SkyeBlu

I am SO proud of everyone for all that you have done! I will post my score-card in just a few minutes! P'nut...can you change my current weight to 169 and total loss to -41 lbs (9 lbs to go and I will be at -50 loss total...yippie!) I may also need some help posting my pics! Skye I am attempting to add some pics of Duke and I as well as the boys so you all can put faces with the family that you have been praying for. For those of you that are new Duke is my husband of 16 amazing years that was recently diagnosed with a rather agressive case of colon cancer, he is doing wonderfully (regardless of how crummy chemo makes him feel) and we all can't wait to have him back 100% to his normal onery self! This is Duke and I......... The puppy hog is our little one Hunter (he is 12) And...this is my big man Devin (he is 15)

I'm thinking I'm going to try middle name....last name.....all of my friends first, middle, maiden and married names...Heck I might even try my dogs names HeHe...

I have my lower eye-lids done and a lash enhancement done. When I first had it done I was really nervous and wanted "light" makeup so I could get used to it. I LOOOVVVEEE it! That was 2 years ago and I am going this summer to get full eye-liner and lips. I know quite a few people that have had it done and even a few that are permenant make-up techs, all say the same thing...DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Make sure you are going to a reputable person and do a dye test a few days before hand to try and combat any issues with alergies Skye

Just wanted to say HELLO to all of you Reno Bandsters! I was banded Feb 10th in Truckee by Dr. Billy and love my band! I am down 41lbs to date and going strong. Dr. Billy is only in Truckee once a month but does see patients that are not his for fills (I think they run $300 but don't quote me on that) Western Surgical Group is wonderfull as well! They have treated my husband for other digestive issues and are just a great group of doctors and staff! Skye

Ummm...pus covered footballs....EEWWWW!:sick Ok so here goes....:horn: I'm going to toot my own horn I get on the scale and it read 169...NO REALLY...I'M NOT KIDDING... 1 6 9 I stepped off and on the scale like 15 times before I actually accepted it. THEN (brace yourself there is more) I went out to the mall today ( I love Memorial Day sales) and was window shopping when I wandered into Ann Taylor I was looking through clothes and figured what the heck I will try and squeeze my hind end into some cute trendy clothes just to get an idea of how close or far off from shopping at a store other than Lane Bryant I really am. I grabbed some stuff I thought looked ok all in 14's. In the fitting room I tried on this long white skirt and it fit like a glove...I thought what the heck I will get it (and am just tickled that I got something at a "trendy" store) I wander into J Jill to find a shirt to match, I find something put it on in the dressing room with the newly aquired skirt and make my way to the evil 3 way mirror. This was a magical 3 way mirror that made me look so skinny I even danced a bit in the dressing room. While putting my new skirt back in the bag I noticed something.... THE SKIRT WAS A SIZE 12...a @#$@! 12 I damn near fainted! I have not fit into anything that was a 12 that wasn't from the "ladies" or "womens" departments since I was in high school! I now have the cutest long linen skirt with a beautiful blue blouse (In a Large I must add) that were items I would of only admired in a shop window only a few months ago. Skye

1) There is no place like Hope: A guide to beating cancer in mind size bites (By Vicki Gerard) This book is a phenominal read for any one who is dealing with cancer either as a patient or a family member. It has made a very scary time in our lives a bit more understandable and at times even added some humor to some not so funny moments. 2) The sucess habits of weight-loss surgery patients (by Colleen Cook) Can I just say good book! Great stories, great information. Both of these two books were easy to read and most chapters are short but tons of great information. 3) The DaVinci Code, the first few chapters were LLLLOOONNNGGG and hard to get into but once you get going it was an interesting read. And...to be honest I have a HUGE stack of books on my side of the bed. Hubby says I have an issue Skye

*Mental note*....Overfill is like trying to swallow with REALLY bad strep throat...EEEK! Don't ever want to go there!! I am SOOO sorry you still feel so crummy! My youngest son was a strep carrier and every time he got sick it would turn into strep throat (about 5-8 times a year) and me having the crappiest immune system in the world would get it most of the time from him....I feel ya sister!!! I was SO releived when they finally took his tonsils last spring, he hasn't been sick once since then!!

