Goodbye 2009............

First let me thank you all for the nice comments you made concerning my surgery last weekend. I was not in a very good place when I posted that entry. It was my worst day since the surgery. Yesterday was a much better day. The arm they gave me the vaccine in has a huge red mark with a raised area. I think I had the maximum reaction on that thing. Today I don't feel nearly as congested and the coughing has stopped. Everyone says to me that they never get flu shots or any kind of vaccine shots for that very reason. Oh well, now I am protected (so they say). We had a quiet anniversary. We are planning to have dinner out tonight. Our friends Rich and Eileen are coming with us. It will be an early dinner and then probably come home and watch the ball drop in Times Square on television. On Friday we are going to a Rose Bowl party at some friends house to cheer on our team from Oregon. Sorry Ma, from What's New at My House I know you'll be routing for Ohio State but we have to support our state team. I am finally feeling like I can maybe go to the gym and do a little on the treadmill. I don't want too much time to pass between my workouts. I missed alot in the last couple of weeks due to running out to get things for presents or baking or whatever so I need to stay in the mood or I will find myself paying for something I don't use. I've done that many times before. I want to get my money's worth out of this membership. Our new newsletter from the Y says the Zumba classes have been expanded so they will have a class in the mornings which is when I go. Now I don't have to spend all afternoon there to get that workout. I think they start next week. Well, any resolutions out there? I usually have the same one every year but now it's a given so I think my resolution will be to be kinder to those less fortunate than myself. I try and do that anyway but this year I am going to do more. Maybe volunteer at the mission more or find another way to help. Seems like we just got into the millenium doesn't it? I wish all of you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2010. Thanks for the support of my blog this last year and all your kind comments too.

Who would have thought I'd end up in the hospital...

Well, on Christmas Day I baked two pumpkin pies and a Lemon Cranberry Bundt cake. I took them to our friends house to share with them and several people they had invited for dinner. My hubby decided not to come since he was down with a cold and didn't want to spread his germs to anyone there. At around 1pm just before I started to get ready to go to their house I started to get a stomach ache. I had awakened with the same stomach ache a week before and it lasted 4 hours. I had decided to wake my hubby and have him take me to the hospital because I was hurting so badly and was getting nausea with the pain. I took a shower and by the time I was dressed the pain started to subside. Well, when it came back on Christmas Day I thought oh no! I worried that it wouldn't go away. I went to our friends' house and as I sat there with them all my pain continually got worse. I started to feel nauseous again and decided I couldn't ignore the pain any longer. I apologized and left for home. When I got home my husband said he would take me to the hospital. When we got there I explained what was wrong and they sent me for a CAT scan. It showed my gallbladder was huge so they did an ultrasound and it showed lots of stones. The doctor on duty came in and said his recommendation was for me to stay and have surgery to remove it the next morning. He also said if I didn't want to stay over that night I could come back for surgery on Monday but in his opinion I'd be back before then with another attack. I agreed to stay. They gave me a shot of morphine to relieve the pain. It lessened the pain from a 10 to an 8. I was taken to a room and settled in at around 9pm. The pain started to subside by then. I had missed my Christmas dinner and the last meal I had was breakfast but I couldn't do anything about it. I went into surgery the next morning at about 11am. I was back in my room by about 12:30pm. I was amazed at how good I felt after surgery. The next day when I was released I was feeling a little sore and yesterday I was really sore and the arm the vaccine was given in is very sore. I also came down with cold like symptoms. I don't know if that was a reaction to the vaccine or what but today I felt terrible all day. I am hoping by tomorrow I feel better and can start to take down the Christmas tree and other decorations. When the surgeon came to sign my release papers he told me I may find that I don't have heartburn anymore since the gallbladder was removed. Since he told me that I haven't taken any Prilosec or other heartburn meds and I haven't had any reflux or heartburn. I am so happy that this might have resolved my problem. Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. I don't know if we'll go out to celebrate. Bob is feeling better now and I hope by tomorrow I do too.

Merry Christmas

I hope we can all remember the reason for this holiday as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. I wish for you all many blessings this year and next and I hope you make many happy memories and are together with family and friends. I look forward to continuing to read your blogs and sharing with you all next year.

Two days til Christmas

Well, I went to my doctor yesterday for another fill. However, he didn't want to give me another fill at this time. When he found out I was back on the Prilosec since the last fill he said he would rather not. He said he didn't want to risk my getting sick again like the last time. I did lose 6 pounds in the 6 weeks since the last fill. I was pleased with that since I had gained 8 after my unfill. I am almost back to where I was in June. It's like I lost 6 months of my weight loss. Anyway, I am not overfilled at this point and can eat without getting stuck every time. The doctor also said to come back in two or three weeks and he would see how I was doing and reconsider. So I made the appointment for one month out. I am ready for Christmas now. My baking is done. I am , however going to make a dessert for Christmas Day. We are going to our friends house who just moved here to Oregon, for dinner. They also invited some other people from church who didn't have any plans for dinner. I thought that was very nice of them. We have decided to go up to the Portland area on Saturday to visit my grandsons and great grandson. I will bring all the goodies I baked for them and personally deliver them. I was going to deliver them last week but I got this cold and my baking also was put on hold. I don't think they'll mind getting the cookies and stuff the day after Christmas. Well, I need to start my day now so I can deliver the homemade baskets I made to some friends. I made Blackberry Jam, Santa Maria Style Seasoning, Chai Tea mix and two kinds of biscotti. Almond-Anise and Gingerbread. Then its off to the gym. I only made in there twice last week because of my cold. Did I mention I went to urgent care on Sunday morning? I already had what felt like a sinus infection and then the cold was moving into my chest. The last two years I've had a cold that did that and lingered for weeks until it finally went away. I got what is called a Zpack. You take two pills the first day and then one a day for the next 4 days. I have 2 pills left and my cold is almost non existent. I love Zpacks. I can't believe I suffered the last two colds I got. Have a good day everyone and if you are in the areas getting loads of snow, please be careful.

One Week and Counting.......

