as punch to discover I have already lost 26 pounds! I had decided I'd be happy if I shed ten. That is crazy for a week! In fact, when I first told Adam he said, "Is that safe?" Safer than being at my starting weight I know!

My surgeon also has a medical intern with him every time I go to see him. The intern was there when my doctor came to check on me the day after surgery, and he was with him again today. He seemed stunned that I had lost so much weight in a week, that felt good. 

Besides my weight loss, my surgeon said I'm doing well, my incisions are healing, and that he wouldn't have to see me again until April. Thank Goodness because self-paying for Doctor's appointments is a drag.  But so far, worth it. I just have to work on getting more protein in which is hard.

Can we just talk about protein powder for a minute? First, I think it is so weird that I have to have protein powder. I understand the logic and need for it, but I have never known anyone to use it but body builders and the kids from Jersey Shore. But I bought some unjury protein powder from the doctor, and I don't know if I like it or not yet.

I tried putting the unflavored kind in a cup of milk first. It really didn't taste like anything, but it gave the milk a different texture.  Next, I tried the strawberry sorbet in a glass of water, it wasn't exactly gross, but it kind of weirded me out anyway. But today I tried the Vanilla in a glass of milk and that tasted like a Carnation breakfast drink. I consider that a win.  I want to try a few of the other flavors, such as chocolate. They even have a cheese sauce that you can use to make mac n' cheese, that is high in protein. That is awesome! I hope it is good, I would love that.

I also talked to him about how I can't keep pureed chicken down. Twice when I have had it, I threw up after five minutes. It sucks to go from hardly ever throwing up, to having thrown up three times in one week! But the doctor said the chicken is probably too dry, and I might have to wait on that. I feel like it has become my personal mission in life to keep down the chicken!

But in good news, Adam is still the best person to have on hand when you get sick. Before I ate the chicken, I had put away the bowl I had been toting around all week just in case. I was trying to will myself not to throw up with the power of positive thinking! But it failed, and yet again I yelled, "bowl!"  He was so on it. Bless his heart.

When we were dating, Adam used to brag that he hadn't thrown up since he was 8 years old. He was so proud of that fact. He said because the last time he got sick, he was home alone with his dad, and his Dad didn't know what to do about it. So he tried to clean up with the vacuum. With the vacuum, people. Apparently, this was totally traumatizing to my poor husband, who vowed never to be sick again. Although, I don't think it totally works that way.  But Adam broke that record a few years ago, after too much cheese dip at our Super Bowl party. I wanted to be mean and taunt him about it, but he was just oh so miserable.

Umm, I can't believe I just spent a substantial part of this blog talking about puking, I think that means I should wrap this up now and talk about puking never again. Hey at least it isn't as gross of a story as the one Al Roker told about what happened to him at the White House post weight loss surgery!

Give Me Goosebumps

(via)

Adam recently brought home 38 Goosebumps books from his mom's house he had as a child. At first, I was against him bringing them home at all! He always brings back stuff we never use. I'm usually a very less is more person, Adam is not. Adam is a "more is totally awesome" person! 

Before Adam joined me in Alabama two summers ago, I occupied this apartment with next to nothing for a few weeks. I loved it, it was so spacious. So freeing. But when he got here and unloaded all the boxes from the moving van, I just about hyperventilated. I looked around and said, "I wish I could just throw all this stuff away." That comment didn't sit well with Adam at all! I could never understand why it bothered him, I would have thrown away my own stuff too! 

And don't get me started on the arguments we've had about keeping the extra measuring spoons he claims are from his golden, bachelor days (when he doesn't cook), or how I just about never got him to throw out some Cheeto stained dishcloths he got from his Grandma.

I should have known what I was in for it when I first visited Adam's family for Christmas the year we got engaged. One of his Aunts brought over a small bottle of soy sauce, she had acquired from somewhere that she didn't want. No one in his family liked soy sauce or had any use for it. But they still wouldn't get rid of it! And if they are anything like my husband, I bet it is still sitting in their cabinet today! That whole incident made me smile, so no offense to the in-laws!

 

But I relented on the Goosebumps because people tell me that marriage is of course all about compromise, and I didn't want to seem like a bossy mcbosserson in front of all the family. But also because we both loved these books as children. 

Adam loved them so much, that he knows the chronological order of them all by heart! It blows my mind. I may not know the numbers, but I remember the stories. I remember Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, forever making those little lawn decorations somewhat creepy.  And in one, Night of the Living Dummy,  I have a vivid memory of the scene where the child puts his hand into a ventriloquist dummy, and finds a mildewed sandwich! That scene haunts me still because I'm such a visual person, and it grossed me out so much. Just thinking of it now makes me want to gag. You are welcome!

But my favorite was Night in Terror Tower. It is probably no wonder since I have a real love for English Royal History, and I am such an anglophile. The story takes place in the Tower of London and is loosely based on the twin, royal princes that went missing in the Tower of London in the 1400s.

When we were in Wisconsin, I reread the book. I think it took me an hour (ha). I was surprised to find the story held up. Reading it, it was obvious;y written for a child or tween, but the story still fascinated me, and it was still kind of creepy too. R.L. Stine knows his horror.

