Surgery Date

I finally have a surgery date!!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17TH

I am so excited!  On Friday, 12/2, I have to go in for all of my pre-op appointments.  First I do blood work, then I meet with the Dietitian, up next is the ultrasound of my abdomen & legs (checking for gall stones and blood clots), and finally I meet with the surgeon.  From there I will be heading to the hospital to fill out all of my pre-op paperwork.  I can't believe I am only 18 days away from the beginning of a new life!  

My family will be taking great care of me.  Mom and Ashie will be there on surgery day then taking me home from the hospital on Sunday and my dad and grandmother are flying in from South Carolina on the 19th to help out.   

I will be posting a before picture at some point.  Then I will do side-by-side photos as I progress.  Thanks for coming along on this journey with me!

HAVE YOU EVER?

HAVE YOU EVER...

1. ...seen your ex's new gf/bf that they call "gorgeous" or "sexy" and felt insulted that they ever told you the same because the new gf/bf is so ugly?  YES
2. ...been watched so intently by someone that you could swear they were going to stare holes in you?  YES
3. ...disliked someone so much that the sound of their voice or mention of their name could make you want to punch them in the face?  YES
4. ...seen a baby and said "he/she is so cute" knowing that you are lying through your teeth?  YES
5. ...sang at the top of your lungs in your car, and swore that you could be a recording artist?  YES
6. ...sent out a tweet or fb msg that you meant to send as a direct message and embarrassed yourself horribly?  NO
7. ...been involved in a sexting relationship?  YES
8. ...been contacted by your boyfriend/girlfriend's ex who was an absolute lunatic?  YES
9. ...had someone tickle your back until you fell asleep?  YES
10. ...colored your hair and regretted it the second you saw it?  NO
11. ...thought of changing careers but couldn't figure out how to do it?  YES
12. ...drunk dialed someone in your contacts?  NO
13. ...led someone on just to get something material that you wanted?  NO
14. ...bought jeans a size to small for motivation, but never got into them?  YES
15. ...been asked to be in a wedding for someone you hardly knew?  YES
16. ...regretted falling in love?  NO
17. ...given someone a fake name when introducing yourself?  YES
18. ...slept with someone and can't remember their first name?  NO
19. ...wished for an endless night?  YES
20. ...wanted someone you knew you could never have?  YES
21. ...dated a celebrity/professional athlete?  YES
22. ...been friends with someone you actually couldn't stand?  YES
23. ...wished you would've continued your education?  NO
24. ...told someone you loved them, but realized you didn't?  YES
25. ...had someone betray your trust and tell a secret about you?  YES

APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!

I am in tears right now!  I just received the best phone call EVER!  The insurance company has approved my bariatric surgery!!!  I can barely contain myself.  The relief I feel cannot be explained.  I will be able to say "Goodbye Self" and welcome in a whole new me!  It is all about health and feeling good about who I am.  Thank you to everyone who sent up prayers for me...I am so appreciative!  Thank you GOD for hearing each prayer and answering!  I will talk to the surgeon sometime this week to get a firm date and will post.  I am so overwhelmed.

The Woes of a Big-Boobied Girl

Since my surgery is coming up, I decided that I would not be purchasing anything new in the way of clothes, shoes, undergarments, etc.  There is absolutely no sense in spending money on items that I will only wear for few months.  I was holding firm to this decision until I realized that out of the 20+ bras in my drawer, only 2 fit…BARELY.  I say barely because my left boob decided to grow a little more, and was starting to do that mini-bulge over the top of the cup (girls you know what I’m talking about).  I thought I could hold out but then tragedy struck!  One of my two bras bit the dust!!!  Well a girl can’t get away with only having one bra…it just isn’t possible.  Now time to face the big issues! 

Issue #1:  For years, I’ve had to special order my bras because regular stores don’t carry my size!

Issue #2:  I’m a bra snob!  It has to be the perfect fit.

Obviously I had to deal realistically with both issues.  So last night, I ran to Kohl’s in hopes of finding something that would last a few months.  I searched that store high and low and found ONE bra in my size!  Now of course, I didn’t find my size in those cute bras that are out on the hangers.  Oh no…my size was in one of those plastic baggies that are located in the pull out drawers!  Yep…hide the big ugly bras!  At this point, I didn’t care what it looked like; I was just excited to find one in my size.  I headed for the dressing room to try it on, and noticed that inside the baggy on the paper insert there was something brown!  No…don’t get grossed out, it wasn’t poop!  It was literally pieces of a candy bar!  I guess a big girl went into the dressing room to try on the bra, got depressed and had to eat a candy bar STAT!  I understand the necessity of that action for whoever tried it on before me!  Bra shopping sucks!  At least the chocolate wasn’t actually touching the bra!  Good news…THE BRA FIT!