There is precious little time to get the rest of my shopping and baking and mailing of packages done. I know, I know I'm retired and have no excuse for not being done with all of this. I did get my cards mailed yesterday so that's out of the way. I have a package to mail to my step-daughter and step granddaughter. It's not ready because my hubby (not that I am shifting the blame, mind you)wanted to wait to get the things we are sending them. Also, I ordered some goodies for them online and they haven't arrived yet but I am going to send them later when they do come. I send money to my grandkids since I have no idea what they want or need. They like that better anyway. I made my Chai Tea mix yesterday and Santa Maria Style Seasoning. I am also making two kinds of biscotti to go along with the chai tea and some other cookies and dipped pretzels, etc for the grandsons. I read a blog called The New Me and she said on today's entry that it would be a miracle if she doesn't gain weight in the next two weeks. But, she is working out 6 days a week. I think that fact alone will help her to keep the pounds off. I am struggling with the same thing. I haven't gone to the gym at all this week because I came down with a cold on Monday and was feeling terrible. Today I am feeling better and plan to go and work up a sweat. I am also going to start baking when I get home. I should be able to get the biscotti made today. I need to go to the Dollar Tree and see if they have any cellophane bags left to package the biscotti in. They have such cool packaging items there and the price is unbeatable. I already have my Christmas presents from my hubby. I told him I wanted a good set of pans and he instantly ordered them online with free shipping. They came on Tuesday. They are Calphalon Unison pans. If you go here you can check them out. We agreed not to get each other anything for Christmas since we usually get what we want during the year. But he has been bugging me to get some new pans for a couple of years now. I used them last night and I love them. They have 2 kinds Sear and Slide and they are all non stick and oven and dishwasher safe. I also bought myself a little gift of an electric tea kettle. It gets the water hotter than the microwave which is what I was using. I know now I have nothing to open on Christmas right? So he got a new camera for himself, that is probably what his plan was all along. lol I have an appointment next Tuesday for an adjustment on my LapBand. I need just a tweak here and there and I should be ok. I may regret doing it so close to Christmas but I wanted the soonest appt I could get.

Time to get my baking and stuff done..........

I am sitting here with my notepad and pen making a list of the cookies I want to bake. I don't usually bake too many different varieties. Last year I made several kinds and mailed them off to my two grandsons and they were thrilled. Their mother had taken off to California just before Christmas and I don't even know if she baked cookies at Christmas. It made my heart feel good to be able to do that for them. I want to do it again this year but I'll be taking the cookies to them this time and will also see my great grandson again. So...I need to decide what to make. I also like to make special things in my kitchen to share with friends. I am making a seasoning salt this year. I got it from my sister-in-law a couple of years ago and I use it all the time. Along with a couple of varieties of biscotti and my chai tea recipe my friends will be happy. My friend Eileen who just moved here from SoCal has been baking since Monday. Now, I've heard her talk about her baking for years but I had no idea the extent she goes to every year. She bakes anywhere from 30 to 40 different cookies and gives them to everyone from the paper delivery person to neighbors and friends alike. I went to their house yesterday and she already has probably 15 different cookies made. She has this really old cookbook probably from the 50s or 60s and in it she has recipes taped on the pages that she has acquired over the years. I was really impressed and amazed. I also tried one of the ones she made and it was good. Well, I need to get back to my own list and decide what I need to buy to pull this all off.

It's still very cold here. But there is rain on the way and that will warm things up here. Yesterday hubby was out making sure our motorhome was not suffering any damage from the freezing weather. We have a little heater going in it and I think he even turned on the forced air heat last night. Luckily our tanks were empty so we didn't have a frozen tank which can damage pipes and such. Okay, back to the list now.

The tree is up....

Well, I finally have my Christmas
decorations up. It's been 5 years since we've gotten them all out and I have so many since our last house was much larger that I am also decorating the bedrooms and baths. Last night we put our tree up. It's artificial and has the built in lights. It's always so fun to figure out which plug goes where on it. Hubby gets so frustrated and after much swearing and trial and error........Ta da!! It is all lit and looks stunning. Now I just have to decorate it. I went to a new decorator store in our town the day after Thanksgiving with my sister-in-law and we found what looks like grapevines wrapped on the tree they had on display. They had none other than the ones on the tree so they took them off for us and we each bought three of them. They looked so pretty on their tree. I can 't wait to get them on ours. I'll take some pictures once I finally finish. It better be soon because I need to start my baking too. I don't know how I did it all when I worked full time. I feel like I am being pulled in 5 directions at once. Part of the problem is going to the gym so late in the morning. I can't seem to get out of the house until around 10am and then I get home around noon. Just in time to fix lunch for Bob (hubby). Then I get sidetracked doing something or other and before I know it, it's time to fix dinner. I need to start getting to the gym at around 8. Well, the temperatures here have been colder than I've ever felt them since we moved here to Oregon. It is usually in the low 40s during the winter. Once in a while it dips into the 30s but it's been so cold this past week. Yesterday it was 12 degrees in the morning and only got up to about 30 here. Brrrrr!! Right now it's 14 degrees. We are getting a blast of air from Alaska and there are no clouds to hold the heat in. It's very dry as well. We usually have fog and clouds even if it doesn't rain but it's been sunny and very cold for the last few days. It's supposed to only last until the weekend. We got a huge cauliflower from someone at our church on Sunday. He brought in a truck full of them and cabbage too. I actually got two of them but I gave one to my neighbor. I made cauliflower soup yesterday. It was so delicious. My husband won't even try it. He is anti veggie. I told him it tasted just like the potato cheese soup I make but he wouldn't even try it. Oh well, more for me. I will freeze it in small containers today. Now I need to do something with the cabbage. Maybe stuffed cabbage. That sounds good, only he won't eat that either. Boy, the things I have to put up with!! LOL
I made an appointment for another fill. It isn't until the 22nd. I just need a tiny bit I think but I am doing pretty well otherwise. Need to finish my shopping and get the packages sent off today.

