Happy Mothers Day

My kids are good to me all year long (although my son does tease me a tad too much) so I feel like every day is mothers day...I was curious as to how Mothers Day began and from what I can find out, it has a long history...However it was president Wilson who declared the second Sunday in May , Mothers day...this was all thanks to a Miss Jarvis..if your interested in the hows and why's...look it up like I did LOL What struck me as really funny was that later on, when she saw how commercialized the day had become, she wanted the Day banned.
What would Hallmark do with out all these holidays? In looking back, the best Mothers day was when my kids were small...the home made cards and little gifts they'd make at school...Those were precious times. yes it is nice now to be remembered. But when they thought about me way in advance and took the time to make me something special...That's what Mothers day is all about. I remember planting seeds and giving my mother little seedlings for her garden, buying her a plant...Azalea's were her favorite...It seems like Mothers day when I was a child was just a special Day you were extra special to your Mom. You gave her flowers, wore a pink carnation to church and brought home a plant...Life was very simple when I was young...visiting Nana on Mothers Day was the best..she got a plant also..but what a smile when she read my home made cards......Happy Mothers day to all the Mothers I know and Love.....

Thank you Daddy

I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.

I lost my Dad in 1981, but he is always with me. Every day of my life he is at my side and when I face days like I have had lately. Days when pain seems to want to take over every fiber of my being, I hear my fathers whisper, his pearls of wisdom and suddenly everything comes into focus.
That little ditty was one of my dads favorite...simply because it hit so close to home. As a young man he had to put news paper in his shoes because the holes in the bottoms were so big. he admits that he complained to God about being so poor and then one day he read that little ditty and the holes in his shoes no longer mattered.
I think he would want me to be grateful first that I have feet and then be grateful that I can feel the pain. I've spent a great deal of time with people who have little feeling in their bodies. Would probably love to feel the sensation of pain...any sensation is better then no feeling at all.
How grateful I am that I can still feel pain...that means my nerves are alive , I am alive...Silly me.
I know what has to be done...My Achilles tendon has to be detached , the bone polished and then the tendon reattached. I have to be willing to spend a year in physical therapy...something I am not willing to do. The tendinitis that is causing this pain at the moment will eventually subside..The condition will not simply go away, but the pain will so I will just wait it out...stay busy and be grateful not just for the pain...but for my fathers whispers........

Hurting Today

What the hell is Fibromyalgia anyway? Seems to be a catch phrase for anything that doesn't fit into a neat little category. I've had it for a while, the medication almost caused me to go blind so I won't be taking that again...There really is nothing but Lyrica on the market that has any affect on this problem. It comes and goes but for the past 3 days it has come to visit with a vengeance. I feel like I am about to self destruct....
Truth be known, I have a friend in the hospital who is trying to pass a kidney stone...NOW THAT'S PAIN!!! Been there, done that and hope to God I never have to do it again. So I'm thinking life could be a lot worse then it is...the pain will eventually stop and I won't be moving in slow motion forever...so if I have to slow down a bit and count my blessings...Perhaps I should do that instead of complaining...Sounds like a plan :-) Have a beautiful day!!!

Something I do not like

I finally found something I'm not fond of about this surgery (only took me a year and a half).
SKIN!!! Excess skin...Not that it is a surprise, it is something we talk about. However, no one ever mentioned gravity. Once you lose weight you obviously have excess skin. I think the surgery to remove it is extremely dangerous and to be honest, I'm just not that vain. Everyone likes a nice looking body...I had one when it counted...now I'm old so who cares?
The excess skin didn't really bother me when I first lost the weight, I look just awful naked...but since I usually wear clothes, who cares what I look like naked?
Today I went in the hot tub. Since I've been feeling the cold terribly, I haven't used it in a while.
AS I'm sitting there relaxing, enjoying the soothing bubbles after a morning of animal baths (yes I showered first) I was a bit startled when my hand hit something..Yuk..what the hell was that?
Turns out it was my peniculus...floating like a loose shirt in the water. How disgusting is that? When taking a closer look at arms and legs I realized that gravity has taken it's toll, the skin seems to be stretching and not looking at all like it should..I feel like I'm trapped in a rubber suit that is much too big. We won't even talk about the boobs...deflated balloons comes to mind.
When did all this happen? I still view the surgery as dangerous, but I really do have to give some thought to something because if I don't, I fear I will one day trip over the stuff that has stretched beyond my feet. That duct-tape-ectomy is looking better and better LOL

