phyllser

Hey!! I'm in Buffalo. Got here yesterday morning. DH did NOT ever notice my earrings... I ended up telling him after I realized it was the ORIGINAL holes that were not lined up right and I want to see if I can get that fixed by adding one hole to the right ear lobe. He is flippin' out over that telling me NO ONE will notice. He's probably right since it took me 30+ years to notice they weren't even. But now that I know it bugs me...it seems quite noticeable when I have two earrings in. I found out there is a "Piercing Pagoda" here and I will be visiting there with one of my sisters in the next two days but will probably have to "SNEAK"! :tt2: Last day... we took the little metro train to downtown Minneapolis and cruised down the river walk for a couple of blocks and came back. We were within 1/4 mile of the 35W bridge that collapsed last year but DH is too paranoid about my scooter batteries going dead (right, girls??) to let me continue!! So we went back up the hill to the trolley station. Monday morning was sort of a nightmare... whole day wasn't all that great, in fact!! Train was supposed to be in at 7:30 a.m. and leave at 7:35 a.m. So we got up at 4:30 a.m. and got to the train station at 6 a.m. I know... too early! No one was even there and the doors were locked! Finally let us in 1/2 hr later and gate agent was extrememly helpful and managed to get us upgraded to handicap sleeper (full car width) on the Chicago-Seattle leg on the way home for only $40 more! They wanted $275 to upgrade us to same for the Chicago -Buffalo leg because we only booked coach. So we decided to live with that and it wasn't so bad. BUT... bad news is that the train never came in until 8 a.m. and then it "LIMPED" in with broken engines. So it took them TWO HOURS to switch out broken ones with fresh ones. We left three hours late and never made it up. THEN they told us there was NO LOUNGE car. For coach passengers that means NO FOOD available! Those people hadn't had any breakfast OR coffee and lady across from us was freaking out because she had a "caffeine headache". And she had a horrible day because she kept trying to sneak outside for smoke breaks every time we stopped and they were trying so hard to make up time that they kept chasing her back in to the train!! So they stop at this little tiny town called Wisconsin Dels and load huge cardboard boxes onto our car... THREE HUNDRED KFC dinners!! I peeled all the skin off and ate what dark meat I could... chicken does not like me. And I gave DH the biscuit and cookie... but I'm sorry... KFC cole slaw one of my very favorite things. So I ate it and the little thingy of mashed potatoes. Not a good food day since it started with a vending machine breakfast sandwich and ended with train terminal Chinese... most of which went in the trash. It was disgusting and greasy. But, the worse was yet to come... "Witch Hester" enters the picture! First, handicap and Sr. citizens were herded in to the "inner" cattle holding area. That was after DH told me to pull my scooter up to the entry so they could see I would need assistance. (No loading ramps in Chicago or east of there). As soon as I did that, everyone else waiting for the train panics and bunches up behind me and around me! It would be too kind to call it a line. It was definitely a BUNCH. Finally they start taking us down a few at a time with Red Caps. But I get to the car we're supposed to get in and we meet HESTER. She is ferociously directing traffic and wants nothing to do with me because I have a scooter and that requires a lift to load and that will disrupt her process. We find out much later that she is bipolar and maybe forgot to take her meds that day! Sorry... no offense folks!! She tells DH that we have to go back to the terminal and find someone to assist us because she is NOT going to do it! Meanwhile, all those other cattle are boarding the train and we're not going to get seats together. So a Red Cap guy comes by and I am almost in tears and tell him my story and he tells me not to fret. :crying: HE WILL TAKE CARE OF ME!! So he comes back with the lift and WITCH HESTER will not stop her process to let him load me! He gets pissed off and leaves and tells her she's on her own (and me, too!) But, he eventually comes back with reinforcements. He takes DH on the train despite her, chases two people out of seats in the back near where the place for wheelchairs/scooters is and tells DH to plop our suitcases there to save the seats. Witchy person comes along soon after that and tells him he has to move. DH stands his ground while at the same time moving any bags put in to the scooter parking slot and guarding his territory quite effectively. I didn't know what was going on.. I'm still sitting outside on the scooter wondering if I will ever be allowed on the train! But, the two red caps took over when the witch went inside and they loaded me on the train and finally everything was fine and the witch eventually went to bed and we had a really nice lady. Until the witch came back just before Buffalo and started barking at people to pick up their garbage and put it in the trash can. She seemed to take great joy in waking people up to tell them that! So... this is TOOOO long, but I had to tell you about our train adventures! The whole train thing has been quite enjoyable except for that one 24 hour period!!

