A couple of long days...

Well, I had my one month post op with Dr. Suh this week. Everything went well... he upped my Prilosec to twice a day to combat the senstive tummy issue with liquids. I've been eating much better, though. J and I went to Costco and got a ton of protein filled yummy stuff for me. Chicken meatballs, Turkey Burgers w/Swiss and Carmelized Onions, Shrimp Wonton Soup, and then just some regular shrimp. I think I'm in heaven!!

I've been keeping busy with general household office type work; like managing bills, changing auto insurance information, and applying to the Department of Rehabilition through Social Security. I'm hoping they can send me to school for Radiology. I was looking into that after Medical Assisting school. I never got my certificate from FCC, because although I finished the classroom portion (with a 95% on my final, no less!) I didn't finish the externship because I got "sick" (started having major panic attacks). So that sucks. But, the DOR is mailing me the application packet, so we will see how that goes.

I finished my Tide Pool Docent training for Dana Point! I just have to attend an Orientation for the Ocean Institute to be official. I'm very excited. I love the beach, and to spend time there educating others really appeals to me. We will have to see how that goes in coordination with my training with the DOR.

Oh! I got my hair done. Check this:

I meant for it to be more blonde, but love the way it turned out. So far I've gotten good reviews. I loved the blue streaks, I really did, and may do it again - but I'm starting to volunteer and do training, and thought I needed to look, well - not so "punk" (hee hee)

Well, that's all for me right now. Paco is getting pretty out of hand. He screams a lot sometimes. Can't figure it out. Parrots scream, that's life, I guess. Oh, here's a pic of my two guys:

Paco got bold one night while playing on his cage and decided to fly (ha - more like fall; his wings are clipped) to the living room and hang out with us. He can be sweet sometimes. I can't wait until we get our dog (eventually, at some point, we are going to get a pug or two) and see how Paco relates to having someone bigger than him in the house. I know, we're humans and we are bigger than him, but try telling that to Paco!

So, talk to you later! No quote today, I'm quite worn out.

Shark Lagoon at night...

Tonight Jeremy and I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific's Shark Lagoon Nights. It's free (well, except for the $7.00 we had to pay for parking) and is happening on Friday nights. We had a nice time walking around, looking at the little sharks, and then looking at the really big sharks. They had some rays as well; this little guy came up to say hello:

Isn't he cute? Some of the rays in the touch tank had curly tails. It was really neat. So, we walked, and we talked... oh and we got distracted by the lorikeets in the aviary that we were not allowed into:

They were so loud, we had to stop and see what all the commotion was about. They are cute little tricksters. There's a picture of me and Jeremy from 2001-ish floating around somewhere of us at the San Diego Wild Animal Park with the lories. It's actually a very nice picture, but Jeremy says it looks like he's a cradle-robber because I look about 15 in the picture. I'll have to see if I can dig it up. Speaking of pictures of me where I look 15, how's this?

Yeah, I'm a freakin kid. You'd never guess I'm going to be 34 this year.

Well, tomorrow Jeremy and I both have a busy day ahead of us. I am going to be spending part of the afternoon in field training to because a docent for the Dana Point Tidepools through the Ocean Institute. It's a great gig, all volunteer, of course - but I cannot think of a better way to spend some time on the weekends than at low tide in the tidepools. Can we say amazing? I'm a nature lover - always have been. I've always been a little afraid of the ocean (thank you, Jaws...) but since I've moved to California and especially since we moved to south OC, it's become someplace I crave to go. So after this weekend, be sure to come on down to the tidepools and say hello! I'd love to see any of you!

So after field training, Jeremy and I are going to go on a whale watching trip out of Dana Point. We've done it before, had a little bit of luck with whales, but oh my gosh - the dolphins were amazing on the way back in. They really do "surf" the boat's wake. It was great. Hard to get pictures of, though. Maybe with Jeremy's camera we'll have better luck.

After that, I'm not sure what we have planned. But on Sunday we are either going to Camarillo again, or maybe to Long Beach to El Dorado Park to do some hiking. I love my weekends with Jeremy. It makes up for the time that we sometimes do not have with each other during the week.