Well, our guests left for home yesterday. I took down the Thanksgiving decorations and they are all laying on my dining room table now. I have to bring the boxes in that they are stored in and also bring in the Christmas decorations. I am doing some laundry today. We went to church this morning and after stopping for some lunch got home about 1:30. It is very cold outside today and overcast. Yesterday the sun shone all day but it was pretty cold. I am feeling a bit sleepy. I woke up at around 4:30 this morning and now I am pretty tired. I might have to take a little nap to rejuvenate myself.

On Friday we bought a Blu-Ray DVD player. My brother in law connected it to the tv. It was nice having someone else do that since I am usually the one who does that. We signed up for Netflix and our new Blu-Ray has a wireless connection so we should be able to instantly download movies for viewing. I have to check that out to see if it does work. Well I think I'll take a little power nap now. Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving

As I have a housefull of visitors, I haven't had time to post or even read your posts. I will try and catch up when everyone is gone this weekend. I wanted to wish you all, and your families a happy and healthy holiday. I hope you get to spend time with those who mean the most to you and that all your favorite foods are there for the tasting. I'll be back to see how everyone's holiday went. God Bless

Counting down to turkey day

I decided to get most of my Thanksgiving shopping done yesterday to avoid the crowds that are always milling around the stores on the weekends and Thanksgiving week. Well, it seems that I was not the only person with that brilliant idea!! The store was crazy busy and it was difficult getting up and down the aisles. When I could get down an aisle there was always someone stopped in front of the items I needed. Sigh! Well, I managed to buy a Paula Deen ham at Safeway and then off to another store, that has lower prices for the remainder of the stuff I needed. They had a sign up over the turkeys that said $50 purchase gives you a free turkey. I kept stashing food items in my cart hoping I had $50 worth in there. I don't know why I didn't look at what I had in there. I had enough for two free turkeys if I had thought about it. Oh well, now to find a place for everything. I bought my potatoes and yams and also fresh green beans and broccoli. I am hoping the beans and broccoli will not be spoiled by Thursday. I guess I could cook them on Wednesday but any sooner and they'd be like leftovers. LOL My hubby's sister and her husband are coming up from California to spend the week with us. Also some longtime friends of my husband's are also coming up from SoCal to eat with us and will also be scouting out a house to move into and a job for the husband. They've been wanting to move to Oregon for several years and have decided that now is the time. So we will be 8 for dinner. I'm going to try a couple of new recipes I've gathered from the blogs I read and the rest will be tried and true ones.

I've been doing very well since my fill. I have had to start back on the Prilosec since I started getting heartburn within the hour of getting the fill. But I take one in the morning and then a Zantac before bed and no problems so far. I am feeling restriction and it's funny because before at this fill level I didn't really feel any restriction. I wonder why?

All the talk is about the new movie out "New Moon" I hate to admit it but I didn't see the first one yet. Maybe I should just get the books and read them first. Anyone recommend I read the books first or just see the movies?

Well, I need to get busy with getting organized around here. Refreshing the linens for the spare bedroom and such. Have a good weekend all.

These are my two great nephews. This was taken last year but I love the picture. So I thought I'd share it again.

I went to the doctor on Thursday for my adjustment. I was scheduled for tomorrow but they called and asked me to come in last week instead since the doctor had to be out of town this week. I really like the new doctor. I told him it was comforting to have a doctor that totally understands when I tell him what I am feeling. He added .5cc so now I have 1.5cc in my 4cc band. He thinks that is pretty close to where I should be. Maybe just a tad more. I have to agree that I am feeling full eating smaller amounts and the hunger sensation is gone. I was filled to 2.2 originally so I could hardly eat anything. I got stuck at almost every meal and I got used to it since I was filled for 6 months before my problem occurred. I am so glad that he is my doctor now. I've already lost 4 pounds of the 8 pounds that I had gained. I am starting to plan my Thanksgiving dinner. We are having guests for Thanksgiving. My sister-in-law and her husband and a couple who are trying to move here from SoCal and their two children will be here too. I've been gathering some new recipes off some of the blogs I read as well as other sites I use regularly. I am fixing dinner now so I am going to cut this short. I need to get back into the daily posting habit again.

So close but yet so far.............

I was reading the posts on LapBandTalk.com this morning and saw how some of the people in my group have had the same issue I've had over the last 5 or 6 months. I hadn't been keeping up on it so much because when I did read it, it seemed they were all doing well and I couldn't relate so I stopped reading it. I did keep up on one thread about the problem I was having but not my band mates from the month of our surgery. During that time many of them got close to their goal weights and have had plastic surgery. It's encouraging and yet frustrating to see the success stories when I still have so far to go. But it's also a little comforting to know I am not the only person who has experienced the reflux issues and who is now struggling to get back into the mode of losing rather than maintaining weight. I wrote on a post there this morning how my husband blurted out to me while we were at a friend's house, how he was disappointed in me because I was eating the darned candy we bought at Costco a few weeks back. He said, "all the money that was spent on your surgery (my insurance picked up the tab)and you are just throwing it away and eating candy" I never claimed to be perfect. In fact, if I wasn't as imperfect as I am, I wouldn't have needed the surgery to begin with. It really hurt my feelings, to have him say he was disappointed in me. He used to say he was so proud of me, and that he couldn't believe what willpower I had, and then to pull the rug out from under me that way it was just like a slap in the face. It hurt, and I'm sure he didn't realize how badly it hurt. He has no willpower at all and is in terrible shape. I think maybe he had put me on a pedestal as something special and when he saw I was just as weak at times as he is regarding eating, he felt let down or something. Does that make sense? Anyway, that happened a few weeks ago, but after he said that I quit eating candy and maybe I needed to hear it. Now I just need to refocus on my eating and start back the way I am supposed to eat with the band. Proteins first and then vegetables, and if I have room after that carbs.