Don't worry... if you have a history of calcifications... probably all it is. I know... easy for me to say, but it'll be okay. We'll get your mind off of it!!

DH won't let me bring my remote He's such a party pooper!We're so excited we can't sit still. He keeps popping up out of his chair to do something else he just thought of!! And that's after two glasses of wine... he still can't sit still. Ordinarily, after two glasses he'd be snoring! See.... now he popped up again because he decided to should go shave! DD will be here to pick us up in 1 hr! I am sitting here with my purse on my lap ready to go out the door. Just came back from my trip around the neighborhood... got cash, my latte, DH wouldn't let me buy more fiber.. he put some in a vitamin bottle! Just because we have a Costco sized jar on the kitchen counter!? I got him two hard rolls at his favorite place while I was out, said goodbye to my favorite barista. And I feel like I forgot something! I switched everything from my wallet to a different thingy, then didn't like it and put it al back again! Gotta get out of here and on that train before we both have a stroke! I wanted to do my Wii exercises, but I don't want to SWEAT!! My mother called a little while ago. She was amazed that we were leaving this afternoon. She didn't know we were stopping in St.Paul/Minneapolis. Didn't know anything about our M of A weekend! I'm sure I told her!! She is 86 so have to cut her some slack. She was trying to figure out when she had to pick us up at the train station! But we don't drive with Uncle Ed!! One sister has to work, so I told her I'll see if the other one can pick us up becuase she has an SUV and we have lots of stuff! Yeah, where's Janet??? She's still cleaning off her desk so she can leave I guess!

We wish ALL of you could join us!! We'll miss you! It's going to be quiet around here this weekend, huh??~~!! Our train leaves in exactly FOUR HOURS!! We are sitting here sipping wine, all dressed and ready to go out the door. I do have to go over to Albertson's & get my daily latte at the stand next door and buy myself a small can of fiber to stick in my back pack!! And get the mail. Dh is going to "hide" our laptops in the closet!! Like if anyone broke in they wouldn't find them there??? Our attack cat would get them before they ever got that far I suppose!

ONE CAT... that's all! Go figure!! I don't get it! Well, it's Homewood SUITES... so maybe the rooms are big. Some of the suites hotels have a common area and separate bedroom. And we could always rearrange the furniture! :eek::thumbup::eek::smile::eek: If you are going to bring your Wii, maybe I should bring my remonte????

Yeah, I'm so close!! I was there Monday, then went up 2 lb, then down 1lb. I think two of my nieces have Wii's, but no Wii Fit that I know of. I think one of them stays at my sister's... the one I'm staying with. If it is, I'll be using that. I'm going to get one of those carrying bags before we leave for the winter because it IS going with us in the RV. And Janet wants to try it out when we get down there. We'll have to make floor space for it every day... foot rest on the couch pulls out & I tend to use it for a coffee table and pile junk on it! I'll have to break that habit so I can easily put it down each day to do my Wii stuff! So, the big day is here!! DH is in the bathroom with the neighbor giving her litter box instructions!! He is a little anal so he has FOUR litter boxes set up in there. I won't even go in there anymore. It's a navigational hazard.

What will I do without my Wii Fit for three weeks???? Congrats on breaking the 150 barrier!! I'm working on getting under 240 at the moment!! One day I'm there, the next day I'm not! SOON, though!

So glad you are talking with your co-worker. That's great. As for the other stuff, try not to worry. May be nothing. I don't have your kidney problems, but used to show blood in my urine every now & then. Had a couple of ultrasounds, cysto several times... nothing.

Centrum Silver Chewables aren't bad. I think they come in two flavors.