Well, I'm tired - and I still have some work to do getting ready for April 15th. Ever since I made the decision to go forward with my plans, the days are flying by and it seems like I am not getting enough done! *sigh* I need an assistant that I can't afford to pay. Oh wait, I have my husband!

So, goodnight dear readers, and always remember:

"Fortify yourself with contentment, for this is an impregnable fortress" -- Epictetus

My husband showed me this...

Pay attention to the sign to the right of the white arrow. Yeah.

I love my husband.

A bowling we will go...

Right now I am at Saddleback Lanes with my hubby watching his team bowl.  Well, okay, I am a little preoccupied with my blog, but *shhhh* don't tell anyone!

Today has been pretty productive for me.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, I am working on setting up my own business at home.  It is going to be a combination mail-order and online sales type of business.  I went today and picked up my "Home Occupant Use Certificate" from the city's Planning Department.  It's essentially a business license.  I have already mailed in my applications for my Fictitious Business Name and Resale Certificate, and have in hand my Federal Tax ID number.  

What I've been doing is entering different products that I sell into an offline inventory program that makes it a breeze to upload to eBay.  It also calculates all of your listing fees before you actually list the item, so you can tell how much you can afford to actually list.  It is a hit and miss project with eBay.  I had some success a few years ago, and have just let it fall by the wayside until now.  The best part is that the warehouse that I purchase from is located in Fontana - which is maybe an hour away.  So, I can either have things shipped to my apartment, or do will-call and go and pick it up.  Also, I can either have the warehouse company "drop ship" to my customers, or I can pick up the items and ship them myself.  That is how I prefer to do it, so I can put in some promotional materials and free gifts.  Okay, I lie - I do not do any of the shipping, that is something that my husband loves to do, so I let him.

Oh!  Yesterday I successfully made Shelly's Pizza Bites - and oh my gosh, it was like a pizza explosion in my mouth.  I highly recommend them!  Tonight, I am going to try and conquer those blueberry muffins again.  

I have still been having issues with liquids hurting my stomach, but I've been finding ways around it to get some fluids in.  Protein, however is another story - so unfortunately the scale has not moved down in the last week.  I have my one month post op appointment on Tuesday, so I will talk to the doctor about that.  I've been having problems with pain management, so I have been taking liquid Lortab; at night mainly, but there has been some times when I have taken it during the day.  

Onto some good news:  the carpet drying company came out and got all of their equipment, and the construction company came in and fixed our walls in the dining room (I haven't checked the office).  Now, we just need to have the walls painted and we should be almost back to normal!  Something that came out of this whole mess is that we had to move the saltwater fish tank we have.  No, there are no fish in it, as of yet... but I like where it ended up.  We just need to have a stand built to accommodate the "guts" of the tank (such as the pump, and filter lines, etc) and have it actually fit where I want it to go.  Luckily, I know someone who works in construction.

Well, I'll let you go for now; I have some work I need to get done and stuff.  But, I leave you with this:

"They can because they think they can" -- Virgil

The destruction continues...

Right now I'm listening to Sarah McLachlan, pondering the world that is my dining room. The slab leak done being repaired on Saturday, and the carpet/wall drying people came and gave us an industrial size fan and dehumidifier. And yet, they still felt the need to come today and take out even more of our wall. Here's what I mean:

This is right after they fixed the leak:

Apparently they felt the need to further destroy our dining room, because the carpet drying team did this today:

We actually lucked out some (um, sure) because they wanted to "tent" the entire dining room area like they do when they are working with asbestos so the carpet and walls would dry quicker. They decided against it.

Okay - let's NOT talk about the apartment crumbling apart around us. I have decided to get back into eBay selling and worked most of the day today filling our forms for Fictitious Business Names, Home Occupation Certificate for the city, Federal Tax ID number, Seller's permit through the State... oy vey. I've sold on eBay before but it more of a hobby than anything else, and now I am looking to try and make something of an income for it. I have a membership at a wholesale type house where I can purchase retail products at wholesale prices and then sell them. I figure it is going to take at least a month to get set up with all my licenses and such, so I am looking at an April 15th launch date. I hope I get everything I need to get done by then!