Some positive educational publicity for the band would be wonderful. Education of the public is one of the best things we can do! Skye

Oh No Amy that is such a misserable feeling! I also get infections like that and they are just horrid!!! I am sending every good healing vibe I can muster your way! Here are some suggestions on some "cold comfort foods" that won't break the diet bank! Sugar free pops, jello, ice cream and pudding Fresh fruit bars or pops (there are some yummy ones out there) Make some gatoraide from the mix but make it a bit strong (not too much though) freeze it in an ice cube tray then make a gatoraide slushy in your blender. Good old fashioned slushy from the corner mart (sugar content may be a bit higher than desired but calories are low and feel oh so good on the throat) Puree some frozen fruit in your blender (use some fruit juice to make a thiner consistancy a splash of splenda works nicely if it needs some sweetening) OR...you can freeze some fresh fruit and do the same thing...mmmm watermellon icee... If you do the mashed taters a suggestion can be to puree some chicken and blend it with the potatos using chicken broth....this way you are getting some good protien. AND....don't forget your VITAMINS! Skye

When I would buy a new Harley shirt I almost always bought a mens because I refuse to look like a stuffed sausage on the back of the bike. I now have a wardrobe of really good Harley night shirts to sleep in and bum around the house because they look like dresses otherwise. It sure feels good doesn't it Good for you on your NSV! That first "wow it's really working" is actally a bit more than a small NSV...you go girl! YAY FOR YOU! Skye And....who cares if folks think you look silly dancing into the store in your Sturgis dress :grouphug: you feel good....you look good....you are doing GREAT!

With Duke being as sick as he was I quit my very stressfull property management job and have been staying home. Well he is going back to work FULL DUTY on June 5th so I have started to look for a new position with a new company. I put in quite a few resumes but yesterday afternoon I got the call I REALLY REALLY wanted. As of the first week in June I will be a manager for Starbucks!!! WOOHOOO! I have wanted to get on with them for 3 years! I may not always understand the path that God puts us on but I learned a long time ago not to argue! Skye

Dr. Billy's main office is in Ventura and he come to Truckee once a month (usually the first weekend of the month) He does surgery on Friday and sees patients for folow-up, fills etc on Saturday. They also have a support group that meets that same Saturday at 6:00p. Dr. Billy is wonderfull, his staff is teriffic and going for a fill is a bit like a support meeting with how much interaction you have with the staff and other patients (but if you want to sit quietly by yourself and not chat you are welcome to do what makes you comfortable). I think one of my favorite parts of the whole visits is sitting with Deann (Dr. Billys office manager in Truckee), Konrad and Judy talking about life, family and the band (Hey you two! I will miss seeing you the next few visits! Have fun on vacation). I had a choice of quite a few doctors that do the surgery here in Reno, NV but because of patient sucess, multiple referalls from friends and just how great Dr. Billy and his staff is I chose to have my surgery in Truckee and to drive the hour up the hill once a month for check-ups and fills. It is very worth it to me! And, as an added bonus for those of you that are post-op, Dr. Billy un-like many other doctors is willing to see and treat patients that are not originally his, he even will do fills on Mexico patients. If you would like his Truckee office number PM me and I will give you all the information I can share. Good luck! Skye

Trips to onederland, junior high jeans, 70 lb loss, apron surgery, exercise nuts and a summer challenge? Jeeze y'all are getting healthy & skinny on me! hehe! I'm so proud of everyone! Skye

April 2005 I started my journey to bandland. In July 05 when I was told I had to to do a 6 month medically supervised diet I wanted to punch the insurance gal in the head (Yes, I refrained and started the program). I survived, had my surgery February 10, 2006 and am not looking back. If you think about it, in the grand scheme of things 6 months is not to long. Say you start June 1st...you would be done by December and be starting off the new year freshly banded. This gives you the first few months of the year to start shedding your weight, and then rather than "starting" the weight loss process in the summer....you will be a slimmer banded diva in your new summer bod! Keep your chin up! This is just another journey in your band adventure! Good luck! Skye

