DeLarla

I'm trying to do this whole bike think like I'm smooth and cool, but I may as well wear a siren hat and wave neon flags. There's just no way to remain understated while riding a Harley - they're apparently a really huge deal. Every time we're in public, guys bow down to us. They circle the bike like we're royalty. Seriously, I just don't "get it." Okay, it's a nice bike, but it's just a motorcycle, right? I've never been into cars. I don't know the difference between horse power and cow poop. I might like to be the center of attention when I'm in my own little circle of friends, but driving down the street getting waved at by total strangers is weird... did any of you know that owning a Harley is kinda like joining a secret little cult? All bikers now hit their chest with their fist then kinda throw it our way - one of those brotherly love kinda symbols like we're related or something. Strange. Very strange new world I've entered. You can't stop at a light next to another bike without engaging in conversation. Good thing he waited till I was almost 42... if I had one of dem deer Harley's when I was a slut I mean single, damn, I'd have been in trouble!

Thanks everyone! Funny about the boots cuz I've had them for years. We were in Pennsylvania at the world's largest shoe store looking for some boots cuz it was cold, but the only thing they had in my size was from the Harley line. Next week when I have my license will be the turning point in my marriage. He's excited that I'm learning to ride, but he's getting nervous anticipating me taking the thing to work. He opened a big ol' can of worms bringing the bike home. Big worms.

I'm glad you took extra time to think it through. The part about removing the liver freaked me out a little bit, but a doc's gotta do what he's gotta do. Here, can you hold this liver a sec? I could never be a doctor!

Speaking of construction, my friend, Babs, showed up this morning in overalls to help me finish projects that have me all stressed out. Hubby won't finish projects till he's done building a trailer for the motorcycle, so we've been fighting cuz toys are more important than tiles and drywall. So even though Babs & I had some friendship problems, she pulled thru when I need her most. She's got all the shutters off the windows in my room and has the garage prepped for paint. That's a true friend, eh?

Leatha, good point. When you lose that fast, you're not losing just fat. Losing muscle ain't the way to go. Plus, many bypass patients have to take supplements for life because their newly mutilated stomachs don't absorb nutrition from foods ingested.

Like one of those Dove commericals - which one is mom, which one is Don. You're hair is so long & fluffy! I'm still tripping on your abilities. I could write an hour over a 3 foot section of my kitchen that needs drywall.

P.S. Life is just starting to get fun - I waited 41 years, so no more birthdays please... I'm in freeze-frame mode - gonna chill out at this exact age for another decade or so. Denial. (can't get Christina Aguilera's "Dirty" out of my head... feel like being in a club dirty dancing.)

My little 14 yr old friend named Carlo. After going to a concert and being in the presence of Eddie Van Halen is when we named the meanest bird alive after the most intense guitar soloist I've ever heard. But 4 birds in one enormous cage... they were always fighting and there were actual splatters of blood from bird wars. Now I have a too-tiny cage, but we leave the door open, and earlier I heard the birds but couldn't find them. One was chillen in the laundry room, the other on the pot shelves. Constantly running around with wet paper towels to clean up birdy poo. Hey, the far-outest thing just happened... by the way, it's 3 a.m., which is insane for me since I go to bed at 9:00 p.m., but hubby wanted to party! He doesn't drink but took me to a local bar to dance & hear the band, then to 2 a.m. Vegas Breakfast, but the fun part was the ride home - I was actually freezing! You gotta understand I live in the desert, so the 100 degrees gets old after awhile. Being cold is orgasmic! Sorry, too much info! Home to my warm fur babies now.

Chris asked me what I want for my birthday. I told him "no stress, please." I don't want any gifts - just vacume or pay a bill. My house is insane, so I gave away 2 of my birds and kept 2. I gave away the enormous cage - that thing was like having a garbage truck in the middle of my house. I went and bought a tiny cage (too small for 2 cockatiels) but I keep the door open so they wander around the house with the cat and the dogs. Everyone is getting along for now. I think all the birds will be better in the long run cause now I can give Daisy Sunshine and Triscuit the attention they deserve. And Carlo and Eddie have gone to a very loving home.

I was lucky (in a sick way) because the surgery grossed me out, and I had slow healing, so the last thing I felt like doing was eating (which is wild in itself cause prior to that wild horses couldn't keep me from food.) I juice fasted the day before the surgery. Then I couldn't eat before my surgery, so by 4:00 p.m. the second day my belly was really hungry, but tiny sips of Gatorade was all it took to satisfy me after surgery. I felt lousy after surgery, so I didn't get an appetite for real food for over a week. Cream of chicken soup was the best (and other cream soups.)

My man's in deep doody with me. Fine, he bought the bike, but can he get out of the garage for 2 hours and help around the house? So he'll have to strap me down after I get my license, cuz I'm thinking of riding into the sunset and not coming back. Jeans, check; helmet, check; boots, check; leather jacket, check; goggles, check; gloves, check; insurance, check; license... class starts Friday and ends Sunday. Even got a cute leather backpack purse. I don't know why I suggested arm wrestling. I think all this Harley crap is projecting too much testosterone in me. I'm even growing extra chin hairs. Okay, you asked for it, here's me on MY new Harley!