Short Memory

I am a people watcher, always have been. People interest me, not just in what they say, but in how they act and what they do. I have made a study of people...no really...I take notes, write things down...because everything is about "FACTS" not statistic's. You can read a hundred books on a subject, but you will never really know something until it touches your life with reality. MHO of course...but this is my BLOG so it's all about what I see as "TRUE" LOL
It truly amazes me as to how short some peoples memories are. I had to check my notes just to be sure...but there it was in black and white. The difference between what people said a year ago about this surgery and what they profess to be true now is like night and day. Now you know why I kept a Blog, why I journal...because we forget. I would too if I didn't write it all down...but I do...not only my own thoughts but what people say to me and to others. I don't do this to check up on THEM, I do it to check on myself...to see if I am better off because I did or didn't listen to their advice.
Like Robert Frost, I tend to take the road less traveled...I have always been a bit of a rebel. I don't follow..I will walk along side or I will lead, but I don't follow..so sue me. I do listen and if it makes logical sense I'll even take advice at times...but in most cases I follow what I know is right for me and it is times like this that I am glad I did.
I don't have to make up stories about how GREAT I felt after surgery...just go back and read for yourself. If I had a problem I wrote about it. I remember, a year ago, thinking to myself 'wow I really was lucky. All these people complaining about pain and discomfort, all these problems. trouble eating, dumping etc."...Now to hear them tell it, they never had a problem..everything was a breeze...Totally amazing.
There are those, like me, who have kept a record. But they are also like me in the fact that they really haven't had any problems. They are people who entered into this for all the right reasons and they truly haven't had any problems. Please understand, I belong to several groups dealing with this surgery so I hear a lot. But as time goes on, I realize that this surgery is like having a baby...the more time that passes the less you remember about trying to get a watermelon out through a nostril. The human mind is a wonderful thing.
To all the new people seeking surgery. If by chance you should happen to read this...Think about it. When I tell you to talk to people, read all you can, do your homework and your research. I say it for a reason. This Journey will change your life forever. I have yet to meet anyone who would not do it all again...in a heartbeat. But please know it is not all party hats and horns...I had a wonderful experience and I attribute that to a very positive attitude. NOTHING was going to go wrong and that was that!!! You will hear me mention attitude a lot, because the mind is a powerful tool that most people only use a small part of. I believe ALL things are possible and for me it has always been true...I also believe that all things happen for a reason .
Do not enter into this lightly, but do not believe all that you hear either...most people have very short memories...LOL

Stimulating the Economy

YIKES!! When did I buy so much stuff? I just keep finding more and more...some of it, I don't even remember buying. How is that possible? LOL
It's all good. It's like Christmas every time I open a bag. Of course there is very little I NEEDED, but this trip wasn't about NEED...It was about exploring other avenues of the art and quilt world. I've come to the conclusion that I am not as much a quilter as I am an artist..I love quilts and I love making them. However bed quilts and lap blankets no longer excite me the way they once did. Now I like quilts with dimension and texture, things that make me smile when I see them....I sure got enough stuff to experiment with :-)
I got on the scale this morning and had to look again. Who loses weight on vacation? From the looks of it, I did. I'm going to stop at the doctors office today and check her scale before I get too excited. I did try and eat well, we all did, but we also had some snacks and goodies that weren't on any diet I ever heard. We did walk a lot though, so perhaps I did lose a few pounds. Wouldn't that be wonderful ?
My daughter kept up my facebook page so I doubt anyone there even knew I was gone. It really is good to be home. Now I just have to get my head back from vacation and move forward once again in the REAL world.
My turtle is still in a cage, it is just too cold to set him free. If it warms up by the week-end he will be screaming "Free at last". Now some of you who know turtles are cold blooded are probably shaking your head...but our turtles are still in hibernation because of the weather here as opposed to Kentucky where it is already in the 70's, so it would be a bit of a shock for this poor guy....I have no doubt he will be fine once it warms up. He certainly will be a lot safer.
For those of you who read this and are new to the WLS program, I Hope you realize that life does not stop after surgery...it gets better and you can indeed go on vacation and do everything you always did...including EAT. The only thing that changes is your ability to eat too much and that is a GOOD thing.
Life just keeps getting better.....