Okay, now here's why you come to this place to begin with: my weight loss journey. I haven't weighed myself today, but I haven't lost any weight since Wednesday. I am having a hard time keeping any fluid down (grouchy pouchy) so I have been trying to get most of my protein from food. Not working well. But, I will keep chugging through this. For those of you that have had the surgery, has this happened to you? I'm three weeks out. I'm not getting sick or vomiting or anything when I try to take in liquids, it just hurts like hell. I have some liquid Lortab and that sort of takes the edge off of the liquid going down, but really, not much. So, since I can't handle the liquids, I am not able to take my vitamins. I am lucky that I can get my psych meds down at night, otherwise I'd be a total mess. Oh well. I have an appointment with Dr. Suh on the 24th. Hopefully things will have resolved themselves by then. If not, well, he's a doctor - so I'm in a good place.

Other than that, I am so ready to get off the soft food stage. You can only have so many eggs, tuna, yogurt, jello and soup. I can eat fine, it doesn't hurt the pouch. Just liquids. And all liquids, from plain water to foo foo protein drink; from hot to cold... it just is not happy. Okay I am done complaining, really I am. That's not why you are here. In fact, may I ask, why ARE you here? I know I corrupted some famiy members into reading my blog, because, well I want SOMEONE to read it. But if you're not my family, what would you like to see here? I am still researching Restless Leg Syndrome and it's relation to Gastric Bypass Surgery. There's not as much information out there when it come to combining the two. Although, since I got home from the hospital I have been sleeping much better. Probably from the pain medicine. But I'm not ready to pass judgement yet. Stay tuned for that. And eventually I am going to try Shelly's Pizza Bites but with most of the dining room being crowded into the kitchen, I have to room to spread out and cook. Hopefully later this week.

Well, I'm out of here for tonight. The husband should be home relatively soon, and it's movie night again. I love Netflix! Although we just finished our last two: Lord of War and Snakes on a Plane. Two totally different movies! I guess tonight we finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - we borrowed it from his parents.

For now, I leave you with this:

Aw, forget it. I'm tired today. =0)

Looking for a way to work from home

So, last year I applied for Social Security Disability because I am Bipolar and have been having problems keeping work.  I was lucky enough to be approved, and am getting payments monthly.  I am looking to supplement those payments - Social Security has a program where you can work and make a small amount of money without affecting your benefits.

Just when you think you have things under control...

Hey everyone!  Boy, have I had the most interesting, and long couple of days.  I mentioned in my last blog the pipe leaks that we had in the apartment.  Well, the plumbers were jackhammering until about 9:30 at night.  We were able to find some quiet at the leasing office until around 7 or so, but were pretty much stuck with it for the rest of the time they were there.  The carpet and wall drying company also came out that day (Friday) and set up a industrial type fan and dehumidifier.  It was a long night for us.  The next day, the plumbers came at about 10:30 am and had to start the jackhammering again because they didn't find the pipe the night before.  This was Saturday.  So, my hubby and I decided to pack a backpack with some water and snacks, and head to San Diego.  We figured we could hit one of three places:  the San Diego Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld, or Cabrillo National Monument.  After determining that it was too late to pay the amount of money to get into the Wild Animal Park or SeaWorld we drove to Cabrillo.  

It's actually very cheap to get into the park, only $5.00 per vehicle.  But two lines down the fee sign, we saw that a year pass was only $15.oo.  We said "Heck Yeah!" and went with the year pass.  We stuck around for a little while, got a few pictures (which I will post in the next couple of days) and just got oriented with the park.  We were there for maybe an hour.  We only stayed a little while because we had to make a run up to hubby's parents to grab some things, and they live up in the San Gabriel Valley.  We ran up there, then swing back home for something to eat - then we head out to see "Coraline" at the Irvine Spectrum.

The movie, was great.  What happened after the movie was not.  Walking back to the parking lot, something happened in my abdomen and all of a sudden I was in extreme pain.  We're talking doubled over, crying out loud, cannot walk pain.  I said to my husband "we need to go to the emergency room" and my wonderful husband got me there within 20 minutes.