In the end, I'm glad we brought the Goosebumps books home. It represents such happy childhood memories for Adam and me. Nothing is more happy than nostalgia. And who knows maybe one day our children will be Goosebumps fans!

Phase III

 

(Leopard Slipper Boots & Sweatpants My Favorite Recovery Staples)

Today has been officially five days since surgery, and I've been doing a whole lot of nothing. Just sleeping and showering and watching a ton of TV. Yesterday was the first day that I really started to get a little bored and a little stir crazy, probably because I'm napping less and less during the day because I don't always feel the need to.

Sleeping has been somewhat difficult because I am a card carrying member of the side sleeper club. And I'm still pretty sore, so sometimes when I try to sleep on my side it puts too much pressure on my stomach, so it takes a bit of gymnastics to get into a comfortable position, and lord help me when I want to roll over and Adam is already asleep. There is a lot of groaning, half rolls, and psyching myself up before that is accomplished.

Due to this, I usually just nap on the couch. But that to is fraught with its own set of difficulties. Because when I sleep on the couch, for some reason  I'm usually suspended between that weird state where you are half asleep and half awake. The problem is I can hear myself snoring in this state. And is there anything that inspires more self loathing than hearing yourself snore and not being able to do a thing about it? I think not.

I have officially entered into Phase III of eating. This includes really soft foods and pureed meats. My eating day looks something like this: one scrambled egg for breakfast, a glass of skim milk with some protein powder for a snack, yogurt for lunch, possibly a sugar free Popsicle for a snack, and the 3 ounces of pureed beans or chicken for dinner.  But I'm not hungry so far. In a few weeks, I can add solids back into my diet.

Sometimes I see a commercial for Pizza Hut or Olive Garden and I think, "oh that looks good." But it is more of a passing interest than something I really want. But I'm not crazy, I know all this is new, and it won't always be that easy. One side effect of weight loss surgery mentioned in my literature is "mourning the loss of food." So I'm sure I have some of that headed my way eventually. 

I've been walking on the treadmill daily, just 15-20 minutes at a really slow pace, just trying to build up my stamina.  And tonight I even went out for a little bit to trivia night with Adam and the family.

I had some concerns about sitting at a table full of my favorite Mexican foods and not being able to eat a thing making me sad. I live for queso dip and chips! My nutritionist had warned me that this is pretty hard for some people. But really, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the food just didn't interest me. But I did have to move the chip bowl away from me, not because it tempted me, but sometimes I would find myself mindlessly going to eat a chip out of habit!

I was content but overly tired at dinner and pretty much a grump-a-saurus-rex for no reason at all. But it was still good to get out a bit.

I haven't weighed myself, no one has told me not to, but I just want to wait until my post operation appointment with my surgeon, I'm trying not to focus on the weight loss and more on just getting healthier. But I can tell I've dropped some pounds, and everyone that sees me, says I have too.

Today, I noticed my ankles were the skinniest I've ever seen them and I just couldn't stop staring at them! What a silly little change, but a noticeable one for me! I'm so excited to see what I will be noticing in the upcoming weeks and months to come!

P.S-If you noticed things are a little odd over the next few weeks on the blog, don't sweat it! I'm doing a little rebranding and switching things up a bit! Ready for something new! 

A Sick Day in the Windy City

Adam has always called me a bit of an "opportunist," when it comes to travel. I got this label when I turned the road trip I took when we moved to Alabama, into a full blown vacation, instead of a way to get from point A to point B. But how could I drive cross country and not squeeze in some things I wanted to see? I always say why not with travel. Life is not infinite, and I want to see absolutely everything I can.

So I convinced Adam to let us spend a day & a night in Chicago after Christmas, since we drive through Chicago on our way back from Wisconsin! But unfortunately on Christmas night, I went to bed with a tickle in my throat and the next day I woke up feeling not so hot (I knew I was getting bronchitis). But we headed to Chicago anyway, and got to our beautiful hotel, Mile North Chicago, on the Magnificent Mile that evening.

I felt sooo horrible, but I had to walk around a little bit and see the lights. The Christmas lights were beautiful, and I really enjoyed all the window decorations in the fancy, schmancy stores. We also had a Chicago deep dish pizza delivered to our room, and that thing was no joke! It was sooo tasty. I could only eat about a piece and a half due to the thickness though. 

I had an awful night's sleep, and I woke up feverish. But I was determined to make it through the day and through our tour as planned. It was one of those hop on and hop off affairs. Adam brought me up some cranberry juice, and I was all like this cranberry juice shall cure me and sustain me!

So we started our tour and our first stop was Millennium Park, to see the bean. I don't know what the big deal is about the bean, but I always see it in the montage of pictures whenever a TV show features Chicago. And it is a unique feature, and I love how it reflects the views of the city. And in the picture of us taken by the bean, you can't even tell how much I'm dying of illness!

We also stopped at the Michigan Avenue Bridge and enjoyed some time at the Chicago Riverwalk, which was undoubtedly my favorite part of Chicago. I loved all the beautiful buildings set against the frozen river and the monuments. I want to come back in the summer or spring and take a cruise down the river. 