Donali, it's all so computery to me. My mind is busy seeking revenge on my husband to think of anything else. The pool tiles have been set and plaster is scheduled for Monday. But the pool isn't heated, so it will be quite nippy when they refill. A heater will cost $1200, I'm selling my husband. I saw a funny sticker last night, "He might look hot, but some other woman is sick of his shit." Something like that. Hey Megan, nice to see you. I was really inspired by all the support after posting this, so last night I was pretty band friendly and had one Bloody Mary and a small dinner. I've already been on my xtra long walk and did my total gym today, and I'm drinking my Water like a good girl.

Thanks for posting this... this site has answers to so many questions. Particulary the info regarding fills. There are a couple people in Vegas that will do fills for cheap, but after reading all the potential complications, it's safer to spend the money and go to someone we know is qualified. Good post.

I don't know what a Blog is, but I clicked and read anyway. The first thing I saw was a motorcycle, which I hope you didn't ride to and from your surgery! Glad you had an uneventful and speedy surgery! I was in the hospital with several other people, and I was only staying 2 nights while they were all staying 4. When it was time for me to leave, they were all envious that they didn't chose a shorter stay, since there's no better place to recover than in your own home! I don't suppose you can convert that price to American dollars? I'm curious to see the difference between our countries. Good luck!

Zoe, I'm actually 5 feet 9 inches, but I don't like working in fractions. I'm a whole number kinda gal cuz my mind has too much complication already! And I gotta tell you, Zoe, last night I was babysitting a little girl named Chloe. She's very bright and wanted me to read the postings, and when I read yours, she became very excited and said she had a friend named Zoey that rhymes with Chloe - cute stuff. Thanks, Michelle. Next set of pics I'll be wearing your clothes. But I want the moderator to delete this whole post because I complicated stuff by starting a brand new post with the side-by-side shot. How do I delete this whole thing?

Janie, I just noticed you got your band the day after me. Where did you get it? Did we pass in the halls of the Oasis of Hope and not even bump into each other? If you were in Tijuana, yes, that was me in the sombrero playing Cielito Lindo next to that donkey on Ave. Revolucion!

Betty, that site offered great information - the best I've seen yet. I've asked lots of people about the IRS question, and I finally have answers. You should start a separate post - great site. Thanks!

Donali, "s**t" is reserved for small projects like wallpapering. You've got to pull out the big guns like the Mo-Fos and the C-S'rs!

I'm pretty impressed with my sister's computer skills. She used to erase 50 pounds off my pictures because she was embarrassed of me. Now she happily created this side-by-side. A month before my band I had a photo taken of me, my little brother and my sister. I was 3 times larger than her, so she used her computer software to make me smaller. I was really pissed off at her because she's done that before. She refused to accept my weight (not my problem, hers!) I'm gonna ask her for that pic now before she skimmed my fat off. Thanks for all the comments - I wish everyone would post more pics cuz I'm a big picture lover. Which means there will be DAILY postings of our pictures as the Vegas Bash progresses. I have a digital and my computer is always ready to go, so when Donali and Penni start arm wrestling, you'll get immediate blow-by-blows!

Hey Moderators, can somebody delete my old thread with my pictures on it. My sister was able to combine this side-by-side shot, so I'm re-posting my "before and now" picture.

Let me see if this works... my sister combined both pictures so you can see them side by side.

Wiz, you should start a whole new post about what you wrote. I've read it a hundred times, but the way you put it really hits it home. The fact that water fluctuates makes us look like we've lost weight (even on weekly weigh-ins) when all we've really lost or gained is water. Great point. I weigh myself every day, but I only chart my weight loss once a month on my band anniversary. I can gain 5-7 pounds during my period alone, so any weighing around that time can't be accurate. I'm glad my home repair story helped. That's the only thing that keeps me sane when I plateau. A few weeks ago I tore my house to shreds to clean it. You would have thought I was demolishing it because I had everything torn out of the closets, but the end result was worth the wait.

Thanks girlies! My sister is a computer-type person and she somehow combined one picture showing the before and after pictures side-by-side. I'm trying to figure out how to post that instead of having to scroll down. I'm just not very computery.

Hey, next time you don't see my big mouth around here, rattle my cage and tell me to look at some new posts. How did I miss this one? I'm getting on my knees and bowing to you. I wish I could be there but since I can't I do have some very helpful advice since my husband is in construction: Say the "F" word a lot and throw your tools. That's what Chris does. Sometimes yell "Co**suck*r" as you throw the tools. Place a lot of blame on others like the wood suppliers and the glass company. It will be beautiful in no time. I'm so flipping impressed.

My body plateaus on a regular basis. I never lose a pound or two a week. Instead, I weigh the same for several weeks, then I suddenly drop 2 pounds or so. I'm not in a hurry to lose, as long as I lost some. Even if I only lose 5 pounds a month, that's 60 pounds in one year, and the years are flying by. I try to think of plateaus like household repairs. I'm having my pool replastered, so right now it's a disaster because it's in the middle of a plateau. It's going to take the workers a couple weeks to get it up and running, but during this time progress is being made daily. That's how I feel about plateaus - even though the scale doesn't show a loss, my body is doing things internally that will eventually purge some weight. If you are eating small, drinking lots of Water and exercising, your body has no choice but to get below 200. But a watched pot never boils, so stop staring at that scale!