Today, I am happy to report that the “girls” are lifted and looking lovely!  Truthfully, I can’t wait for these boobs to disappear!

Final Weigh-In

I had my final weigh-in on Friday, 11/11/11.  I will end up weighing one more time at the surgeon's office, but for insurance purposes, I AM DONE!  All of my paperwork (weight chart, psych eval, med list, letter of necessity) has been faxed to my bariatric case worker, and she has 15 business days to review and issue either approval or denial.  Time for praying, crossing fingers...whatever it is you do, please throw up some positive thoughts for me!  To me, this waiting process makes me more nervous than any of the procedures.  Nancy, the UHC nurse, holds all the cards at this point.  Please Nancy...approve this request!! 

My doctor, Mary Van Hal, and her nurse, Vidi Martinez, always go above and beyond for me!  They have been walking through this process with me from day 1, and I appreciate them so much.  A couple of months ago, I wore my blinged out Rangers hat to their office.  They both loved it and said they wanted one!  So on Friday, I showed up with a little surprise for them...

 
Needless to say, they were excited and of course I had to get a pic!

So, for now I wait...I will update once I know something.  Positive thoughts people...positive thoughts!!!!

The Neighborhood Game

The Neighborhood Game

You live in a neighborhood full of famous (or infamous) people, and your street is always the topic of conversation.   Start with the name of your street, then detail who 5 of your neighbors would be and why.  Most importantly…HAVE FUN!

Street Name:  Controversial Lane

Neighbor #1:  The Duggars

This family of 20 lives in the cul de sac at the end of the street…God knows they need the space.  You may wonder why I would want 20 people living in 1 house on my street.  The answer is simple…built in help any time you need it!  You need your grass mowed…hire a Duggar.  You need leaves bagged…hire a Duggar.  You need the dog walked…hire a Duggar.  Surely with that many people, they would welcome the pocket change.

Neighbor #2:  Bobby Flay

AMAZING food at the block party…enough said!

Neighbor #3:  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Who wouldn’t want this hunk of man going for his afternoon run on your street?  I would make sure that he lost his way and ended up in my house!  Yep…I said it!!!

Neighbor #4:  Lindsey Lohan

Everyone needs a “crazy” neighbor to gossip about.  This girl provides plenty of material.  If she isn’t enough, I’m sure her crazy Dad, Michael, will visit and be the cherry on top of this dysfunctional sundae!

Neighbor #5:  Isaac Mizrahi

Every girl needs someone to knit and talk about fashion with!  This is the perfect candidate!!  Love him!!

Celebrity

The Celebrity Challenge:  Just for a moment, pretend you are a celebrity.  Answer the following questions based on your “celeb” status!

What kind of car do you drive?  Jaguar C-X16

Where do you live?  Vaquero - Westlake, TX

What are you known for?  Singing

Are you nice to the paparazzi?  Always

What is your favorite vacation spot?  Bora Bora

What is your favorite retail shop?  Barney’s New York

What was the last thing you purchased on your AMEX Black card?  Tickets to the World Series

Do you read gossip magazines about yourself?  Sure do…it’s fun to see what people are saying!

Who are you dating/married to?  Michael Young…of course!

What is your favorite restaurant?  Nick & Sam’s

Would you really want to be this person?  Yes and No

Top 5 Things I Love To Buy

So life if not about material things, but we all have items that we LOVE to buy.  These are my top 5 things:

1. SHOES - A girl can never have enough shoes. I cleaned out my closet recently and gave away 25 pair of barely worn (if worn at all) shoes. That still left me with triple digits in my closet. I consider this more of an addiction...it's ok...we all have one.
2. JEWELRY - In my very well organized closet, I have a jewelry keeper that holds all of my fashion jewelry. I'm not big on shopping for fine jewelry, although don't get me wrong, I love diamonds. My type of jewelry shopping is finding pieces that are fun/funky and completely different.
3. HATS - Fedora, Military Style, Newsboy Cap, Beret...turn bad hair days into cute hat days!
4. PERFUME - I am not the type of girl who buys one fragrance and sticks with only that. Currently, I have 8 different perfumes that I rotate depending on my mood. One thing I am not...chronic over perfume wearer...just a small amount will do ya!
5. SCARVES - Words cannot express how much I love wearing scarves. Ok, so that is a little overkill, but truly, they make me happy. You can take a regular outfit and turn it into something super trendy just by adding a scarf.

I'm sure I could come up with several more things that I love to buy.  I didn't list one obvious thing...clothes (especially Rangers gear).  I think that is just a given.  I don't even want to begin to count the number of red/blue/white Texas Rangers shirts and jerseys I own. We will just let that be a mystery.