After checking in, we waited in the lobby for a couple of hours.  Finally got into a bed where they hooked me up to an IV, took some blood and a urine sample.  A very strange person came in to give me a chest x-ray.  Then, they had me drink 1000 mL of water with some contrast dye in it so they could do a CT scan of my abdomen.  So, we arrived at the ER at 12:00 am-ish and nine and a half hours later, I get released.  They did every test known to.. well, me at least.  Everything came back perfect.  They told me that my pain was just me healing and possibly doing too much.  So, I definitely learned my lesson.  They sent me home with liquid Lortab, which is what I was released with after surgery.

The scary part about this whole thing for me is that I paged my surgeon - TWICE.  Once on Friday evening when I started not feeling well, and once while we were waiting in the ER lobby.  Had he returned my page, he would have more than likely called in a RX for pain medication and I would not have had to be at the ER for as long as I was, if at all.  I am very upset about this.  My husband says to give him the benefit of the doubt, that maybe he dropped his pager in the toilet, or someone else was on call and did not respond for him.  Either way, I was in some major pain and I depended upon my surgeon to take care of me, like he promised he would.  I have my one month post op appointment with him on the 24th, but you can bet that I am going to be calling the office tomorrow.

So, sorry that this post is just me venting; but I guess if anything one good thing can be learned from my experience.   TRUST YOUR BODY.  I was lucky that there was nothing wrong with me.   But if something does not feel right - CALL YOUR SURGEON.  If for some reason you cannot get in touch with your surgeon, or anyone else from their office, do not be afraid to go to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room.

That's my story, and I am sticking to it.  But let me leave you with this:

"A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill requires only our silence; which costs us nothing" -- John Tillotson

What a night...

I wish I could say that in a good way. I stayed up past 2 a.m. - with this incredible restless feeling. The only thing that I can compare it to, is what doctors called "restless leg syndrome". I wonder if this is common after surgery? I got up early enough, actually earlier than I normally do, and was active most of the day - so you think that I would have gotten a good night's sleep. Watch for a post sometime next week on whether or not there is a correlation between restless leg syndrome and gastric bypass surgery.

Since I couldn't sleep last night, I tried a recipe from someone that is a crazy good blogger about weight loss surgery, plastic surgery after weight loss surgery, and weight loss surgery friendly recipes. Her moniker is "eggface" and you can check out all her recipes and follow her story at "The World According to Eggface" - I was lucky enough to get permission to post links to her recipes, so watch for those as I test them about.

Anyway, back to the recipe... it was Shelly's Blueberry Protein Muffins. The batter looked delicous as I prepared it, and the apartment smelled heavenly while they baked. Bad news: I didn't get to eat any of them. I misjudged the baking time in an electric oven (I've cooked with gas stoves forever) and they ended up burnt to a crisp *sigh* I have everything to make them again except for the blueberries, so maybe I will have my husband stop at the store on the way home for more. And this time, I will watch them like a hawk. I will not let my oven deprive me of good blueberry muffins!

Right now, I just pulled another one of Shelly's recipes out of the oven. Shelly's Italian Crab Bites. They look oh-so-good. And they smell *sniff* yummy!

Last night was also a bad night for us and our apartment. We moved in a couple of months ago, and within the last week we have been smelling this really... bad... smell. We checked the kitchen, refridgerator, trash can - and found nothing. An hour or so later, I went to get something from on top of our salt water fish tank (which is empty) and when I stepped on the carpet, it was soaked! We looked at the wall, and it was wet too. HUH? Moved a few things out of the wet zone and went to bed, figuring we would call maintenance in the morning. This afternoon (after I had put off calling the maint. guy) he actually showed up at my apartment, saying that the landscaping guy had seen hot water pouring out of the foundation by our apartment. So I let him in, told him about the carpet and wall - and he checks the bathroom. Worse case scenario. The pipe had burst under the slab in the apartment, and out on the patio by the water heater. Mega work. Plumber coming today (hopefully - it's almost 4:30 p.m. right now and ... okay nevermind. Mid-sentence and they show up!) and they will have the wall dryer and carpet replacement coming out next week. Luckily, we are in an apartment and do not have to pay for any of the work. Part of me desperately wants to move into a house, but I'm not sure we would be able to pay for emergencies like these.