I'm Baaaaack!!!

Oh what a time it was...Marilynn and I left here on Monday and it Barboursville around 5 pm. We stayed in a Holiday Inn that we've stayed in before but I doubt we will stay in again. Now you either pay for breakfast or you get a free one of packaged pastry, coffee and a pc of fruit...YUK!!! On the way home we hit a Holiday Inn Express and woke up to a wonderful breakfast of eggs, biscuits and gravy, sausage, fruit, yogurt, all sorts of breakfast stuff. It was wonderful..So Hurricane will be our stop next year.
We picked up Stef and Jodie in Elizabethtown (or as our GPS said E-Lisa-BETH-town). Jodie was new this year, but what a great addition to our crew. She sure fit right in and made us laugh more often then we needed too.
Our cabin was the same as last year. We never did get to walk down to the lake as we had hoped. We booked a 3 bedroom two bath cabin at Kentucky Dam for next year. It's closer to Paducah and we just like it there better. The cabins are newer.
We made a friend and called him Simone, a raccoon. He helped us finish up all the goodies each night (less trash) pictures of him will be added later.
The show was different this year because the convention center is being renovated, but it was still fun and I did my very best to stimulate the economy of Paducah. I was a bit disappointed in my feet...guess my old sneakers weren't a good choice of walking shoe. I was in so much pain by the end of day two I could hardly stand...had to go buy me some "Shape Ups" and some Eccos..unfortunately my feet were so bad by then, that it took days for them to come back...It didn't damper my fun too much but I did have to sit more then usual and that pissed me off.
The girls always managed to find me and come get me for the "Good stuff" but I'm sure I missed a lot. We did copy and exchanged tons of patterns...something we swore we would not buy this year...so much for promising. It's hard to pass up things you "Just have to HAVE"...Jodie and I were in ecstasy with all the glitter and stones and paints etc......We did some serious damage to our budget with that stuff. Of course every night was like Christmas, when we would have show and tell and then exchange little gifts we got for each other...from fabric to mugs to all sorts of fun stuff ..heck Jodie even found a key chain with a crown...some day I will have to write about the crown thing between Stef and I, but we found a lot of crowns this year and were very happy.
I had a thing about the STOP signs in the park...just kept forgetting they were there. Every time I'd roll through one, Jodie would say "It was only a suggestion"...took away some of the guilt LOL She is very quick witted and great with her IPhone as far as finding stuff. Although we probably could have done without finding Hobby Lobby ROTFLMAO!!!
We had a lot of laughs..woke up laughing and went to sleep laughing...Of course as usual my driving ability was questioned(although I continue to be the designated driver) and I did miss a few turns (either because of laughing or talking) LOL but we all managed to laugh until we cried. I DID manage to find us some spectacular parking each day, as close to the show as you'd want to be, other then IN the place LOL so I redeemed myself.
On the way to Elizabethtown to drop off Stef and Jodie we passed lots of turtles...some squished, some trying to cross the road on their way to being squished...very sad. Suddenly there was one right in front of me trying to cross a major highway. You know I had to pull over, back up and rescue the thing. Jodie was delighted and Marilynn was ready to bale (she doesn't like reptiles AT ALL) Poor Jodie got stuff holding the thing until we could find a box, which Marilynn did when we stopped for gas...Actually she bought a fold up cooler LMAO!! So Lucky had a safe home well out of Marilynns view and everyone was happy...BTW that was AFTER lucky did a pooh on a plastic bag on Jodies lap..aaahhhh the things we do to save a life. Lucky will be released sometime today up on my property (Oh yes he stayed at the Holiday Inn Express also LOL) I am sure he will do just fine. We do have roads and he could make it to one of them but his chances are much better here then in Kentucky. I've renamed him Kentucky Lucky...Ken for short.
Poor Marilynn was one hurting Pup on the way home, between her hips and shoulders I'm not sure what was worse. We did have the comedy channel on the radio and that helped ease the pain I'm sure...at one point we were laughing so hard at Larry the cable Guy I could hardly see where I was going...not a good way to drive , but it sure was funny.
Did I mention stopping at another Hobby Lobby on the way home? Seems that after we dropped of Stef and Jodie we had ALL this extra space to fill..LOL...Can you tell we are still laughing?
Pictures will follow at some point....