Food Talk

Of course with the holidays upon us, people who struggle with WL are thinking about how they will manage through the holidays. I've heard a lot of talk about this subject and perhaps my mind is just too darned simplistic. What makes this season any different from any other?
We are social animals who seem to center everything we do around food, when in fact it is the company we should be enjoying.
Planning for the holidays is like planning for any other meal. There are so many low calorie foods out there, so much that taste good..I don't really see a problem. Yes there will be more cookies and sweets then usual. Do you really think you got fat on one cookie?
One cookie taste the same as the 10th so why not just nibble at one cookie and savor the flavor.
WL is not about suffering for the foods we love. Enjoy the holiday, plan ahead, keep in mind NOTHING is fattening when eaten properly.
I plan of stuffing my guest with Ham, lots of veggies and a SF/FF dessert. Cheese and crackers is fine add a sliced olive a piece on pimento and it even looks like a holiday treat. Eat ONE it won't hurt you. Take a thin piece of cake or pie, you won't die and you won't be heavier in the morning.
Being mindful of everything you eat is the key... You know if you are going back for the 4th cookie, you are in trouble. Think about how hard you have worked to take off what ever weight you have lost... Perhaps that cookie won't look so inviting.
Plan everything that comes into the house...make low cal food look inviting and festive and everyone will enjoy. The food is only part of the celebration...being together with good friends and loving family is wha tit is all about...Fill your heart with love and your stomach only with what it needs.
Now I am off to bake these fabulous pinwheel cookies. Holiday baking is part of the real world for me, it is something I have to learn to deal with. I already know how these cookies taste, so I don't need to sample. I'm proud of how far I've come so I don't plan to undermine my success with cookies. Will I eat them...?You can bet I'll have one ...Probably on Christmas day...if I weaken, I'll let you know.

Christmas Marathon

Holy Cow!!! This year I was way ahead of previous years and all was going well, so I figured "Gee, why not add more to my plate, cause after all, I'm so far ahead" LOL
I got some names off www.anysoldier.com and began making boxes up. That was so easy , I went back and got more names. they really don't ask for much...snack, puzzles, games, hygiene products.
Then we have the business, not that we are doing much before the holidays..But we still meet at the house and discuss plans for the future. There are things to set up and lots to make.

Speaking of making. I will post one of my projects AFTER Christmas, once I give it to the person. What the HELL was I thinking? There is a funny part to the story, but you'll have to wait.

Now I have some boxes that need to go out and some of you know me and the Post Office, it's like a wooden spike to a vampire..I hate that place almost as much as I hate food stores. Two places you will rarely find me in willingly.

I have totally enjoyed the preparation for this Holiday, 8 ball or not, it's good to feel GOOD. Things that were a big chore when I was heavy, are no longer an effort. I enjoyed cutting out my pillow cases (gifts I made this year) and sewing love into every stitch. I've made a few lap quilts and finished up another QOV..all with a big ole' smile on my face. Just the fact that I could do it without pain.
A year out of surgery has been like a rebirth. I wish I could give this feeling to everyone as a Christmas Gift... There are a few so called "friends" who were a terrible disappointment this year. People who have been in my life a VERY long time, that for some reason, just can't be happy for me. At first it hurt and now it's okay...Their ugliness is their burden, not mine.

I look forward to this Christmas, it will be spent with friends and family. I've been able to meet the challenge of shopping, wrapping, making, baking, working and fitting in some of Richards chores as well. How lucky can you get...I am truly blessed.

A Wonderful Party

This is a very busy time of year for all. I seem to be a bit more organized this year then in past years...or maybe not. maybe it just seems that way because I'm feeling so positive about life in general.
We had a wonderful Christmas Party after our last WLS Meeting. The meeting itself was lots of fun. I was given a beautiful Plant as a Thank you for the Butterfly Project, I thought that's was very thoughtful of the team. We did not have the usual lesson so that time could be found for an adorable song the team gave us all as a Gift. It was sung to "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" and it was hysterical. I nice start to a perfect evening.
Our party was in the "Party Room " at the Neptune. Our very own Party Planner, Kittie, went above and beyond and took a plain ordinary meeting room and turned it into a winter wonderland. A beautiful white tree all decorated with Butterflies was a show piece..each of us got a bag with our name on it and we were told to take home an ornament for our own tree. Santa came and gave gifts to every person there (by name yet) and then we played trivia for more prizes, followed by name that tune for even more prizes. Jules graced us with music and song and Lisa made absolutely gorgeous center pieces for the table...She gifted me with one at the end of the evening so I felt very special. It has been a while since I have enjoyed myself like that at a party...It was a nice break from gift making.
We got our first real snow fall yesterday so I am looking out the window at a winter wonderland..Gosh I love the seasons...
Today Rich and I will wrap AGAIN!!! And try to get some organization going around here. I will head on down to the "other house" to finish up some more gifts. I promised myself I would not be sewing on Christmas eve and I intend to keep that promise.
I have gifts to mail that must go out soon...Busy, busy busy...So much prep and then it's all over for another year...I LOVE Christmas, just the over all joy that the season seems to bring to every ones heart..I wish it could last all year.
If you are reading this and you feel the love of giving inside you, please visit Anysoldier.com,
read some of the stories and see what our fighting men are asking for...it isn't much and the average person can afford to "adopt" a soldier for Christmas. Once you pick someone, you will get an actual address for that soldier...your gift goes to him /her, it is not a scam like some...so give it a look and really fill your heart with joy through an act of "GIVING"...
Off to fill up some boxes for some very special soldiers....