Glad you said that... I didn't even HAVE my confirmation #. They never gave it to me. So I got that, but somehow was talking to Hotels.com lady so she called the hotel to ask about the shuttle... No shuttle to train station. We'll figure it out when we get there. AND, she asked me if there was anything else & I forgot about the luggage! But, I think all hotels have a little room where they lock up held luggage, so I'm not going to worry about that. You get on in Williston, right?? At what time?

You got that right.... kids' menu = crap... nothing I ever want to eat! P & B sandwich, chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese! Forget it! We often have leftovers in our fridge! We went to Mexican after church Sunday. Took me two days to finish the leftovers and now there is Chinese stir fry stuff in there! May end up in the garbage disposal! DH is paranoid about finishing everything before we leave... to the extent that he just had some of your Kashi Go Lite for dinner so he could finish up the skim milk still in there from all my protein drinks last week! I think we might be excited becausie our bags are picked and sitting by the front door! Train doesn't leave for 24 hours! We're ready to go! We have two very full (small) suitcases and a back pack. Only room for shopping is in the back pack! I had a hard time pakcing light! I decided not to bring my laptop. TOo much hassle. I"ll use my sisters when I get to Buffalo and read email on my Blackberry until then.

Chuckling here!! I"m with ya, kid! You & I are in the same boat! DH is not understanding. Plus he's in this mode of... we HAVE to eat this stuff because we're going to be gone for three weeks! He loaded up my omelet with too much cheese this morning. I am being very careful, eating only until I feel full, and then that feeling is staying with me for HOURS. So I'm not drinking enough because I am feeling full all the time. Maybe we can share some meals at M of A!! One time we were out for Chinese food & I thought DH's eyes were going to bug out of his head... I looked at everything on the menu & didn't see anything that looked appropriate or that didn't look like too much food. So I ordered this appetizer sampler! It was mostly meat... I shared the things that weren't & some of the things that were with whomever wanted some... there were about 6 of us. SO, no big deal! I ate right! It looked kind of overwhelming when they put this big two tiered lazy susan thing in front of me, but it was really OKAY!! You have to think "out of the box" when looking at a menu to see what will work.

Steph, I agree with everything you said. I know I have better restriction than I've ever had before since my fill last week. And that means having to be really strict with myself about the "RULES"... I, too, have not been careful enough about SMALL bites, taking my time and eating VERY slowly. Today has been a much better day. Smaller portions, too. Had deviled egg for breakfast, 1 1/2. Then had 1/2 of my Mexican leftovers from yesterday. Tonight... I requested Iron Grill Mongolian (stir fry) for my one year celebration dinner. DD & SIL went with us. They won't let you take home leftovers, (remember this is the place I argued with about that last summer!!) so I told them I wanted to do "takeout". I picked all my stuff, had it stir fried and then they put it in a takeout box for me... it took some persuading on my part, but I think she understood that if she told me "NO", five people were walking back out the door (little foster girl was with us). So I took almost all seafood, some rice noodles & veggie noodles, ate until I started to feel "full" and quit. So, I've done a lot of burping today, but no sliming, no PBing.

One Yr Post-Op vs. Pre-Op -86 lb

Pre-Op vs. One Year Post-Op.....Down 86 lb

Most of us do settle down to a once a week weigh in. I weigh just about every morning with my Wii Fit, but consider my Monday weigh in my "official" weigh in. I know 1300 calories is too many for me... you may have to drop that. I typically stay between 900 - 1100. You might try Papaya tablets.. chewables, Rite Aid sells them under the "Pharmasure" label I didn't have good restriction until the 3rd fill. I just had my 5th.

