dylanmiles23

Hi everyone.
I have not been out yet and we got 2-3', don't know the exact amount. I live in a condo and we have to clean our own cars. My husband drives a huge SUV limo and it has no snow on it, thank you wind. My car just has it around the doors not on it. My walkway is done. I live in a townhouse, so I have my own walkway.Last February my husband fell on black ice in our walkway and broke his back so we are more careful now an over salt.
I am about 10 miles south of Boston. My youngest son lives on the ocean, but up a small hill, so he doesn't get the waves but Monday night his wife recorded the 75 mile winds. Sounded awful but they were safe.
A sight will be when I go out to shovel. I have my old ski clothes from my 40's, I am 64 now. But not the complete outfits of each. So my jacket is purple and my pants are hot pink. But I will be warm and dry.
Everyone be safe and dry and warm.
Arlene

Hi everyone.
I have not been out yet and we got 2-3', don't know the exact amount. I live in a condo and we have to clean our own cars. My husband drives a huge SUV limo and it has no snow on it, thank you wind. My car just has it around the doors not on it. My walkway is done. I live in a townhouse, so I have my own walkway.Last February my husband fell on black ice in our walkway and broke his back so we are more careful now an over salt.
I am about 10 miles south of Boston. My youngest son lives on the ocean, but up a small hill, so he doesn't get the waves but Monday night his wife recorded the 75 mile winds. Sounded awful but they were safe.
A sight will be when I go out to shovel. I have my old ski clothes from my 40's, I am 64 now. But not the complete outfits of each. So my jacket is purple and my pants are hot pink. But I will be warm and dry.
Everyone be safe and dry and warm.
Arlene

Hi everyone.
I have not been out yet and we got 2-3', don't know the exact amount. I live in a condo and we have to clean our own cars. My husband drives a huge SUV limo and it has no snow on it, thank you wind. My car just has it around the doors not on it. My walkway is done. I live in a townhouse, so I have my own walkway.Last February my husband fell on black ice in our walkway and broke his back so we are more careful now an over salt.
I am about 10 miles south of Boston. My youngest son lives on the ocean, but up a small hill, so he doesn't get the waves but Monday night his wife recorded the 75 mile winds. Sounded awful but they were safe.
A sight will be when I go out to shovel. I have my old ski clothes from my 40's, I am 64 now. But not the complete outfits of each. So my jacket is purple and my pants are hot pink. But I will be warm and dry.
Everyone be safe and dry and warm.
Arlene

Hi everyone.
I have not been out yet and we got 2-3', don't know the exact amount. I live in a condo and we have to clean our own cars. My husband drives a huge SUV limo and it has no snow on it, thank you wind. My car just has it around the doors not on it. My walkway is done. I live in a townhouse, so I have my own walkway.Last February my husband fell on black ice in our walkway and broke his back so we are more careful now an over salt.
I am about 10 miles south of Boston. My youngest son lives on the ocean, but up a small hill, so he doesn't get the waves but Monday night his wife recorded the 75 mile winds. Sounded awful but they were safe.
A sight will be when I go out to shovel. I have my old ski clothes from my 40's, I am 64 now. But not the complete outfits of each. So my jacket is purple and my pants are hot pink. But I will be warm and dry.
Everyone be safe and dry and warm.
Arlene

Hi everyone.
I have not been out yet and we got 2-3', don't know the exact amount. I live in a condo and we have to clean our own cars. My husband drives a huge SUV limo and it has no snow on it, thank you wind. My car just has it around the doors not on it. My walkway is done. I live in a townhouse, so I have my own walkway.Last February my husband fell on black ice in our walkway and broke his back so we are more careful now an over salt.
I am about 10 miles south of Boston. My youngest son lives on the ocean, but up a small hill, so he doesn't get the waves but Monday night his wife recorded the 75 mile winds. Sounded awful but they were safe.
A sight will be when I go out to shovel. I have my old ski clothes from my 40's, I am 64 now. But not the complete outfits of each. So my jacket is purple and my pants are hot pink. But I will be warm and dry.
Everyone be safe and dry and warm.
Arlene

We got about 27 inches in my neck of the woods yesterday. Thank goodness we were home and able to keep ahead of it all. Clearing it away about as fast as it was falling just to make getting out the next day (today) easier then it was during the last storm.
Even though it's only Wed. I feel like it's been a week in 2 days!! All the "preparation" that went into getting ready for the storm. I'm glad we did it I was worried about power outages but in the end it was mostly not necessary but better safe then sorry right?
Here is quick photo of me in my winter gear as I drove with my son in his new car (holding my breath the whole way!) to get gas on Monday morning, and a photo of the puppies out in snow that was way over their heads but still having a great time playing out there in it!
Me...sorry your not going to get me to build a snowman!! Maybe a sand castle on a beach somewhere. I do not like snow or winter! Do love snowflakes in the form of diamond jewelry though but that's about it.