Band Adjustment

Well, I finally got a band adjustment yesterday. I got to meet the two new doctors at the clinic. They were very nice. The male doctor has a LapBand himself and and female is a new doctor from UCLA Medical Center. He thought we should proceed slowly with my fills. So he started out putting in one cc. He commented that my band is only 4ccs and that is an old band. I asked him why he thought they would put an old band in me? He just shrugged his shoulders and I said maybe they were trying to get rid of the old stuff. He nodded like he agreed with that. Anyway, I am doing well and it really isn't much restriction yet but I go back in two weeks for another fill.

I bought a pair of Ugg boots from Whooga and they came last week. They are so comfy and warm. I love them. But they are huge, I feel like I am wearing a shoebox on each foot. LOL And they had a terrible smell when I first got them but it has faded now and they aren't making my closet smell. I think it may have been the dye they used that smelled. They sent me a questionnaire for customer satisfaction and one of the items was the smell, so they must get lots of complaints about that. I am happy with them though.

The weather has cooled off here. We had some rain over the weekend and now it's been sunny but in the low 50s. I think it's supposed to start raining again later this week. I am eager to start losing weight again. I am just thankful that I didn't gain a bunch of weight and have my clothes stop fitting me. That would have been very depressing. Have a good day everyone.

I'm sorry I haven't been on here in a while. I haven't been doing anything too exciting. I need to keep up my blog I know, I want to be able to look back and see my progression toward my goal weight.

I have only 2 weeks left until I go for my adjustment of my band. I am so looking forward to it. I am fighting the urge to eat candy. We went to Costco last week and bought 3 huge bags of candy. We needed them like a hole in the head. I have managed to resist them for the last 3 days. Before that I did eat some. I have stepped up my workouts at the gym so I don't have a weight gain when I go for my adjustment. I have gained about 5 pounds and don't want to have to lose any more than that. It's been 5 months since my band was unfilled and I don't want to beat myself up for the weight gain so I am trying not to think about it. Once I am adjusted again things will turn around.

The weather has started to turn cooler and we've gotten some rain. I love the fall weather and the changing of the leaves. I get the urge to cook comfort foods and soups and such. I love to make and eat soups. I can't seem to read the blogs on here without copying at least one or two recipes to keep and try later on. I bought some fresh veggies today at the farmers market. Tonight we are having grilled chicken breasts on salad. We love these and I can load up on the fresh veggies for my own salad since hubby is picky and only likes the basics in his salad. I got some red bell peppers and avocado and zucchini, mushrooms and of course the usual cucumbers, green onions and tomatoes and lettuce. Yummy huh?

A Light at the End of the Tunnel.....

Friday I got a letter from the Bariatric Center advising me that a new surgeon had been hired and would be starting to accept patients the first week in November. I got on the phone right away and called to make an appointment. I will be seeing the gastro doctor on the 27th of October so I wanted to get an appointment as soon after that as possible. They gave me Monday, November 2nd. I am ready to get back on my program. I have had the last 5 months of non restriction and have strayed off my eating program. I have gained a few pounds but I think my exercising daily has helped me from back sliding too much. I am eager to meet the new doctor. He is from North Dakota and has been a bariatric surgeon for 10 years. He will be handling all the LapBand patients according to the receptionist. I just hope that when I have my adjustment I don't start having the reflux again. I guess I will have to wait and see what the Gastro doctor says. Well, I have to get off here so I can get to bed early tonight.

Beautiful Autumn

The weather has been so beautiful this week, and

the leaves in our town are turning such beautiful shades of red, orange and burgundy. And all the browns and golds are there too. Our oak tree stopping dropping the acorns that we were being pelted with the last month and now the leaves are beginning to fall. This drives my hubby absolutely bonkers. He is constantly out there blowing the leaves onto the lawn and mulching them with his riding mower. And as soon as he finishes a gust of wind blows down a thousand more leaves. Ah, such is Autumn. Maybe that is why they call it fall. Yesterday we took down the dining room light that has been hanging in the now living room and hung a track light fixture that you can shape to your liking. We bought it about a year and a half ago. I was so happy when he said he wanted to do that. I don't like to nag him about all the things that still need to be done so when he gets productive I just go with the flow.

Our printer is on the blink. I sent a recipe to it the other day and when I went to the computer room to pick it up there was a message on the printer that said "INK SYSTEM FAILURE" I followed the instructions on the HP website for the model we have and still no luck. So now I guess I will have to get it fixed. I don't know if computer repair places also fix printers. I hate to just buy a new one since this one isn't very old and it's a blue tooth 4 in one printer. It's also a photo printer. Darn!! We don't use it overly much so I don't thing it's worn out. Oh well, guess I will call around and see who will fix it.

I am sitting here and it's ten minutes to six in the morning. I've been awake since 2:35 when Chloe woke me up. These pets of ours have been terrible about waking us the last few weeks. Once I am awake it's hard for me to get back to sleep, I start thinking about things I need to do and start making lists in my head and before I know it an hour or two have gone by and I just get up and wait to get sleepy again. I am now starting to feel sleepy so I am going to end this for today. Have a wonderful day everyone.

Test day .............

I had my scope test yesterday and while they had me they decided a colonoscopy would be in order also. I was long overdue for that so I didn't balk when they said they wanted to do that too. I hadn't had one before and was told the prep was the worst part of the procedure. That turned out to be the truth. They did the gastro part first and then the colon part. I was laying there and the doctor and nurses were there and getting ready and I heard them talking and realized they were doing the colonoscopy. I thought "oh no!" when one of the nurses realized I was awake and said "you're almost done". It felt like no time had passed at all and I had been sedated and didn't realize it. I wasn't groggy or anything. I was amazed at how alert I felt and how I had missed the whole thing in just about 30 minutes or so. Anyhow, the tests both turned out good. No ulcers or problems in my esophagus or stomach, so why did I have acid reflux? I have to see my doctor in three weeks to discuss the next course of action. Three weeks??? Man, this is taking so long. One thing I have discovered is that my reflux seems to be gone now. How can that be? Gone as fast as it came and I don't know what caused it to begin with. I didn't take my Prilosec for two days and didn't have any reflux. Maybe whatever caused it has healed. I guess the doctor may have an answer for my questions. I am just anxious to get my band refilled and start losing weight again. But I am thankful that both tests had positive results.