Breakfast & lunch went okay today. Feeling a little "burpy", but okay other than that. TOPS weigh in... I lost 1 1/2 lb, won the 5th & final week of the "dime jar challenge" and took in another $10.25!! Hey, where'd that extra nickel come from??? It was a DIME challenge! Anyway, I thought I saw a dirty look from one lady.... I won 3 of the 5 weeks for close to $30 total... but none of my losses were big enough that any one of them could've won it!! So DH told me not to feel guilty! I lost over 8 lb over the 5 weeks of the challenge, more than anyone else... so I'm getting a Sears gift card from the lady who started the challenge... I think she said there's $15 on it!! Not a bad take! I adjusted my ticker to reflect today's official TOPS weight. My Wii is a little lower than that. I won't have either for the next three weeks... so no changes until I come home. I'm going to strangle my sisters. Two of them don't get along and they are already making life miserable and we won't even be there for over a week. I'm so glad our DD & family are going to meet us there. If things get ugly we'll go hide out at their hotel with them and play with our grandkids!! Family!!! UGH!!

I'm a little tight, too, but i'm going to tough it out. It's intermittent, though. I did fine with breakfast and lunch today, but dinner was a NO GO!! Since then I've had a Schwann's fudge stick and a boat load of papaya! Don't know what the recommended is, but I've been popping them like they're going out of style. They help me burp and then I feel better. I don't think it's possible to O.D. on them, but there's a lot of sugar in them... and the calories add up. I've gone through the better part of a bottle since my fill on Wed. I think!! Trying to lay off. Thanks.... good to have you drop by! How are you doing?? Thanks, Steph!

You got me!! I've probably been over to RiteAid four times since Wed., too!!

Yeah, they can't seem to make up their minds. And some of them are giving us bypass rules to follow! I think I was told 50-60 gm. Last week when I did the 5 day pouch test, I kept close track & I was WAY over that. My nutritionist and PA contradicted each other on the caffeine issue! I did get one piece of useful info at my 1 yr follow-up the other day. PA was asking me what supplements I was taking. When she asked me if I was taking the B-Complex liquid sub lingual i said, "when I remember". She said B-complex was not that crucial with lapband patients because we don't lose that lower stomach absorption and we probably get enough B vitamins in our diets. However, she said Thiamine is mostly in bread and since we don't tolerate bread well, I should be taking Thiamine. Which reminds me... I haven't remembered to look for some yet! RiteAid is across the street and I'm sure they have some. I have to check.

There's a thought! You'd think co-morbidities would get her through! I just sent my email address. Hope I can offer some suggestions to help.

I miss potatoes!! Boo Hoo!!

THANKS!! I just pb'd AGAIN!! I did fine with breakfast... my usual omelet. No problem with lunch... went out for Mexican with DD & SIL. I had this kind of a stir fry thing with lots of onion, mushroom, green & yellow peppers, shrimp and some rice & cheese. They gave me corn tortillas, but I just ate a piece of a small one. I ate half of my lunch & brought the rest home for tomorrow. Tonight, DH BBQ salmon & gave me 3 oz w/steamed veggies... broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, squash. I mashed everything up good & even mashed the salmon with some fat free miracle whip & catsup... I know, sounds gross. My DIL got me started on that with fish. Anyway, I only ate a few bites before I got that familiar pain and discomfort. Thought I was going to die. Slimed a bit and some of the stuff came back up. Not much, but just enough to relieve the discomfort!! SORRY>>>>TMI!!! Feel better now, but still feel kind of stuck. Never did get my celebratory wine! Can't drink anything now for a while! There is STUFF in my suitcase now. In fact, my train bag is almost done. Just need a change of clothes. And DH found the other bigger suitcase that he wanted. Ohhhhh, that baby EXPANDS!! Nice!! There's me & Steph on our way to the hotel! Where's DH?? Maybe he's sitting with the driver, rolling his eyes! :ohmy::biggrin::blushing::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::sneaky::biggrin::biggrin::wink::biggrin::wink:

Liked your clothes list..but I didn't see the slinky dress on it! :biggrin: So you're not going to wear that shopping?? DH will be our photographer. Though I"m not impressed with his skills! We'll have to coach him. Today is my ONE YEAR Bandiversary ... he took pictures this morning. He kept taking them with me way over to the left of the picture! Said he didn't want the screen door in the picture. Duh!! I can move! I like that... putting the pictures on coffee mug.

She's probably going to want to wear that dress shopping at the M of A, ya know!!!