Zoe

That's not Oprah's camera crew outside your house -- it's the guys from Girls Gone Wild. Love the photos. I think all of us at Pity Party Central feel as if we're right there!

Well, DeLarla, I never thought there was anything slutty about muu-muus -- but you've proved me wrong! That item has seen me through three surgeries; it will bring you luck and minimal scarring. Hope those black velvet pants aren't too big for you; that's the only designery thing I owned. Someone shorter can always hem them. Yes, let's see pictures of the clothing exchange! I can only imagine all that stuff from around the country. Meanwhile, who's hung over from the pity party? (Vegas crashers welcome.)

Someone's weekends are getting off to the right start! Here in the big city, I got home (alone) at 10:15, and an hour later I'm on the computer instead of whooping it up somewhere. 'Fraid I'm just not in Betty's league: The most powerful thing I drink these days is Spicy V-8 I have on my comfortable cotton underwear I have on my (baggy!) unironed shirt I have on my bifocals The dog is farting on the couch At midnight I'll fall asleep in the recliner doing last Sunday's NYT crossword puzzle . . . And I'm happy! (Darcy's right, though -- keep yer cheese under lock & key if I'm around.) Let the non-Vegas weekend begin! I know I've got those furry dice around here somewhere.

This is great -- I feel like our stay-at-home pity party is part of the Vegas party! Are those all empties in the last picture? Someone please promise to tell all!

I'm not sure the Vegas bunch will be turning green with envy, but let's make this weekend the best pity party ever. Love your suggestions, Darcy! Hope you're feeling better. Recovering Cheesehead,

Oh Lisa, what a drag. It sounds like your husband is thinking about food the way most dieters do -- there's "forbidden stuff" never to be touched, at peril of ballooning up. Come to think of it, only six weeks into banded life, I still have to remind myself that this is not reality. If you are craving a cinnamon roll (and your band won't force it back up), go ahead and have one. I don't know about you, but pre-band I might have first denied myself what I wanted, then started obsessing about it, then wind up buying out the whole bakery because I couldn't get sweet stuff off my mind -- a much worse result than if I'd just had a single pastry in the first place. I hope that you are feeling better since the fight last night. Remember, you have made incredible progress since you were banded! Banding was a great choice for you. And getting the band is a way to have a (semi-) normal life while losing weight. No more living on cottage cheese and grapefruit. I hope your husband comes around and finally understands that you are a SUCCESS story, and you're still successfully on the road to your goal. . . cinnamon roll and all. Let us know how you're doing.

I'm walking around vacuuming sheetrock powder and sawdust, listening to the cold rain come down. . . hey, it beats working (I'm off today), but what's a girl to do when she'd like to be in the desert? Here's a couple of things for the next 72 hours: 1. Spend the money I would have thrown at the slot machines and blackjack tables on something nice for myself. . . maybe a pedicure for my no-longer-puffy feet. 2. Watch the presidential debate with friends tonight and bet on the outcome. 3. Teach my black dog a white tiger trick. 4. Get a pair of furry dice for my rearview mirror. 5. Serve shrimp cocktails to everyone who comes in the door. 6. Put on a thick coat of SPF 45 sunscreen and pretend that I need it in Chicago in October. 7. Sing along to Elvis tapes in the car -- the closest thing to a bad live impersonator. 8. Do at least one thing that, if it had happened in Vegas, should stay in Vegas.

Elizabeth Edwards for president! Just think of an America led by a plus-size woman . . . look out, Osama.

Congratulations! Just one month to go. . . just think of the skinny costume you'll be able to wear on Halloween 2005.

What a relief! Now you can concentrate on an all-out attack on H. pylori (good name for a comic-book villain) and give your mind and soul a break. How disconcerting, though, to think the doc had you pegged as an RNY guy. Maybe he conflated RYaN and RNY! Yeah, a message with a big marker on your belly should do the trick. Congratulations on getting the thumbs-up, without delay. Do you still have that November surgery date reserved?

Great photos, Ginger! You have a lot of courage to post that wedding dress photo;) -- and you have a great attitude, too! I know you'll meet your goal for next year. Thanks for posting this wonderful reminder that change takes time, but it WILL happen.