Haven't measured the snow as it is drifting so much, but at least two feet here at the base of the mountain. I did, however, measure my waist for some reason (stumbled on the measuring tape). Are you ready? Nine inches off of my waist since surgery. What?! Amazing. I know I need bras. And pants are loose again. But I love, love, love having a waist. I really was Mrs. winnie-the-Pooh. Not anymore!

Hey All,
Just wanted to pop in and say hello. Hope you're all doing well and enjoying life. Also, wanted to say thanks for the recommendations on the dry skin remedies. Since incorporating flaxseed oil two weeks ago the winter itches are gone.

you look great. Tiny, yes. Glad you are out and about enjoying life, walking around NYC.

you look great. Tiny, yes. Glad you are out and about enjoying life, walking around NYC.

you look great. Tiny, yes. Glad you are out and about enjoying life, walking around NYC.

I think the sweater looks better. The jacket is great to have. Enjoy them both.

you look great. Tiny, yes. Glad you are out and about enjoying life, walking around NYC.

I think the sweater looks better. The jacket is great to have. Enjoy them both.

We don't have to explain it here on this site but I tried to make my friends understand last night just what has happened to me these past two years and they understand as best they can but you all understand in a way that folks who don't have food issues just cannot.
How does one explain that as I've gotten smaller, I've become more of a presence. Look at this picture. I'm tiny as compared to my friends. I'm a tiny woman now and yet, I am more visible than I was when I was so much larger.

Oh yeah! I joked about the Cinderella thing on the stairs and a passerby laughed along and said that's what shoes are for. A year ago I would have been worrying about stares on the stairs. And the meal was amazing. Lobster bisque and scallops and creme brûlée and a bottle of wine. Instead of avoiding the camera I asked the waiter to take our picture !
Living in the shadows for so many years changes you. It's so nice to know I am really here under it all and can find myself again.

So much fun to have updates from our New York and Chicago fashionistas! Isn't it grand to be feeling good in these bodies instead of the agony of overweight?

Thanks, peeps! My daughter said the jacket would look cute with jeans, so maybe I'll do that sometime. I had a great time. I had never been to the Signature Room at the Hancock before. To get in the building, you have to walk down a flight of stairs and then up an escalator back to street level before the elevator ride. I had a Cinderella moment and lost a shoe on the steps! Got a chuckle out of that. Our dinner was wonderful and the city looked amazing. My camera doesn't do it justice, but here is the view from our table.

This is the dress I ended up with for tonight's dinner at the 95th. I had a much fancier one but it was too big! So in a panic I ran to Target today and got this sleeveless dress for $27.99 and topped it off with a black sweater from my skinny daughter's closet! The heels are new and a size too big so they don't hurt my goofy feet. People, I have not worn a dress in 15 years. This is truly an NSV!

My girls said the sweater looks better than the jacket from the fancy dress.
Look at me, taking fashion advice from my kids!

Very nice of you to share your session with us. Thank you. About OA. I have gone in the past a few times. I was given a list of sponsors and when I would call for help, none of them belonged or cared to help. Made me not stay. Sad.
I always ate because I was bored especially after dinner while watching tv. I still sometimes eat but not like before. While dining out, OMG! could I eat and eat. I love bread, still do but only in restaurants and then the crusty parts.
I think we are all great for each other. I have seen therapists in the past but they have all been young and they leave after you get comfortable with them. So I don't talk to anyone about my problems.
Everyone enjoy your evening and again everyone thanks for sharing.
Arlene

Very nice of you to share your session with us. Thank you. About OA. I have gone in the past a few times. I was given a list of sponsors and when I would call for help, none of them belonged or cared to help. Made me not stay. Sad.
I always ate because I was bored especially after dinner while watching tv. I still sometimes eat but not like before. While dining out, OMG! could I eat and eat. I love bread, still do but only in restaurants and then the crusty parts.
I think we are all great for each other. I have seen therapists in the past but they have all been young and they leave after you get comfortable with them. So I don't talk to anyone about my problems.
Everyone enjoy your evening and again everyone thanks for sharing.
Arlene