So to recap - a couple of recipes for you to check out; a post will be coming sometime next week on whether or not gastric bypass surgery and restless leg syndrome are connected, and of course, I will keep you updated on what is going on in the world that is me.

For now, I leave you with this:

"Ask yourself this question: Will this matter a year from now?" -- Richard Carlson, writing in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.

Research, research, research!

Before doing anything, from taking a road trip to having weight loss surgery, I cannot express the importance of doing research. Having an arsenal of information before you head into something unknown can be a godsend. For me, I found the internet to be invaluable. As my husband says, you can find anything on the internet these days.

One of the first things you can look for is an online support group. There are many out there, if you look. Sometimes you don't even have to look that hard, they just pop up! Just type in what you are looking for into your favorite search engine, and you will come up plenty of links. Most are free, you just have to register a username to post on the boards, or blogs.

Another place you can look is through your insurance company. They may have classes, support groups, or other resources that may work for you. That is how I end up finding out, and having weight loss surgery.

A great place for your support, is church. Yep, I said it. And you don't have to be a church goer to get the benefits of this support. Most churches have support groups like 12-step, or other recovery meetings. 12 step, you ask? Isn't that for drug users and alcoholics? No! It can be for you too. Check this - at least for me, the reason I got to an unhealthy weight is because I had an unhealthy relationship with food. Basically a food addict. A 12 step program can help you overcome this relationship and give you great tools to recover.

Finally - your family and friends. Never underestimate the power of love. I know that if I hadn't had the support from my friends and family I would not have been successful in completing my six month course of classes and other requirements to have the surgery in the first place. And chances are, someone you know already knows someone who has gone through what you are considering. That was what surprised me the most. When I first told my mother-in-law I was considering weight loss surgery, she said "Oh, yeah - so and so had that and has lost a ton of weight!". Wow. Just when you think you are alone in this journey, you're not.

Oh, and don't forget - you always have me!

That is all, for now - but I leave you with this:

"By associating with wise people you will become wise yourself" -- Menander

Hello New World!

Well, maybe not so much "New World", as "New Me". You see, I had Gastric Bypass Surgery a little over two weeks ago. I started the process a little over a year ago, and was lucky enough to have my surgery done by the very respectful Dr. Suh of Crown Bariatric in Corona, California.

This blog is for everyone. While it will be focused mainly on my weight loss journey, there will be other neat things along the way. Part of this process is relearning how to eat and cook (so look for product reviews along the way), exercising, and support. I will also try to answer any questions you have, but understand that it is all based on MY experience. Nothing here should substitute information from a doctor. What I write is what works for me. If you are a weight loss surgery patient, your doctor may have a different protocol for you to follow. Always listen to your doctor.

Okay, a little background. I am a 33 year old stay at home wife. I have not been heavy all my life, but for a good portion of it. I have tried all the diets known to man (and woman!). Pills, Weight Watchers, Lindora, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem. And, I "failed" at all these diets. Sure, I would lose some weight but it would always come back, two-fold. Finally, I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and high cholesterol. Also, I never had a sleep study, but I am fairly certain I have/had sleep apnea. That is when I started researching weight loss programs through my insurance. I joined an online support group, and heard about bariatric surgery. Originally, I was geared toward the Lap Band. However, my insurance did not support that surgery, so I would have had to pay out of pocket... and it wasn't cheap. I signed up for the bariatric orientation, and learned about Gastric Bypass. I thought it would be the better way to go. So I started the six month class required by insurance to have the surgery. I'll go through that more on later posts. I finished in October of 2008, got my consultation with Dr. Suh in early February and on February 23rd, I became what is compassionately known as a "loser". Yep, I had moved to "the other side".

It wasn't easy at first - clear liquids while in the hospital, then full liquids for a week (strained soups, protein shakes, etc...) and just last week I was cleared for soft foods. Hooray tuna! I have another couple of weeks before I am cleared for regular food. But no worries, I will keep you updated!

For now, let me leave you with this:

"In learning to know other things, and other minds, we become more intimately acquainted with ourselves, and are to ourselves better worth knowing" --- Philip Gilbert Hamilton