Well, Autumn is here in Oregon. We are expected to get some rain this weekend. Then it should be partly cloudy and in the 70s next week. Little by little the weather is changing. The days are growing shorter and it is staying dark later each morning.

I finally heard from the Gastroenterologist and my appointment for the scope test is next Wednesday. Wish me luck. I am hoping they find very little or at least something they can treat. I am so anxious to get another fill. I find it very hard to be unfilled and able to eat almost everything. I am still restricted a bit. In fact, yesterday I ate a chicken breast for lunch and didn't chew well enough or take small bites. You see, that is one of the pitfalls of no fill. I can eat fast and take larger bites again. And this leads me to eat too much. Well, getting back to my chicken lunch, it got stuck and was painful. I hadn't felt that feeling in a few months. I dealt with it for the whole afternoon until I finally was able to bring up a large piece that was causing the problem. I am sorry to be so graphic. I am ready to be filled and restricted again so that I can finished this journey I began a year ago March. I just finished watching FastForward. It's a new show on ABC on Thursday nights. I recorded it last night and I like the show. Have any of you watched it? It could be another Lost. I have been hooked on that show since it first started. Well, I think I'll turn in now. Good night!

Fast week.........

It's amazing how fast this week went. We had a couple of days of close to 100 degrees. Yesterday the temperature was only in the mid 70s. I think it is supposed to be about the same today. My hubby went fishing at the Coos River along the coast yesterday for salmon but came back empty handed. Today he just left to go fishing at Diamond Lake with some guys from our church. They are fishing for trout today.

It sure is feeling like fall isn't it? I need to get my fall colors out and start to decorate the house. I love this time of the year.

Last week I saw a gastroenterologist about my reflux. She is scheduling me for a scope test, and a colonoscopy, UGH! Both ends at once!! Anyhoo, I am still waiting for them to call me with the appointment day. It's been a month since I had all the saline removed from my band. I am holding steady and haven't gained any weight but it's not easy. I think the exercising daily is keeping the pounds at bay. I am anxious to get this over with and find out what's up so they can fill my band again and I can start losing again. I know if I were DIETING I would probably be losing but I am used to eating what I want with the band and it's hard to get into the mentality of counting calories or carbs again. I just need to eat the amounts I did when the band was filled and then I'd probably lose weight. However if I could be that dedicated maybe I would never have gotten fat and wouldn't have needed weight loss surgery. So it is what it is. I am doing my best at this point.

My friend that just moved here from California is coming over today and we are going to paint a couple of resin turtles that she has. They will go in our gardens when they are completed. If they turn out fairly decent looking I will post a picture of them. Maybe I'll plan a nice lunch for us. I have no idea what to make, maybe a salad. I have been wanting to get a panini press. I love those sandwiches and I think they are less fattening than grilled sandwiches generally are since you don't need to butter the bread with the panini press. At least I think you don't have to.


Well, I am ready to go back to bed for an hour or two. I've been awake since 2am. Chloe woke me up to go outside and I couldn't get back to sleep. Now it's almost 6am and my hubby is on the road to the lake and I am feeling very sleepy. So that is where I am going now.

I'm Back.............

My brother and sister-in-law left yesterday morning. They had planned on staying until this morning but Joanne felt like she needed to leave yesterday. She gets a little anxious when she is away from home so they headed home. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit with them. Had lots of laughs and reminisced our childhood memories. Went to the coast and visited an Olde Town in Florence, Oregon and also went to Grants Pass and took the Hellgate Jet Boats. The weather was perfect for getting soaking wet in the boat. It was in the 90s. We had a chance to be together again after not seeing each other for nearly 4 years. I hope they come back like they promised. They really loved it here. They live in the desert near Las Vegas. Very hot and dry. The unfortunate part is I didn't get many pictures. I will have to capture their pictures off Facebook when they post them. Also our friends from California that bought the house here came home this week. Their other house sold and they have moved up here and are working diligently to unpack all the boxes sitting in their garage. We had a nice dinner with them last night at the local steak house.

Family ties..........

Sorry I haven't been posting this last week. My brother and his wife are visiting us for the first time since we moved to Oregon. We've been enjoying their company and reminiscing old memories. Be back next week to read and write more..............

I love this time of the year. I can't decide if I like spring or fall better. Spring is new and pretty pastels and budding flowers and new growth, but fall is the changing leaves in all the orange, red, brown, golds and pumpkins and the beginning of the end of the year holidays.

I got a phone call from my brother today and he told me he and his wife are coming to visit us. I am so excited. We've lived here seven years and he's never been here to visit us. Now I have to start planning some activities for us all and places to visit to give him the best of Oregon. I also have to start going through my house with a fine tooth comb to make sure it is clean. This brother is the neatnick of the family. I hope he doesn't mind cat hair. Molly is shedding terribly. I am glad I have a Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner. It should be fun, we haven't seen them in about 3 years so it will be lots of fun. Reminiscing our childhood and sharing stories of our grandkids, etc.

Well, I have to get busy with my daily things now. I can't go to the gym since they close every year the week before Labor Day for maintenance and other stuff. So I've been walking and trying to do stuff at home to keep my exercise up. Have a good day everyone.

I just remembered what I wanted to post about today. I started watching what I eat on Monday since I don't have the restriction with my band right now. I am using http://mydailyplate.com to keep track of my calories and nutrition and my activities. It's free and very easy to use. Check it out if you like. I decided I didn't want to have to lose weight that I have already lost when I get my band readjusted again. So I am keeping my calories under 1500, actually I have found that unless I stay under 1200 I don't lose weight so I will keep them within that range.

Kaiden Heath

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Here is my new Great Grandson. He weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz and is 22 inches. He looks like his daddy did when he was born. We drove up to Washington state to see him. I also got to meet the new mommy and see my other grandson. I was in heaven.

It's been pretty warm again but the heat is supposed to subside after today
The hospital was really nice. They had a private room with a bed for the dad in the room with the mom and baby. He stayed there until they all left today. I can't believe I am a great grandmother. Sure felt good to hold and nuzzle a baby again.