Y'all may not hear from me much but I AM HERE! I read every day and know what everyone has going on, i'm just not being vocal and I appolgize for not being a good team-member. Life will settle down eventually and I will be more social I promise! FYI I pulled my scorecard for this go round..... Things have been NUTS here this last week and I realized I had not kept anything resembling a record of what I had going on. The next 10 days are going to be just about as bad and it is just one more thing for me to stress about. I SOOO don't need that! BUT...I'm journaling my food and moving my ever shrinking hinney every chance I can get. The scale hasn't moved recently but I'm getting muscle in place of fat so i'm not complaining. I was wearing capris today and hubby came behind me grabbed the sagging butt because they are way to big and said "seriously, after today these get tossed" hehe...my hubby is making me throw away my SMALL capris from last summer because they are so big I look like a toddler with a load in her diaper! WOOHOO! OH YEAH...a girlfriend of mine has started her road to lap-bandom and is lurking around in the shadows. I have invited her to join us, so if Tazwife shows up she is a sweetheart that I just adore and would be a great addition to our already cool group! Skye

Through the early stages of your band journey you are going to have those moments where you think "I did this why?" , there will probably be the time when you eat something that gets stuck and you are wondering if you are permenantly doomed to this horrid pain and then "voila" it is gone and you know that one particular food is either no longer your friend or one that needs to be eaten differently. Just remember this is a journey to reshape your life! It isn't going to be easy, at times not so pretty and even mentally draining. BUT when you can lay on your back pull your knees to your chest and roll around to relieve gas pain OR sprint up a flight of stairs and not colapse 1/2 way up you will realize what a great journey this really is! Let us know when you need a good strong shoulder to lean on, I know it has been amazing for me to have such loving and supportive people to turn to when no-one else is listening! Skye

P'Nut....your so AWESOME! I am SO very proud of your success! :Banane33: :Banane10: I have had two relizations... 1. Went for a walk 2 weeks ago along a route that I would do when training for my wildland firefighter pack test, the last time I went on the route last summer I was DYING, had to stop constantly and rest/catch my breath....well 2 weeks ago I realized as I hit the top of the highest hill I was breathing hard...BUT...normal aerobic hard, and I didn't need to stop! 2. We went to dinner the other night at a restaurant we frequent but with DH health we haven't gone for a while. WELL...we are sitting in a booth and I am futzing with the table and complaining that the table it to far away from me, at this point DH is looking at me like i'm insane and says... "Skye the tables are the same as they always have been....but you aren't...you shrank". :high5: Whooohooo! Skye

I had my surgery 2/10 and lost 35lbs pretty quickly then I hit a plateau. I spoke with my surgeon about it this last week. He gave me some input on the situation. My first question for you is, what was your weight before the surgery? Skye

It is so nice to see everyones faces...such a beautiful group we have! I will have to just join in and put a face to the obnoxiousness Skye