We learned so many interesting things about Chicago on the tour. Like the name Chicago comes from a word meaning wild onion or wild garlic, because when the city was first founded there was a lot of wild onions and garlic and it was pretty stinky. So this leads me to forever refer to the Chicago Bears, as the "The Stinky Bears." Green Bay Packers for life!

We also enjoyed a little shopping and browsing around on State Street.  We got our souvenirs and of course had to try some famous Garrett's popcorn. It is seriously the best popcorn I've ever had. Which says a lot because I usually avoid popcorn because I hate kernels in my teeth! But that stuff is craveable.

Unfortunately, I just felt worse and worse as the day went on, so we finished the tour, but from the warmth of the trolley, and I didn't feel much like taking pictures (so unlike me). We went by Navy Pier, Soldier field, Lake Michigan, and all those wonderful museums that I would love to get lost in a little next time. 

Although we didn't get to do half the things I had wanted to, we still got a good overview of Chicago, and I really appreciate it as a city. I hope to make it back there some day, and I'm sure I will (the opportunist that I am).

So after the tour, we loaded up our car and drove an hour south to spend the night at a decidedly less luxurious hotel in Lafayette, Indiana.  We drove home the next day, and I was eventually able to get treated for bronchitis and missed a week of work due to illness, before prepping for surgery!

And even with all the sickness, my Chicago adventure was still worth it!

Surgery & Recovery

Wednesday morning, I had my weight loss surgery. I swear the weeks before my surgery were so hectic, I'm surprised it is over! Between being out of town, having bronchitis, a snow day,  and surgery, I feel like I haven't worked in forever! 

I was slightly nervous the night before my surgery, I have never had surgery, so I didn't know what to expect. I struggled to sleep, I told Adam what I wanted to happen if I died, I threw up (although I feel this had more to do with all the medicine I had to take after being on a all liquid diet, all day long).  But by the way, all I had to say was, "BOWL" and Adam was on it. He totally saved the day. 

But the surgery went well, and it all just flew by. I think it only took about 45 minutes. And pretty soon I was in my recovery room. Where the nurses drove me nuts by waking me up every hour, instead of letting me do the only thing I wanted to do: Sleep! But I know that is their job, and I managed to be pleasant anyway. 

One of the things they want you to do after surgery is walk, so I walked several laps around the hospital floor, informing everyone I was going for the Gastric Vertical Sleeve Olympics, trying to qualify for Sochi. 

Luckily, I got to come home yesterday and finally had a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. I feel a little sore and struggle to stay awake for any major length of time. But today I was able to shower solo and hold down one scrambled egg, and I felt uber accomplished. And my husband has been such a major sweetheart, taking care of my every need. I don't know how I would manage without him.

I'm hoping for a smooth recovery, and that this is a tool that is going to get me where I need to be. The weirdest thing about all of this is I'm having to force myself to eat. I think about food but I'm not hungry.

So who knows what the future holds, but I will definitely keep you updated along the way.

Notes from Wisconsin & Pack Attack

Let me say a word about people who live in Wisconsin, they are hardy people.  Because it is cold! Every year around this time, I think the cold won't be that bad. And it is always that bad. That is a cold that slaps you in the face. And can you imagine having to stumble outside in subzero temperatures to shovel your car out from under inches of snow before work? I can barely manage to shower and eat breakfast before work, much less do hard labor. 

But I will say this, Wisconsin has grown on me because it is just so darn pretty covered in all that snow.  It is something akin to living in a snow globe. And when you see people driving their cars on those frozen rivers and lakes it will blow your mind. 

On those holiest of all holidays, Christmas Eve Eve, we spent the majority of the day running last minute errands. This also gave Adam the opportunity to point out city landmarks, like the building where most people jump from when they are committing suicide. I am still unsure why Adam would share this factoid with me? Maybe because a few years ago I made him sit through a documentary about jumpers from the San Francisco bridge?

One of those errands we ran, was to a local pharmacy to print out pictures from the Packers' games to give to Adam's mom. I was going to do this as a last minute stocking stuffer, and I only mention this at all because I had one job, not to tell Adam's mom about it. And you know what I did when Adam's mom asked me later that night if we found a place to print pictures? I froze and could not bear lying to her and totally cracked under pressure. Like what? I am deceitful about gifts all the time, yet I couldn't bring myself to lie to her. Adam found this amusing. 

And you know what else is great about Wisconsin? You are near real life Packers' players!

On Christmas Eve Eve night, we went to Pack Attack! Pack Attack happens every Monday after a game, it is basically just attending a taping for a local newscast. They always have a Packers player there to interview about the game, then the player tries their hand at throwing plastic footballs into a goal, and then he signs some autographs.

This Pack Attack they had Kahlil Bell, who plays on special teams! And my oh my, was he a handsome guy (and super nice too)! I was so excited because after Bell played the little toss game, he threw out some plastic footballs into the crowd, and one was straight to me, and I caught it with SURE hands, that sucker didn't even bounce.  Afterwards, we got to get his autograph and take a picture with him.

I may or may not be contemplating pinching his butt checks in this picture, I'm sure Adam would have approved.