Saturday morning

I've been doing really well since the 5 day pouch test. It has gotten me back on track. I have lost 8 pounds and feel good. After being gone for a month on vacation and no exercise it felt so good to get back to the gym. It took me a few days to gain back the strength and stamina I had before though.
Yesterday, I went to Costco and bought meat for when my brother comes next week. I got tri-tip roasts, baby back ribs, pork chops, filet mignon and we have lots of fish in the freezer already. We smoked some of the Kokanee that we caught at the lake. I really like it smoked. My pastor's wife told me they eat it on Wheat Thins with a smear of cream cheese and then a piece of the fish. I tried it and loved it. I haven't eaten it this way since the pouch test. Tuesday is my next barium swallow. I am hoping things look better this time but if not I will ask the doctor to leave the band in rather than remove it and have nothing. I don't know that my insurance company would pay for another band or another weight loss surgery.

We are having our house resided next week also. They will replace several of the windows while they are siding it. The windows we have now are quite old and the new ones will be dual paned. We replaced three in the front of the house and they've made a big difference but the bedrooms all have the old style with built in storm windows over them. They are quite heavy and difficult to clean.

Today is the last day of our county fair and we are going with some friends. There is also a Skandinavian Festival north of here and we thought about going there too. But I think we will go to our fair since it's closer and our dog needs to be let out to go potty every two to three hours. She has had 2 bladder surgeries and is getting older and just can't hold her urine.

It's very quiet this morning. Hardly any cars going down the street. It's overcast outside and the sun should burn through in a couple of hours. I think I will have another cup of coffee now. Have a good weekend everyone.

Day 4

Today is day 4 of the 5 day pouch test. I've done really well so far. Yesterday I got in the car to go to the gym and once I got off our street onto the main road here in town I noticed all the interior lights were on in the car. When we were at the Jamboree this past weekend the passenger window quit working in an open position. My hubby decided he would fix it instead of paying someone else to do it. He had taken the panel off the door and was planning on fixing it when I got back from my workout. Well, I continued to the gym, thinking that maybe after I turned off the engine the lights would time out. Not so, I was afraid that when I came out 2 hours later my battery would be dead. So I turned the car around and came home. My hubby went to the garage for a little while and then decided it was over his head. He went to the auto repair he has used before and they did it for $50 plus the part they needed. I am so happy to have my car in one piece again.

Today I get to eat ground meat. I am drooling in anticipation for an angus burger from Costco. They are fully cooked and you just microwave them or you can also grill them if you like. They are so good..............yum.

Catching up with my life again.......

Back from my vacation. It is always nice to get home. I decided to try the 5 day pouch test. I've never done it before and I felt so bloated after our trip. I did gain a few pounds, 4 to be exact so I decided to try this since it's supposed to get you back to where you were after first being banded. I'm on day 2 and went back to my gym for my workout today. It felt so good to workout and sweat. I came home and gave my Chloe a bath. Now I am getting ready to go out and pull some weeds. I am trying to keep busy so I don't get tempted to eat something. The first two days are liquids only and I keep seeing recipes or pictures of food in magazines and online.
I spent yesterday doing laundry and emptying the food and other things out of the RV. I still have to clean it but I won't be doing that today. While we were gone the passenger window on our tow vehicle (my car) came off the track or something. My hubby is in town now trying to get it fixed. There are so many things to catch up on when you've been away. I had the mail stopped for 30 days and it took a while to sort through it. I have a whole stack of magazines to read now.
I also need to finish a couple of quilts that are almost complete. Better get out to that garden now.......have a good day everyone!

I am still around.......

I am still around, I just haven't been posting. We have been at a lake, camping for the whole month of July. Hubby goes out fishing in the morning and again in the late afternoon. I am ready to leave. I am soooo bored. The mosquitoes were really aggressive when we first got here. They have decreased in the last week. We've had several friends here for a week at a time so it's not too bad. Last week we had rain most of the week and dreary weather. Now it's so pretty again. I have read two books and I know it sounds like a nice relaxing vacation but I feel like all I do is wash dishes and vacuum the motorhome and pick up and put away things. Not to mention cooking all the time. The last few days were better because we made group meals with two other couples so I didn't have to cook the whole thing. Tonight we are making smoked baby back ribs and baked potatoes. One of the couples will be bringing corn on the cob. I took a picture of the lake with the moon over it the other night. Our wifi is so overworked here that I can't upload it until I get home. Next Thursday we are leaving for Sweet Home, Oregon for the Oregon Jamboree . We've gone for the last five years and it's so much fun. We have met lots of new friends waiting in line to get in each day. I have been reading all the posts I follow and even commenting on them when the computer doesn't make me wait too long. I hope everyone is having a good summer and I hope the areas suffering from the heat get relief soon.

