Rainy Thursday

I was just thinking about all the rain we had yesterday. It was certainly a gloomy day. On the up side, the air smelled wonderful. There is nothing like the smell of fresh rain. We had 2 big gully washers throughout the day. Of course we could always use the rain, since we always run into water rationing during the summer months. Maybe with this rain, and rains to come, we won't have to even give the rationing another thought. Anyway, rain isn't always a bad thing. Our grass couldn't look any greener now. Looks like this weekend I'll be getting some plants for my garden. I need to buy some flowerw like Geraniums, begonias, and some veggies like a variety of tomatoes, maybe even some green peppers & some string beans. We'll see what happens.

Tuesday's Meal

I decided to use some tater tots that I had in the freezer, and some smoked sausage. I cut the sausage up into coins and pan fried them in a sprayed skillet. I added a can of cream of chicken, a few dashes of low sodium soy sauce & about a teaspoon of garlic powder and mixed all up with the sausage. I poured that in a sprayed casserole dish and on top of that I added a strained can of green beans. I then placed about a 1/2 bag of tater tots layered on top of the green beans. On top of that, I added some shredded cheese, popped it in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350F. When I removed it from the oven, I let it set for about 5/10 minutes. Apparently it came out pretty good since hubby served himself seconds.

To go or not to go? That is the question.

This weekend is The Poteet Strawberry Festival, and I'm debating whether or not to go. I think, if anything, it would give us something to do tomorrow. It will be a toss up between that and/or a movie. Since hubby had to work yesterday, that leaves our quality time for Sunday. That is the final day of the festival and I'm not so sure I want to go on the last day. What is alluring to me are those Strawberries. I bet there was a bumper crop this year. So I'm on the fence. We may not go to the festival grounds ($10 this year), but maybe around the area to nab us a crate of strawberries-maybe even get us some fresh strawberry jam or preserves.

My tweaked creation

I decided to dig in my recipes and make something different for my husband. I used a few recipes and combined them together and got this magnificent outcome. I was so proud of myself that I had to take a picture. It's supposed to be a philly casserole, but I made it into a philly/stroganoff type casserole. It sure was yummy! I think I'm going to venture trying a new recipe a day. I have enough recipes & recipe books to choose from, so I have no excuse not to know what I'm going to cook for the evening. Maybe I'll share those creations as I go along.

Trip to see Texas Wildflowers

My hubby and I went for a nice leisure drive not all that far from where we live, to enjoy the explosion of wildflowers that have come up this season. With all the rain we've had, we have a bumper crop of beautiful flowers this year. We haven't seen this many flowers in a while, so we had to see for ourselves, and I'm glad that we did. Hope you enjoy some of the pictures.

Surgery & Post Surgery

I never spoke of my surgery and what I went thru. I had the surgery on February 1, 2010 at Brooks Army Medical Center, Tx. I had a terrific surgeon that was both compasionate and truthful. I had the best care while there, and I couldn't be happier with how I was treated. I was in surgery for 9 hours. It was long! I was the biggest patient that my surgeon had ever worked on. Of course knowing that was a little embarrassing, but it made me feel good that he took a chance on me and felt confident that he could help me out. I had it done laproscopically, and ended up with 8 holes as a result. The biggest site was about an inch and a half long-the others were fairly small. I was sent to PCU for 2 1/2 days, post surgery, where they monitored me very well. Because I had Sleep Apnea, they had to monitor my breathing closely, and being in PCU meant more one on one attention. I had such wonderful care there, with the most terrific nurses. I took my first swallow test the following morning, and this was the first I ever got out of bed. I was hooked up to monitors, a pain pump, a drainage bulb and a foley(UGH!), and had to stand while that test was being administered. After a while I felt very weak, so was carted off back to PCU. From what they saw, it looked like everything was ok. I was told later that they had to remove 4" of my intestine during surgery, as it didn't look very healthy, and felt it needed to be taken out. No biggie-we have tons of intestine, so I wasn't worried about that. They warn you about how you will feel in the briefings, and boy were they right. The first day you feel like you've been hit by a train. You are very sore in your abdominal region, and rightly so. Your insides are being juggled around, so you'll be super tender. The following day you feel like you have been hit by a bus. The pain is less than the day before, but there is still a great deal of soreness. By the third day you are feeling so much better than the first, and you're able to breath deeper by this point, as breathing deeply on day one is very difficult. The whole while, you have to practice your breathing to strengthen your lungs. You'll have a little gadget to breath in and you'll have to do this every hour. By the 3rd day I was wheeled to the floor with 3 other room mates. I was on ice chips the 1st and 2nd day, and by that afternoon I was on liquids. By day 3 they put me on full liquids and it was then that I noticed that my taste for chicken flavor went south. They warned us that this might happen, and I fell victim. Dang!!! By day 4 I was released to go home. My surgeon stopped by to check on me, ordered the drainage to be removed, and that was it. By 6:00 that evening I was released and headed to home sweet home-and boy, was it wonderful to be home. I went to sleep early that night as sleeping in the hospital on the floor with others was near impossible, with all the racket. I stayed on Full liquids for 2 wks, and then went for my follow up. I tell ya, that liquid diet was tough and was beginning to get monotonous. That was a good solid 4 wks of liquids because I did 2 it wks prior as well. Well, we're 2 months in since my surgery and I'm noticing some changes. I lost 20 lbs on my first 2 wk follow up. On my second follow up-1 1/2 months post surgery I lost another 25 lbs. So, so far 45 lbs---but, from my heaviest I've lost 88 pounds. It's feeling good. Of course I've had my ups and downs. I've gotten sick a handful of times and that's because I either ate too quickly, or because I was unable to sit straight up while eating, due to a back injury. That story is for later. All in all, I've been recovering well, and fortunately have not had any complications. I have to keep reminding myself to eat, and to drink. I just don't have the appetite I once had. It's amazing, but I never thought I'd see the day that I would have to remind myself to eat. Who knew? Anyhow, physically I'm seeing differences. Of course I have a long way to go, but I'd say I'm off to a great start.