Happy Thanksgiving

Okay so I'm a day early....All the wild turkeys were standing on the ridge this morning holding signs saying; EAT BEEF...sorry guys, but there is a very fresh bird sitting in my refrig waiting to be stuffed :-)
We are delighted this year that at least part of the family will be here to celebrate with us. We do enjoy being up on this mountain, but during the holidays it is always hard, looking back on the business of the holiday, with a crowded table and so much laughter. I miss those day, but realize that life is full of change and acceptance is the key to happiness.
I have so very much to be thankful for this year...way at the top of the list is that Rich survived his surgery and continues to improve everyday...I have survived a year of change (for the better) much thinner then last year , much healthier and certainly much happier. My children are all happy in their lives and I am surrounded by people who truly care and show it in everything they do and say. I have to be one of the luckiest people on this planet and I never stop thanking God for holding me so close to his heart and allowing so much joy to fill my life.
I am thinking about the soldiers today...young men and women so far from home, so far from the loved ones who will celebrate this holiday missing them and praying for their safe return.
Please don't forget them in your prayers...There are so many people less fortunate, I wish I could feed them all, dress them all in warm clothes....What I can do is make a difference to some...You can as well..Most churches take coats and clothes for the needy, a lot of banks have barrels out for toys at Christmas and most of all check out anysoldier,com and make life a little nicer for our forces that won't be home this holiday season....
Happy Thanksgiving to all who have made my life a brighter place...and even to those who have brought darkness...fore if not for troubled times, how would I know what happiness feels like?

WOW!! Has it really been that long?

Sheesh....Thank you to those that have written to me via e-mail, wanting to know if everything is okay because it has been so long since I've Blogged.
There is no excuse, just life happening at a warp speed pace.
Rich continues to improve from his open heart surgery...he is doing really well, still in rehab, but his color is wonderful and everyday he can do a bit more then he did yesterday.
I have had a few issues but nothing worth complaining about...I guess I could, But I am so happy to be smaller and have so much more energy...that any little bump in the road is easy to navigate.
I've also gone into business with a friend of mine so I don't spend too much time in the house or at my computer. We spent all last week making curtains for our shop and talking the whole time about what we'd like to see happen. needless to say we are very excited...We are both hard workers and what she doesn't like to do I do and vice versa so it works well. It's a very exciting time...Of course it is also the worse time to start a business...(A) So close to Holidays so we have a great deal of outside stress and (B) the economy is not the best for embarking on a new adventure...but we tarry on with hopes for the future and staying extremely busy in the mean time...Too busy to think about failure for sure.
Have have dabbled in a lot of businesses over the years and ALL have been successful... All of them ran in the black within the first 6 mouths , which according to my accountant, is almost unheard of. This one, I'm afraid, may take a bit longer, simply because of what it is and because neither of us has a huge bankroll to fund it...so it will need to grow slow and fund itself...That's how I worked the chocolate business and for those of you who know me, know it grew far beyond my expectations. But enough about my excitement...
I know a lot of people follow this Blog who are thinking about Bariatric surgery for themselves.
I promised to be honest wit h you from the very beginning so at the risk of up setting some people...I have to tell you: If you are thinking about the Band, please give it a great deal of thought...It is a relatively new device and it seems to have it's share of problems...I am fearful that 10 years from now, they will either have to re evaluate the concept of the Band or change the design etc. It does work for some and when it does the results are wonderful...However, it is something you must work very hard to maintain or the weight seems to creep back in a very short period of time. Not to say you can't re lose it...but heck, you an do that with WW without surgery. I am also seeing a lot of interest in revisions (having the Band reversed to RNY)..
Which means yet another surgery to fight obesity...doesn't make much sense does it?
A very Dear friend is struggling with some very severe issues with the Band and just found out that her insurance will not cover another surgery. So what now? Does she remove it and risk gaining weight? Does she suffer with it to maintain her weight or does she pay for the surgery out of packet to at least get some relief...? Please think LONG and Hard about Banding...it isn't for everyone and if it's not for you, it can be a disaster.
Okay I also have to throw in that a bad RNY can be a disaster as well but I had mine over a year ago and there have been hundreds preformed at my hospital and there have been no REAL problems. We all seem to lose weight rapidly, we all seem very delighted with the weight loss and hell bent on keeping it off...Only time will tell. Right now I am fighting with a Vitamin D deficiency , I am taking 50,000 units of D every other day. I know it seems like a lot and those of you in the
know" know that D can be toxic. Understand that I am being closely watched and if this is the only small price I have to pay for feeling as good as I do...so be it.
I am also having some small issue with certain foods lately. Perhaps I've gotten lazy and I'm not chewing as well or the piece is too big...We are also working on that.
The bottom line is, I would do it again in a heartbeat...I'm not as small as I was in my twenty's, but I am heading in that direction and I'm delighted with each pound gone and each size smaller.
I have had a great deal of support along the way and to those of you who have kept in touch with your words of encouragement...I thank you....