The traffic up here is too much like being in the Los Angeles area again. I can't wait to get home to our little town where there isn't any traffic most of the time.

So far so good.........

Well, since my fill was removed I am trying not to

change my eating amounts. Although I have been eating more since the first removal in early June I don't want to go back to the large amounts I ate before I was banded. I want to thank everyone who has followed my blog and responded to this little problem I am having.

I was thinking yesterday that the doctor mentioned wanting me to heal and also there may be and ulcer. I had been feeling something that felt like it was in my throat but maybe it was lower. It felt like a bump and also felt strange. Maybe that was an ulcer and the cause of my heartburn or reflux. Of course, now I don't have any. It could be the fact that I am taking the Prilosec again (2 a day) or the simple fact that the band has been emptied. I guess sitting here and thinking about it is pointless. I will have to wait until I see the Gastroenterologist. Wow, that is a mouthful huh? I had a good day yesterday. Just doing a little weeding and watering outside and some laundry and such inside. I also went to our local farmers market which I love. It's only a few miles from our house and yesterday I went to get some of their wonderful corn. The place was packed. I almost couldn't find a parking place. When I did I realized why it was so crowded. They had a German band and people were sitting watching and enjoying the music. There were even people dancing. They were almost done playing. My perfect timing to come in at the tail end of it. I did get to hear 2 songs though while I stood in line to pay for my purchases. I started thinking, I have never been to an Oktoberfest celebration. I need to find one and go this year. I got some of the corn we love and also they had their own bell peppers 3 for a dollar and they are huge. I got some baking potatoes to go with the steaks we were having for dinner. And their own tomatoes at 69 cents a pound and they are beautiful and delicious. Also some Walla Walla sweet onions at 69 cents a pound. They have a bakery there too and the smells coming out of that room are nothing short of heavenly. So I went in there and looked for some turnovers. My husband loves the apple turnovers and the last time we went they were all gone. So I thought maybe they would still have some. They did. They had only 2 left and all the pies were sold out but one fresh peach pie. I grabbed the turnovers and headed for the cash register. Tonight we're going to have some grilled veggies with our dinner. We love those. I hope you all have a blessed Sunday.

LapBand Adjustment..

Here is the card that is given to you when you go to have a fill of your LapBand. This time as well as last time I was in the red zone. It states

"Difficulty Swallowing, Reflux-heartburn, Night cough, Regurgitation, Poor eating behavior. "

The suggested instructions to the doctor is to reduce fluid, not add more fluid. Well, I had a new doctor today at my appointment. My doctor moved away to a practice 30 miles further north. A new doctor has been retained but she isn't on board yet. In the mealtime a veteran WLS doctor is coming to our Bariatric Center on Fridays to help with band adjustments and other things that can't wait. Well, I explained to her that I had fluid taken out in June and since that time I still have heartburn and reflux but I need just a little more added because I am not losing weight now, in fact I've gained a couple of pounds. She looked at my records and also at the pictures of the barium swallow I did in February. She asked me why the doctor didn't remove all the fluid so I had a chance to heal. I shrugged my shoulders since I had no clue. Then she told me the bad news. "I won't be added any fluid to your band today, in fact I am going to take it all out. I want you to have a scope test to find out what's going on with you. You might have an ulcer or something else. So she proceeded to remove all the saline from my band and gave the nurse my chart to set up the test for me. She said after a month, depending on what the test shows I can have another fill.

I was both sad and happy. She seemed to be really concerned about what I've gone through. She mentioned that my band was very tight the day I had the barium swallow from the pictures. I told her my esophagus was swollen still. But since that time things just haven't been right. She said the band didn't look slipped, in fact it looked like it was placed right, except it seemed really high. Oh dear. I sure hope this isn't going to result in my having to have another surgery to correct this band. So now, I will really have no restriction and she also said she wants me back on the Prilosec immediately and twice a day. It will help me to heal. So I'm back on it as of before dinner tonight.

Summer is winding down.........

Summer is slowly coming to an end here in my sleepy little burg. Although we've had a heat wave this week I can see the little reminders that fall is just around the corner. Some of the leaves in the trees are already starting to turn red and before the heat wave the week the nights are a little cooler.

I got a call from my surgeon's office yesterday to reschedule my appointment that they cancelled last week. So I am going this Friday afternoon. A few weeks ago they announced on television that some medications for acid reflux were causing problems for the people who take them. They said the drug was keeping the body from absorbing calcium and causing hip breakage, etc. Well, that is all I need, you know? So I have been seeking out alternative methods to help with my reflux. My friend and neighbor has been taking Activia for other problems she has and a benefit is it has pretty much eliminated her reflux. So she stopped taking the pills she has for that. I thought I would try it and since it says on the package you have to take it for 14 days before you see results, the jury is still out. I have been off my Prilosec for 4 days now. I have heartburn at certain times of the day and when I do I take a Papaya Enzyme tablet. They are sold in the vitamin section of the stores and they are chewable and taste pretty good. They help me sometimes. Also what is good for my heartburn is one of my chewable calcium pills so I sometimes will chew one of those. One of the things that causes my heartburn is water. So I am trying to drink my water like they want me to and wham I get heartburn. So far I haven't had any severe problems during the night like I had a couple of months ago before I had my slight unfill. I am hoping that doesn't return when I get a fill. I am going to ask for just a tiny fill. Enough to help me feel restriction but not cause the same problem. Cross your fingers for me okay?

Our friends who were here at our house for 2 months called us on Skype last night. Their house sold over the weekend and they are frantically packing all their belongings. I think they have a 30 day escrow and that is less time than they originally had planned on. So they decided to have someone move them instead of driving a truck up themselves. They also sold the wife's car so they only have one car to worry about. They left their motorhome up here at the new house they bought. They are exhausted but excited too.

