Puppy Love

I want a dog.

Badly.

My husband does not.

We had a dog before our boys were even born, but through a series of circumstances, we ended up re-homing him. We re-homed him, not because he wasn't wanted, but because he wasn't getting what he needed any longer since I had an infant attached to my boobies 24/7! I would take him back in a heartbeat- I miss him like crazy.

I have started thinking about adopting another dog since my boys are now at an age where I feel I actually have the capacity to love another living thing. My boys both want a dog, I want a dog, but my husband is totally against the idea. All he thinks about is hair, stink, vet. bills, and just another expense. When I think of a dog, I think of love, loyalty, fun...etc. We are on totally different sides of the coin here, and I just don't know what to do! I don't know how to convince my husband of how badly I want another dog.

This is Nani- she needs a new forever home and I want her!

Oh yeah, I have eaten WAY too much today and feel like a total failure. It's amazing what stress can do.

UPDATE: NANI WAS AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE ONCE WE MET HER! THE PEOPLE I SPOKE WITH ON THE PHONE MADE HER SOUND PERFECT FOR OUR FAMILY, BUT SHE WAS HORRIBLE!!! She mauled my boys- it was bad.

What on Earth!?

Yesterday I went into Belks to try to find a new pair of pants because I have ONE pair of size 18 jeans that I wear.... every.... single.... day. I wash them in between wearings of course, but still, the situation was just sad.

I hopped on the escalator and started my venture to the "Women's" section hidden in the back right corner. I couldn't find any size 18 jeans or capris and was totally bummed out. THEN it hit me. Size 18? Hmmmmm, I bet they have size 18s downstairs. Happy as a clam I marched my hiney down to the "Normal Ladies" department to purchase a pair of pants NOT in the plus section for the very first time since I was in high school. My current size 18s are getting loose so I grabbed a pair of 16s JUST IN CASE.

Bad idea. Not only did the 16s not fit- not even close- but the 18s were T I G H T. But...but....they are an 18?!?!? What on earth is going on!?!? Ahhhhh, yes. Then I remembered that size 18s are not all created equal. A size 18 from the Ladies' department was not the same as a size 18 from the Women's department. I refused to be defeated and squeezed my size 18W butt into the regular size 18 and bought those suckers. AND, just for good measure, I threw in an XL polo shirt from Izod. I am looking forward to being firmly planted in the Ladies department.

Now for your viewing pleasure, just to support the fact that I will never learn, all my take-out boxes from the past week. I keep ordering as if I can actually eat! (There are four boxes there just in case you can't tell.)

Taco Bell Run

Well, around 9:00 tonight, my husband made a request for Taco Bell. Mmmmmm....junk. I hadn't eaten dinner yet and fell prey right along with him. I ordered 3 soft tacos and a large diet pepsi. Diet because it makes such a big difference after eating 3 tacos right!?

I couldn't even eat half of one taco. THANK YOU BAND. (Bless her heart, she still doesn't have a name.)

I LOVE MY BAND.

When will I learn!!!!????

Current Picture vs. Before Surgery

Picture taken today- April 10, 2010 (236)

One month before surgery- July 2009 (290)

14 Pounds in 20 Days

The title of this post sounds like a cheesy infomercial that you might hear at 2:00am in the morning, something you might see highlighted and large on the front cover of STAR magazine, something you might expect printed/promised on a bottle of the latest diet pill.

But...

I have actually lost 14 pounds in the past 20 days. I guess when my doctor told me that I would lose quickly after I got some restriction back, he was telling me the truth! I must say though, I am only able to consume 400-800 calories a day, so this is definitely going to catch up to me and bite me in my big'ole behind eventually. The reason I am consuming so few calories is because I am literally NOT hungry. Quite the contrary. I usually feel full all day long so I make an effort to drink plenty of water and squeeze a few protein shakes in. Now, I don't think I am too tight, because I can eat and it normally stays down just fine. I've just been extremely busy, and food is far from my thoughts for once in my life!

In addition to the scale moving, I have noticed a few new NSVs that I am going to mention for documentation purposes. I have noticed that in addition to collar and hip bones, I now have ribs. When I lay flat on my back, my belly sinks in and my ribs pop out. AWESOME. My husband laughed at me the other night when I shouted out, "I have ribs!". Another big one is my two year old can now wrap his legs around me when I hold him without me feeling like I am inducing a forced split! Poor guy, he is probably one of the most flexible little boys around. Another one is the fact that I can not only sit at ANY booth comfortably, but I can now cross my legs under the table! :) Oh, and I can't forget the fact that I am continually surprised by my own reflection when I catch a glimpse of my body in a glass door.

When I started this journey seven months ago, it was so hard for me to imagine wearing an XL top and a size 18 jeans again, but here I am. I am LOVING my band.

Vita- yum, yum, yum

Unlike my past candy bar post, this post is about a seemingly healthy, super-yummo snack/meal. Have you heard about VitaTops and VitaMuffins yet? They are SO good. One of my close friends buys the vitamix and makes her own muffins, it's much cheaper that way. BUT, my grocery store didn't carry the mix, only the VitaTops, which can be found in the frozen section.

Each muffin top contains 100 calories, 1.5g fat, 6g fiber & 3g protein. Not too shabby, huh?

You have to store them in the freezer, as they are preservative free. This is a good thing, because you can thaw only one at a time, thus reducing the urge to overindulge. I actually had one for lunch- two hours ago- and I still feel super content.

Well Hot Dog- 50 lbs. Down

FINALLY 50 pounds down. I have been waiting for this milestone for quite a while. The lap-band journey has been an interesting, motivating, inspiring but sometimes difficult journey. I am looking forward to what my future has in store, which is refreshing.

Geesh, Who Doesn' Know!?

Well, a few things on my front. You may or may not remember the fact that I was worried about not telling one of my best friends about me sporting a lap-band. I didn't want to tell her at first because I didn't want to apply any extra pressure to myself. I felt the more people who knew, the more I would freak myself out.

So...

My friend and I went out for dinner the other night, and she was acting really weird. She kept telling me she was worried about me because I wasn't eating anything. Skip to about four hours later, and after she told me she was afraid that my bulimia had started up again- I felt it was time to tell her. So I did. Spilling the beans to her was super anti-climatic. She was very understanding and was happy that I had made a decision to better my health. Really? That's it? That's it. Why didn't I tell her a long time ago? I felt a little stupid.

THEN-

While going out to the movies with my neighbor (who had promised to keep my secret exactly that- I shared with her because she too had WLS) and her sister the other night, I realized that people knowing isn't entirely in my control. I found out she told her sister when she nonchalantly started talking about my band. WHAT? Then, when the SAME neighbor introduced me to her daughter who was visiting, she introduced me as, "This is Lynn, she has the lap-band". Seriously. She did that. I don't think it gets much more rude. To top it all off, when I kindly asked her to stop sharing my information, this was her response, "Oh, I would never tell anyone, that's your business, not mine." Did this lady fall and hit her head on a rock? Or do I just no longer understand the English language?