My Next Rag Quilt

Here is the latest rag quilt for my Sis-in-law's new grandson. I am working on the last one for a little girl yet to be born. Finally I will have one done before the baby is born.





I haven't been working very hard on getting these done. I am ashamed to say I wish I devoted more time to my quilting. I go to the gym 5 days a week and when I get home I start with my housework and then I make lunch for my hubby. Before I know it it's time to make dinner and I haven't worked on my quilt. I guess if I worked on them every single day I would get sick of sewing. I don't know. As it is I love it, when I do it.





I am feeling a little sorry for myself today. I am watching the scale creep up a few pounds and my jeans are feeling a little tight today. I workout hard when at the gym everyday I am there. I still use a small salad plate at dinner and yet, I feel as though I am gaining weight. I am thinking of rejoining Weight Watchers. I have until the end of August before I see my bariatric surgeon again. At that time it's any ones guess what he will decide. I only hope there will be an improvement in my esophagus and maybe he'll decide I don't need my band taken out and maybe he will even adjust it a tiny bit so I can have some restriction again. I haven't written my blog in about a month. I just read everyone else's that I subscribe to. One of the blogs I read is
Can't Wait to Lose it.
Jacquie had her lapband removed today and it was replaced (if everything went as planned) by a vertical sleeve. I hope she is doing well now, I believe her surgery was early this morning.
I don't know if I should consider this type of surgery for myself if I have to have my band removed. I will have to wait and see.

Our weather has been so nice this week. Sunny every day and warm but not hot. Today I kept hearing meadowlarks singing all day long. Beautiful. It's pretty quiet outside now. They must be eating and getting ready to call it a day. My hubby went fishing today with a couple of his buddies. He also went on Tuesday. Today they went to a lake and Tuesday they went to the ocean. He caught a couple of lingcod and some black bass. Today he gave what he caught to one of the other guys. He doesn't eat fish and I only eat it occasionally so he doesn't keep most of what he catches. Well, I need to get back to the sewing machine and sew some more before "So you think you can dance" comes on. Good night all.

2nd rag quilt

Here is the rag quilt I have made for my sister-in-law's grandbaby. I have two finished now and I am in the process of trying to find a box to mail them in. They live in Nevada. I still have two more to make. She is being blessed with 4 grandbabies this year. Two boys and two girls. These are all flannel and so soft. I am currently cutting the fabric for the third one.

I am trying to eat right and not have any between meal snacks. It's hard to do since I have been getting hungry between lunch and dinner each day. If I keep busy maybe I won't go looking for something to eat. And if I am really hungry I need to find something healthy to eat rather than crackers or pita chips. I always look for something quick and satisfying. Since I have no fluid in my band for 8 months now I am finding I am slipping back into old habits. So I am trying to only go for something that will nourish me and hold me over until my next meal. What are you all planning for the Memorial Weekend? We don't have any plans this weekend. The forecast is that it will rain all weekend except Sunday. We've lived here in Oregon for almost 9 years now and this has been the longest winter/rainy season so far. I am so ready ( being a Southern California girl) for sunshine and warm weather. But you can't beat the green here in Oregon. I love it.

I also want to thank everyone for their nice comments about my lapband troubles. It makes me feel so good to know I have friends out there in cyberspace.

Doctor

Yesterday was my appointment with my bariatric doctor. I was his first patient in my town. We chatted a while and I told him I didn't want my band removed if I have a choice. At least it gives me some restriction and without it I would have none. I asked him if there are many people who are having the same experience that I am having. He said that there are alot of people who are having the same experience. Most of the ones having the experience have the same size band as me. It is smaller than the ones being used today and they are finding the smaller band is causing more slippages, erosions and esophagus dilations due to the band cutting into the esophagus. He also told me he wants me to take another upper GI test in three months. I agreed to it. He also mentioned a test where they measure the muscle tone in the esophagus as I swallow liquid to see if I have a normal response. It was alot to take in and I am not sure if or when they will do that test. He never mentioned replacing the band, if it needs to be removed, with the vertical sleeve. He did, however say that he could replace the band I have with a newer band. But we will wait and see how things go.

I finished my second rag quilt this week. I plan to mail off the two I have completed to my sis-in-law so she can send them to her two grandbabies. I am going to start on the third one tomorrow. I will download the picture I took of the newest one and post it tomorrow. They are quick once you start piecing them together.