I think what is difficult is retraining the way I think about food. I am eating healthier, but I have to say, when those commercials come on with all sorts of yummy food, I do miss being able to eat anything and everything. But this is why I'm in the situation that I'm in now, for that very reason. Knowing that my eye is on the prize of getting healthier, this is the reason for sticking to what I'm supposed to. You do go thru a mourning for what you used to be able to eat. You do miss it, and you do wish you could have those things you can not eat. That's just normal. But seeing it and actually eating that are two different things. Besides, with bypass surgery, you just can not eat anything and everything. Your body will not allow it, especially in the early stages. There is not getting around it. If it doesn't agree with you, it will come up faster than a bullet. So if you want to get sick, do what you're not supposed to. I, personally, am not a fan of vomiting. If I can avoid it, I will. Your success will come if you follow your doctor's orders, and do what you're supposed to do. Why have the procedure if you're going to cheat?

I have to say, if anyone tells me that having Gastric Bypass is the easy way out, they are out of their minds, and are ignorant. They do not know what a person has to do to have this surgery nor do they know what they have to do to make this surgery be successful. They just have no earthly idea how much of a commitment it is, and what a huge sacrifice it is. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose, but there will always be someone out there that will say this. Not just that, people will feel the need to tell you that you have to change your habits...DUH!!! We all know this and have to know this going in to this surgery. Oh well-you will always have people out there that don't think you did your homework, and research, and classes/briefings towards this surgery. They think they may know more that you and that you're having this surgery to get a quick fix. I just think of it like water off of a duck's back. I know what I did prior to this surgery, and what I have to continue to do to make this work, not just for a short period of time, but for the rest of my life...and quite frankly, that's all that matters to ME.

I have a date

Well, my 7 months of preparation has paid off. It looks like I have a surgery date for my gastric bypass. I received the long awaited call at about 2:30 or so today. My surgery date is officially February 1st, at Brook Army Medical Center(BAMC). I will meet with the surgeon on January 27th, and go over the details at that time. In the meantime I will start my liquid diet on Saturday, and will have to incorporate 30 minutes of walking a day. It's my last task for this procedure. I need to drop by the store and get some Flintstone's multi-vitamins. I'm excited, but I'm also a bit nervous about it. My dream is coming true, and it feels a little surreal at the moment. This is what I've wanted to do and now it is soon becoming a reality. Now that I have the date, I hope once people know, I will be greeted by a "Hello" rather than "Do you have a date yet?" LOL! So tomorrow is my final day for a serious meal and I'll be looking forward to it.

Looking back, I've done a lot to get to this point. Let me reflect a bit. I've had a consultation with a nutritionist for 6 months. I've had an Echo Cardiogram, an Endoscopy, a Colonoscopy, a Mammogram, a GYN annual exam, I had to attend a mandatory support meeting, had lab work, Psych evaluation and I'm sure I've left something out. I'll have to check my paperwork, but it has been a lot. At least now I know that everything is working great and there are no complications. I've only run into one bump in the road, and that was that I wasn't able to do the UGI because there was an issue with my weight and the weight limit of the table. Other than having to wait on what to do with that kink in my plan, everything else ran smoothly. I waited a good month before I was instructed further in regard to the UGI, as this was my last exam to complete. At first they had talked about sending me outside the military hospital into the civilian world to have it done. The explanation was that they would have more current machines that would facilitate my weight issue versus the old machines that both Wilford Hall & BAMC have. I waited and waited, but nothing ever developed. Finally they came to the conclusion that I would, instead, get an endoscopy at Wilford Hall Hospital, at Lackland AFB. Since I was scheduled for my colonoscopy at Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC), my doctor decided to kill two birds with one stone and get them both done at BAMC. So that took care of that.

All in all, it hasn't been that bad. Although my appointment book has been filled for the last 7 months, it's been pretty breezy. God willing I will survive this liquid diet and breeze thru this surgery and be on my way to a thinner and healthier me. I'm looking forward to it with excitement.