My hubby heard from a friend of his from childhood who has come here to visit a few times in the past couple of years that they are moving up here too. They weren't able to sell their house so they have leased it and will be moving out as of the first of September. They have 2 children and will stay with the wife's parents until they come here in November. At that time they will look for jobs and a house to rent. That is a big step and I hope it works out for them.

Well, I need to go water the plants so they survive the next hot day.

Win a pair of Ugg's

I am going to try and win a pair of Ugg boots. I've always wanted a pair but never had one and last year a friend of mine who has a pair always looked so warm and cozy that I thought I should have a pair. Now Sarah from Whooga is having a contest to win a pair. Hopefully I do this right. LOL . I saw this on one of the blogs I read by Laura Ingalls Wilder and thought "yes, if I don't win them I will at least get 15% off on a pair. I like the short ones in chestnut as pictured. Wish me luck and you too can enter to win by clicking on the Whooga logo in my sidebar.

A little disappointment.......

Well, I didn't get an adjustment today. The doctor's office called me this morning and said the doctor who was to do my fill had called in sick today. She has her own practice and only comes to our office once a week so I guess I will have to wait for an opening now. Darn!! Hopefully it will be next Friday. I went to the gym for my workout and when I got home hubby and I went to our favorite Thai restaurant for lunch. I only ate a small portion of mine and intended to finish it for dinner but I didn't and now it's too late to eat. I have to eat earlier due to my reflux issues. I don't know what we are doing for the weekend. My hubby is working on some projects in the garage so he'll probably do that. I would like to see the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife" Anybody see it? I am going to watch the Neil Diamond special on TV now. Have a good weekend.

I need to get back on the band wagon..

I decided yesterday that since my lapband surgeon had moved away and I got a letter that a new surgeon was about to take his place with two other surgeons helping out until the new one settled in, that I need to make an appointment for an adjustment. I figured it would probably take one or even two months before I could get an appointment. I have gained four pounds and I know I am eating more and also eating things I wasn't eating when I had proper restriction. I still have heartburn during the day until I take my reflux pill and I keep a Tums at my bedside for times when I feel a flareup during the night. But I can't not finish my journey the way I am now, so I decided to make the call and perhaps the doctor I see can shed some light on my dilemma. Well, I was so surprised when I got an appointment for this week. In fact I am going in on Friday. Oh, that's tomorrow. I only hope I don't regret going in for the fill. If they can just add a tiny bit of saline, enough to give me a feeling of fullness again. I will keep you all posted as to how things progress.

Well, our friends from California left yesterday at 4am. They arrived home at 6:40pm. That is a long way to go in one day. I'll bet they were exhausted from the drive. We went to dinner with them as well as two couples who are our friends and live here by us on Friday night and then we all went to our California friends' house that they just purchased so all could see it. They only have the new bedroom set and dining room set as well as washer and dryer in the house. The trip back to Southern California is to pack up the other house and make the move to Oregon.

My friend was glowing as everyone oohed and ahhed over her new furniture. They got to sleep in their new memory foam mattress the last three nights and raved about how comfortable it is. I laid in it to try it out and it did seem to just cradled me in the foam. As much as I was ready for them to leave I already miss them. But yesterday I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Life is about to return to "normal" as we know it. They don't expect to be back here before early November.

My hubby took our motorhome in to have the generator looked at on Friday. So far we haven't heard anything yet. I don't think he had a chance to check it yet. We are dreading the outcome of this one. It could be pretty costly. And now as if that isn't enough, the check engine light came on in my car Friday also. When it rains it pours.

I was looking around the house yesterday and decided to get busy washing windows and taking down curtains and washing them this week. All the things that normally get done in early summer I can now do.

Getting Back into the Groove.......

Things are getting pretty much back to normal here. Thank the good Lord for that. I have been going back to the gym since Monday and I'm slowly cleaning the motor home. I washed all the linens and towels and put them back and emptied the fridge and cleaned it good. I wiped down all the counters with Clorox wipes and today I plan to thoroughly clean the bathroom and vacuum all the cat hairs up again. The big dashboard collects the hairs in all the nooks and crannies. Tomorrow my husband has an appointment to take it in for the generator to be looked at. I am praying it isn't too expensive a repair. We need it fixed regardless but money is tight now that vacation is over so I hope it's not too much.

Our county fair started on Tuesday and we usually go to the concerts they have but we've missed the first two. I guess we're just kind of burned out after the last two months of running here and running there. I would like to go tonight though and see Josh Turner. He is a country singer with a really deep voice and is oh so cute besides.

I don't know if I mentioned that my doctor relocated to Washington state so I am out of a doctor. The doctor who ran the clinic was going to take on all her patients and then at the last minute she gave up her practice and went to work for the VA Hospital here in town. This all transpired while I was gone on vacation. Her office sent out letters to all the patients involved along with the names of doctors who would be willing to take on the patients who no longer have a doctor. Well, by the time I got the word and started looking into it I am going to have a nurse practitioner not a doctor. The facility is one I have used for urgent care and it's very nice so I figure, whatever!! There are full fledged doctors there if there is a problem. And as if that isn't enough, my LapBand surgeon also left the practice where I had my surgery done. He moved to a city 30 miles to the north of it. Now he is 110 miles from where I live. I have the option of following him or going with whoever they get as his replacement. As far as I know they haven't found anyone as yet. They have another doctor who will come in one day a week as a substitute until the position is filled. I can't believe I have lost both doctors in the same week. I may just go with the new doctor and hopefully that doctor will have more experience dealing with LapBand issues such as the reflux I have been having. I am debating going in for another fill since I can practically eat anything now and usually do. I have gained about 4 pounds after the vacation and lack of exercise. I am back to eating better so I am hoping to drop the weight but I really need to lose another 40 pounds so I don't know. I am worried that I will have the same problem if I get an adjustment. Well, I think I have said a mouthful and it's time to get busy around here.

Home at last........