Carol...YAY on the pre-surgery date. You are over one of the biggest hurdles! Have a blast in Orlando! Dawg...your support of P'nut in it's self is inspirational, add your current BMI...WWOOHOOOO!!! MoO...Doesn't it feel so amazing to "feel good"! Just wait...it only gets better!!! P'nut...I just want to tell you how thankfull I am that you are putting as much effort into this group as you are. It is greatly appreciated! We are all doing such a good job KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! Ok babble time.... Yesterday Duke was feeling pretty decent (can I say chemo is disgusting...a necessary evil...but still Disgusting, what it puts your body through...OMG) anyway...so Duke was up to going to dinner with me and the boys, so we go to one of our favorite hole in the wall restaurants here in Reno, well unfortunately there is one of the nations largest volleyball tournaments in town this weekend and two teams were at our pizza place. So picture this, my 12 & 15 year old sons surrounded by 40+ 13-17 beauties. It was hysterical! At one point early in the meal 3 of the girls walk by our table smiling at Devin (15yo) Dev looks at Duke and I and says "i'm a married spud, I'm a married spud" (what Mr. Potato Head says to himself as he walks into the barbie isle in Toy Story 2) we both almost wet ourselves laughing at this point. The night continued from there, we sat and laughed, talked, goofed and teased between the 4 of us. It was so nice...it was "normal". Last night as we are getting in bed Duke says to me "we have done a really good job rasing our boys, they are neet kids" he also thanked me for a "normal" evening. This morning both of the boys thanked me for taking them out that is was nice to just have a "normal" night out. Thinking about it myself...it was nice to have a family night out. Now...I have a NSV.... I got a wild burr late last night tore my closet apart. I tried on every single piece of clothing! I sorted stuff into 4 groups...FITS and I WILL wear it...FITS and I MAY wear it...DOESN'T FIT because it is loose or big...DOESN'T FIT but it will in the near future. I can safely say I AM a size 14. Every single 20,18 & 16 got chunked last night into a big ole' Goodwill bag!! If it was put into the "I may wear" pile...it got chunked into the Goodwill bag. If it was in the "will fit in the future" pile it was first evaluated for will I or may I wear it in the future then placed righfully into the closet or..yep you guessed it...chunked into the Goodwill bag!!! Oh yeah...I even fit into some of my 12's...woohooo! Ok last babble...got a fill today! I now have 1.25cc in a 4cc band. Doc says I am doing a GREAT job and to keep up with how well I am doing. YAY ME! Ok babble session over! Love you all *muah* *muah* I love this place!!!

Regroup....regroup....lol :grouphug:

Duke is having a rough go with the chemo so once I have him dialed in a little better I will be taking on the insurance system, until then I will be relying on samples as well

Ok i'm about to flipping lose my mind!! Over the past months between the stress of work, home and the adjustments of my band I have been a bit stressed, borderline overloaded, and anxious. When the events of Dukes cancer diagnosis, surgery etc came down the pike I damn near had a full on mental breakdown. After Dukes 2nd day home I found myself sitting in my car sobbing hysterically because I had just verbally assaulted an 80 year old woman for standing to close to me in the pharmacy, as I was sitting there I was feeling so sad, lost and out of controll. I put my car in drive and bee-lined for my doctors office. She is a wonderfull woman who has an amazing staff, they got me right in and spent quite a bit of time talking with me and helping me take a deep breath. Between my doctor and I we made the decision to put me on Effexor for anxiety and depression. I have been on it nearly a month now and my insurance just declined the perscription because "they don't see how I can be that depressed" ARE THEY FRIGGIN KIDDING ME??? Their suggestion is this......I need to go off the effexor....stay off for 30 days...THEN go on a "generic" anti-depressent for 60-90 days THEN if that doesn't work I can go back on Effexor. One of the side effects with effexor is if you go off it too fast it causes a re-occurance of the original symptoms at an accelerated/higer rate (i'm thinking wheee fun). My question for them is this....will they post my bail when I become "clock-tower" material?????? I so absolutely am disgusted by the insurance system.

COUNT ME IN! :rockon: I'm getting a fill on Saturday so this helps with the encouragement to stay on track!! Hubby starts chemo tomorrow morning (they postponed it today because of a new development that caused the oncologist to change the chemo regimine they are using on him to one that requires more "in" office time). Every day is one day closer to the next 6 months being over. AND....if I stay on track....when he is done with chemo and full of energy again...I will look FABULOUSLY thin and healthy on his arm as we go take on the world! hehe Love you all for listening to me!! BTW....WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME to all the newbies it is wonderfull to have you as part of our group!!!!!!!!

My goal is a pair of black size 9 "Rockies" that I fit into for about 15 minutes a decade ago. They make my a@@ look FABULOUS and hubby loves me in Rockies! I'm back in all my 16's and starting to slide back into all my old 14's that have been hanging in my closet for some time. I moved up all the size 12's from their box in the gargage and am eyeballing them for my next "closet" shopping spree. Skye