Congratulations! So glad to hear you're feeling good. Let the healing, and the big losing, begin!

Wow -- fabulous! I can't even imagine the beauty in that picture plus 138 pounds. You are an inspiration to all of us. Who's the cute little guy in the photo?

Hi Kelly Ann -- I'm a Rumbaut fan, too. Tomorrow is my six-week banding anniversary, and despite the initial pains in my abdomen and bank account, I'm delighted that I made this decision -- full of energy, feeling great, and down a size! Lots of us have posted threads on our Monterrey experiences; I think the most recent ones are Andrea's (http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3070) and mine (http://lapbandtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2959), but be sure to check this board for older posts from more experienced bandsters. You're entering an exciting, scary, wonderful phase in your life! Good luck -- and please let us know what you decide.

If I can get the time off, I'd love to join you. I have lots of family in LA and I'm way overdue for a visit. Hope to have lost another chin by then!

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do fine. By the way, I had BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, and carrot cake for my last dinner before surgery, and had no trouble. The surgeon said the only restriction was not to eat anything the morning of the operation.

Brava, Alicia! I had to laugh at your list of weight-loss programs . . . used to think I was the only one. (You mean you didn't try liquid Protein in the 70s?) One benefit of the band, for me, has been purely psychological: knowing this time I will succeed because, for once, I have a tool that works. Like grasping a hammer for the first time, after trying for years to pound a nail with a piece of Saran Wrap. Keep writing; let us know how you're doing.

Jeez, you're having a rough year. I admire how you're keeping as positive as possible. When 2004 is over, and these current trials are memories, you'll have a clean slate, ready for new beginnings. Sending you warm thoughts across Lake Michigan. . .

Stop it, everyone, you're making me laugh! And cry a little at the same time. Whippledaddy's wonderful list reminded me: to be able to sit in a tourist-class airplane seat without having to lift the armrest, and also not to have strangers wince when they realize that I'm seated next to them.

No doubt about it, the pain sucks. It's been two days since you wrote, Tellie, and I think we'd all like to know if you're feeling better. When I was in bad post-surgical pain, I found some comfort in reminding myself that no matter what I did, the next day, week, and month would come, and that I would be healing. Good luck, and please check in.

One of my coworkers is a Mexican lawyer (although she specializes in corporate law, not malpractice). When I see her next week, I'll ask what remedies are available to a non-citizen via government agencies or the courts.

Oh yes, swimsuits! How could I forget? At 47, with abdominal and back scars from three surgeries, my bikini days are long past no matter what shape I become -- but I agree about wearing a normal suit without being self-conscious. No skirts allowed!

I'm one of those people who has told a few friends and relatives about my band, but I'm not an "out" bandster at work -- or at least I didn't think I was, until a co-worker asked me what my goals were for the "mysterious surgery" I underwent in August. Well, I've been thinking. Of course I want to be healthier, look better, etc. I'm not a goal-oriented sort, but I came up with a couple of others: 1. To weigh less than any of my brothers for the first time since birth. 2. To be able to buy clothes in a "regular" store and department, and not have to pay the women's-size premium when ordering through a catalog. (Notice how petite sizes don't cost any LESS than misses.) 3. To have my arse stop moving when I stop walking. 4. To be able to keep up with my nieces and nephew without having to take a nap. 5. To have my driver's license weight be inaccurate, because it's too high. That's all for now... time for a walk. What are your goals?

Chantal, I know just what you mean. I was visiting friends in Minnesota last weekend; one of them is a fantastic baker, and he presented me with a just-out-of the oven pale golden slice of perfection, drizzled with butter and honey. Well, I decided to break out of my diet mind and take a chance, since I haven't had a fill yet and am not terribly restricted -- and before I was banded I was absolutely mad for anything out of a bakery. I chewed like a fiend and savored every second. Guess what? No problem! I'm not going to take too many more chances like that, especially after I get a fill -- but if the bread aroma is truly driving you mad, could you try just a few bites of something just so you wouldn't be tortured? Of course if bread makes you PB every time it's not worth it.

Thanks for introducing yourself, Butta. Just think, those 231 pounds are gone for good. I bet your blood pressure improved after losing that 200-lb. burden!