A NEW day dawns

Okay so the other day wasn't one of my best. Like I say, when your mind goes into overload and then that straw falls on your back...You just explode, it's how I survive.
Once I vented in writing, I took a walk on this beautiful property I own and thought about how lucky I am. So much luckier then most people I know and for that I am truly grateful.
I realized as I sat up at my pond and fed my favorite fish, that when people strike back at me, it's not really about ME, it's about THEM...it's about their insecurities, about their less then perfect lives, it's about them "pretending" to be happy when they truly aren't and resenting me because it is so obvious that I truly am.
Sure things bother me for about a minute. That's about all I can allow for negative thoughts...otherwise I will be brought down into that dark place I know exist (I spent a lot of years there) I don't like that place, nor do I ever want to be there again.
I pondered on how I could help those who are hurting and then remembered something someone said to me about AA "You are only as sick as your secrets"...Secrets are exactly that...ones own demons to deal with...so my answer was that I can not help. As a friend to all who touch my life , I can only be there to try and comfort, try and offer support and be a friend.
There are those who will chose to walk away rather then discuss....I can't do much about that either...All I can do is try and protect myself from the "ugly, toxic" people and help those that are willing to help themselves.
My days are truly happy . God continues to smile on Rich and I. There will always be problems...that's the way life is, but love has a way of facing those problems head on and dealing with them. Yes there are days when I want to explode, days when people try and make me less of a person then I know I am...but they are far and few between.
As I sat at my pond ,I looked at my fish, a bass I call Popeye because he only has one eye...he comes when I call him and there are days he can see his worms because I throw to his (good side) and then there are days he misses some because he turns too fast and the worm lands to his bad side....Pretty much how life goes with all living things huh? Sometimes we see the worm, sometimes we don't...but we survive knowing we may see the worm tomorrow......

Stress = Life

For those of you who think I am "always up" "always positive" "always smiling"...This is a day for you ....LOL (crap I wasn't supposed to laugh or smile)

I am NOT an idiot!! I may not have the education that some people have, but I'm not stupid!!
My grammar sucks even if I did get straight A's in English. I don't use spell check, which may or may not be obvious, so even though I won many a Spelling Bee's and Scrabble Tournaments, you WILL find misspelled words. I am not a typist, never wanted to be either , so look for typo's, they are there for you to find. I make mistakes, I've made some HUGE ones, I take full responsibility for my life.
In short I'm not perfect....Are you? Do you think you are? When I have issues with someone, I talk to them in person, face to face and in most cases resolve those issues before they fester into something greater. If you are my "friend" you need to know...I will not lie to you, I will not walk on egg shells to preserve your feelings. I certainly won't hurt you deliberately but I will find a way to "tell it like it is" as kindly as possible. DO NOT look for hidden agenda's in anything I may write...again...if I have something to say to you personally, I'll say it...trust me on that.
I understand people have bad days, people can easily miss understand the written word for lack of affect or they can transfer an anger because they are dealing with sensitive issues they just can't wrap there mind around. Don't kill the messenger simple because she delivers something you don't want to deal with.
No I do not have a degree...But I do have life's experience, lots of life experience...I also have an extremely analytical mind and I READ people very well, for the most part. I am intuitive, logical and caring...That combination can cause me a great amount of pain and often does.
I can not watch someone suffer, emotionally, physically or both, without trying to help heal them.
It's in my nature, I cannot change who I am, nor do I want to.
I have held my own through a tumultuous life and I have survived. I'm proud of that survival, I'm proud of who I am . I have succeeded at anything I've put my mind to, including several successful businesses. I have been told to learn the word "NO", some of us CAN'T say "NO" to someone in need...I am one of those people. I have been accused of trying too hard to make people like me...NEWS FLASH!!! I don't give a flying rats ass who likes me and who doesn't and I have felt that way since childhood...because people I loved betrayed me, so I learned very early in life not to trust and not to CARE who liked me...but that doesn't mean I can't give, it doesn't mean I can't share and it sure as hell doesn't mean I can't care...But again, there is no hidden agenda or need on my part to be loved by all who touch my life...I am loved my many, I am also loathed...That's life...You cannot please all of the people all of the time. I pity those who try.
My life's goal is to make a difference. How I make that difference is MY CHOICE. If you don't approve, I don't care, it's not your life. If you are one of those who write to me and one that holds me in high esteem...I thank you. If I have made a difference in your life...I treasure you, because you ARE my goal.
Everyone, no matter how thick skinned they are has to, at times, let off steam and clear the air.
I just did...If you're still reading and smiling...You get me!!! Thank you!!