Very nice of you to share your session with us. Thank you. About OA. I have gone in the past a few times. I was given a list of sponsors and when I would call for help, none of them belonged or cared to help. Made me not stay. Sad.
I always ate because I was bored especially after dinner while watching tv. I still sometimes eat but not like before. While dining out, OMG! could I eat and eat. I love bread, still do but only in restaurants and then the crusty parts.
I think we are all great for each other. I have seen therapists in the past but they have all been young and they leave after you get comfortable with them. So I don't talk to anyone about my problems.
Everyone enjoy your evening and again everyone thanks for sharing.
Arlene

Very nice of you to share your session with us. Thank you. About OA. I have gone in the past a few times. I was given a list of sponsors and when I would call for help, none of them belonged or cared to help. Made me not stay. Sad.
I always ate because I was bored especially after dinner while watching tv. I still sometimes eat but not like before. While dining out, OMG! could I eat and eat. I love bread, still do but only in restaurants and then the crusty parts.
I think we are all great for each other. I have seen therapists in the past but they have all been young and they leave after you get comfortable with them. So I don't talk to anyone about my problems.
Everyone enjoy your evening and again everyone thanks for sharing.
Arlene

I had a session with my divorce therapist last night. I see her monthly now. When I came home hungry for dinner, I was able to effortlessly stop eating a very delicious food when I felt the stop signal. Truly no effort. I realized in that moment that the therapy session met my emotional needs yesterday, so food didn't have to. Without the band I wouldn't have gotten a stop signal and would have eaten all the food in front of me.
Complacency is my enemy. Well, one of my enemies. Service to others is a sure fire way to stave off complacency. Staying involved with other overeaters and WLS patients, both here and in my 12 step meetings, gives me focus outside of my own sometimes addled brain. My thinking is not always reliable. Sharing the good I've been given helps others and helps me by snapping me out of my destructive patterns.
My session last night was about how I slide into fear mode in reaction to my husband's behavior or anticipated behavior. Did you get that? Anticipated behavior. I'm living/reacting/stressing over/in dread of what I'm guessing his next move is going to be. She asked me how long I've operated this way. Decades. I broke down and cried for the lost years of self and the lost years of growing as a person. Why was I content to be bullied and why was I content to accept a life that was so unsatisfying? Why was it enough to have food instead of a full life?
It made me so profoundly sad to look at my behavior objectively, as an outsider does, as my therapist does. She kept drawing my attention to the fear reaction I was exhibiting. She pointed out that it's not necessary anymore. I'm not in the house with him anymore. My girls aren't either. But like Pavlov's dog, I still drool when the bell rings.
All I know is that recovery from overeating and self destructive behavior is multifaceted. The band puts a physical stop signal in place for me and dims physical hunger appropriately. But woe is me if I think that's all I need.
The issues beneath the eating are like an onion being peeled. This isn't news to any of us. We know "it's not what we are eating, it's what's eating us". But hearing it and nodding "yes" doesn't mean we've worked through it. I actually have to work through this stuff. I actually have to talk this over with a professional, understand what I've been doing and how it doesn't serve me, come up with better coping habits, and then do them.
I've felt a certain way about myself most of my life. Many of those messages were wrong. F-ed up. They need to be undone and it's not as simple as sticking an affirmation on a mirror. It's daily work to replace the messages with new messages and new actions that reinforce the messages. It's work. It's hard. It's scary. I cried last night because I couldn't understand why I valued myself so little for so long. I look at my beautiful, strong daughters and think, if they ever treated themselves the way I treated myself, it would kill me. I can see their beauty, their goodness, their worth. Why can't I see mine?
I think that as long as I stay on the path of recovery in all its forms I will not relapse. Part of that path for me is therapy and part is OA and CODA. With the 12-step programs I have the opportunity for service to others which keeps me working in a positive direction. That can be as simple as leading a meeting, or even just showing up faithfully.
I see you ladies here leading BariatricPal support group meetings in your area. Same effect. Just like sharing here on the boards and keeping it real. An OA sponsor from years ago used to talk about the folks who would come into meetings and share their "happy hor$e$hit" for a few weeks, then disappear and you'd never hear from them again. Don't get me wrong. The uplifting posts are crucial and I do my share of them. But the real, raw stuff I share and read here is equally, if not more, necessary to my recovery.
At some level a year ago when I started the WLS process, I knew this would exhaust every molecule of my being. And it wouldn't have an ending date. Because of the escalating emotional abuse turned toward my kids, I finally became ready for it. I'm sad I couldn't become ready for myself, but I did become ready. It's just as hard and raw and painful as I expected. But it's authentic. It's real. It's not the fake plastic life I lived before, under hundreds of pounds of self hate. It's all being stripped away and I can't stop now. I won't.