Tim McGraw (unfortunately I didn't get a good shot of him)

Joey and Rory

Phil Vassar (He put on a good show, great entertainer)

Tracy Lawrence

LeAnn Rimes

Well we came home a day early from the Jamboree. We were using our generator to run the air conditioner in the motor home so the animals would be comfortable. On Saturday we tried to run it and it made a terrible noise. Hubby checked the oil and that was fine. Soooooo we no longer had a/c. He decided to stay there with the pets all day and I went to the concerts. He finally came over to see LeAnn Rimes perform at 8:45. It was so hot last night and it was starting to get cloudy which made it humid on top of the heat so we decided we didn't want to face another day in the heat. So we came home. I hated to miss the remaining acts that performed today but I also didn't want to be sweating all day again and worrying about our pets. It is sure good to be home. And our friends have gone back to their new home. That means we get our motorhome parked in it's space and the boat back in it's space. So things will go back to normal after more than two months. Woohoo~!! Don't get me wrong, we really love our friends but being with friends too much isn't good either. I wasn't able to get too many good shots at the jamboree. Tim McGraw performed Friday night and our seats were pretty far from the stage so I didn't get any sharp shots. I got a few of the other celebs so I've included them here. Hope I can catch up on all the blogs I haven't been able to read over the last couple of months.

Music and fun and hopefully not heat

This weekend is the Oregon Jamboree. We have been parked in the Elks lodge for the last two nights. We took our boat home yesterday. We are hoping the weather will cool off some. We still have our pets with us. It got up to 104 on Tuesday and was 101 yesterday. It feels way cooler today. We won't have power to run our air conditioner while we are parked at the site of the jamboree. We do have a generator in our motor home but if it's really hot we will just come home. I hope it cools off as forecasted because I want to see the performances. It was very hot at our house. The Northwest has been having a real heatwave. Record heat!! So we will go and if the weather is too hot we will head for home. Don't want our kitties and Chloe to suffer in a hot motor home. I need to find a house sitter for the future. It's hard to go places without the pets since Molly is on medication twice a day and Chloe needs to be let out to go to the bathroom and be fed. I hated coming down off that mountain where we spent the last 2 weeks. It was so cool up there and relaxing. Anyway, I will probably not be online after today since we will be camping without hookups and last year I wasn't able to grab a wifi signal from the area where we parked. So I will make an entry on Monday after we get home.

Salt Creek Falls

I'm sorry these aren't in order. I always have them backwards. But this is the base of the waterfall and the stream that runs off of it.

The three amigos clowning around

Salt Creek Falls is the second tallest waterfall in Oregon. It is breathtakingly beautiful and the picture doesn't really do it justice.

Here are some wildflowers I shot on the way to see the waterfall. I hope to have some more photos in the coming days. One of the couples is going home today but we'll still be here for a while. It is so peaceful and relaxing here. I love it. Last night we had lobster tails that we barbecued and potato salad, home grown cucumbers and cantaloupe and green salad. What a meal. It was so delicious. The guys are out fishing this morning again and I am hoping I can escape having to go out early in the morning and fish. LOL I don't mind fishing I just don't like getting up in the dark and going out so early. I like to enjoy my mornings with my coffee or tea and check out blogger and Facebook.

This is a picture taken out the windshield of our motorhome. We are at the lake where we go each summer. It is wonderful here. Our friends are with us as well as another couple. The guys go fishing every morning and today we all drove into Bend, OR for lunch at a mexican restaurant. It is so beautiful here and also relaxing. The sounds of different birds and watching Ospreys flying around. We even found one of their nests. It's huge. I will take some more pictures and post them in the next couple of days. I have to get going now. We are all getting together for some appetizers and drinks instead of dinner tonight since we ate a big lunch.

Busy weekends go by too fast

Yesterday we went to the Graffiti Days Weekend in our town. It's a yearly event with old cars on display and they have a parade at the end of the day. It's a week long event and lots of fun seeing all the cars and some beautiful paint jobs and interiors. Some of these are worth a fortune.

This was my husband's favorite and it was for sale. I think they were asking $26,000 for it. It's a 57 Chevy. Great paint job.

Here is a macro of one of my hydrangeas on my deck. Hope you all had a good weekend.

Spring babies

Here is one of the season's newest babies. It's actually a twin, the sibling was out of this shot. Their mother is in the shot and she hasn't brought them out in public until this last week. At least we hadn't seen them. Usually by this time we've seen several mothers with their new fawns. But these are the only ones we have seen this year. The picture will enlarge if you click it. They are so precious. We had a great time this past weekend at our church camp out and picnic. There was a water fight every afternoon between all the kids and one adult. It was a ritual. Fun to watch and take pictures of. It was a way for them all to cool off since we had such hot weather while we were there. I was so glad the weather cooled off yesterday. Now I have to pack the motor home for our next trip to the lake to go fishing.

July 4th Campout and Picnic

Some of the pictures I took at our outing last week.

Can it really be this long since I've posted?

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted in such a long time. Life has gotten so hectic around here. Yes, our friends are still here. They are running around getting things like doctors, dentists, all their utilities ready to be turned on in their names, getting painters to give estimates. I wonder if they realize the house they are buying isn't theirs yet and they keep going over and intruding on the current owners. They are parading 4 different painters through the house so they can get estimates. Now they are trying to arrange for gardeners to be ready to jump in and take over when escrow closes. It just amazes me. I am trying to keep my life as normal as I can. I am going to the gym daily (with or without them and hubby) and I still keep up my Farm Town (of course)but I have neglected going to the grocery store and a few other stores. I have a car full of cans and bottles to be recycled (5 cents each item here in Oregon). I'll be so glad when this is all over with and we can get back to our normal little lives here in Kathy's World. The husbands want to go to Costco today and I would rather take care of my little errands but I will probably go to Costco with the crowd. We took them to a furniture store here so they could look for a new bedroom set and we ended up buying a new dining room table and china cabinet. Go figure!! So now I have my old china cabinet listed on Craig's List. I had two people come and look at it yesterday but neither one bought it. We gave our old table and chairs away to a young couple from our church who are about to move in a house they are buying. They have very little in the way of furniture so we gave them some other items we've been wanting to get rid of too. Well, I hear my hubby getting up so I have to go make him some coffee. Til next time........