My new do!

I thought I updated...

but now I can't find my entry!

I am down 102 lbs. now since my surgery. It is amazing and I feel wonderful.

We took the kids trick or treating today and I wasn't tired at all. In fact, the walk felt wonderful.

On the other hand, I am drugged up and about to fall over right now. I had 4 teeth pulled today to make room for my other teeth and will get my braces on Nov. 15. I can't believe it! I have hated my teeth for so long and I am finally doing something about it. :D It's a lot of pain right now, but I KNOW it's going to be worth it!!!

I also got my hair done and have some pics to post here in a few mins.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

1 more pound

and I'll score that Benjamin! (Thanks Dagny for the heads up! :) )

So I bet (and pray) that it will happen this week!

I got my hair done yesterday too and will post some new pics of that soon too. Right now I'm off to work (ugh) and have to work all day tomorrow too, so it will most likely be Tuesday before I can get some loaded. Working is starting to get on my nerves. I love it, BUT they are giving far too many hours and everytime I ask to get cut back she just doesn't listen. (Frustrating!!!)

I feel like I'm getting buried under a lot of "to do" lists right now and I'm just trying to stay afloat. I think if I can get through Christmas there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.

At any rate, I weigh 178. Holy crap.

oops..

I just noticed i forgot to fix the date on my camera! lol These were taken last week though! I am 3 lbs. away from the Century Club!!!

New pics!

Here are the latest pics!

Doing better...

I've gotten in all of my vitamins and water in during the last two days! :) My teeth are still sore but not as bad and I've been able to eat a little more the last few days. I am sitting solid at 181 lbs. right now.

Isn't it funny though, how 6 mo. ago I would've killed (or had my insides rearranged) to be 181 lbs. Now it doesn't seem good enough. Everytime I step on the scale I want it to be lower. I do, however, in the back of mind, wonder how I make the weight loss stop once I hit my goal. I'm sure it will, but there is that weird thought there, that someday I may be too skinny. Weird.

Work is going well. I really made good money last week...It's nice to not worry about money anymore and yet I do miss being home. HOnestly, I love the adult interaction though too... and the time to just be Amber. Don't get me wrong, I am always, Mommy and Dear, but sometimes it is nice to be Amber too.

I do have the next 3 days off. Today I will spend most of my time getting ready for the Holiday Craft show coming up that I'm in charge of planning, and then tonight we are responsible for feeding 40 ppl at a church conference meeting. Thankfully, someone else is cooking the food, and we just have to sort of oversee it and serve it. I can handle that.

Tomorrow and Thursday, I have no plans for the most part and I am excited. A few days just to chill-ax! :) LOL

I better run... Gabe has finished his pancake, and I have to go deal w/ the cable company. During the storms last night, our digital cable box got fired. I'm sad too b/c we had Heros recorded on there and never got to watch it. :(

Admitting things...

So I guess I need to admit some things so I can have ya'll tell me how I need to shape up.

I haven't taken my vitamins in weeks. I forget. I know that is no excuse but it's the truth. My life is CrAzY right now. I run from 7 a.m. to after midnight every single day, non stop. Does anyone have any idea on how I can remember to take the stupid things? If I could just take them all at once it would be so much either. I realize this is part of having the surgery, but dang it...How do ya'll remember to take all that crap?

Second...I've barely eaten this week... Monday I had 1/2 of a Honey Mustard Melt sandwich at work and a few bites of chili when I got home after working 12 hrs. Tuesday I had the other half of the sandwich and some yogurt when I got home at 10 p.m. Today I've had coffee and that's it b/c my freaking teeth hurt so bad I can't talk let alone chew.

The teeth are the issue today, but honestly, the last couple of weeks, I've barely eaten anything. I just don't like food anymore. Is that normal??

I'm 6 lbs. away from having lost 100 lbs. in 6 months. I am so freaking happy, and yet I nkow I need to take better care of myself.

I know the root of it is that I'm working too much. I never wanted 40 hrs a week, ad yet here I am doing it. My boss doesn't want to let me go part time, and the money is good there... so what do I do? It's nice to have extra cash for extra things. It's nice to be able to stash money away and know that we are on the track to actually being ahead and staying ahead, but at what price? I miss my kids alot b/c I'm working 2nd shift.. and though they are with DJ I know they need Mommy too.

Iy yi yi. I'm pretty stressed right now.

S P A C E R S

Ouch. I'm a big baby. Seriously.

I had spacers put between my teeth today to get them ready for the braces. It feels gross and hurts. I am already annoyed by it and I haven't gotten the brackets on yet. lol On my way home I stopped at mom's school (she teaches music/gym at a private school in our town) and when I got there she had the 5th graders in class. They all agreed with me, that spacers HURT! lol

On the weight loss front, I'm about 185. The scale is still going down at a pretty good rate. I won't complain.

I am planningo n cutting my hours at work down to part time. It is just too much trying to work full time, and handle everthing else I have on my plate.


OH! I almost forgot. I went shopping this week and picked up all size 16s at Old Navy, went back to try things on and found it all was TOO BIG! I bought 14's and a skirt in size 12! :) Yay!

Me!

Here is a pic from Oct. 16.... almost a month ago... I will take more today before work, but thought I'd share these two.

I'm about 10 lbs. less now.



I found my camera!!! :)

Where have I been?

Well, I have been working full time, raising kids, keeping a house, being a wife, and losing weight!

And as of this week, we are now back in Youth Ministry. DJ took a position at the church here in town and that in itself is a huge undertaking. I hope we can balance it all. He will keep his full time job at the steel mill too. So...busy, busy.

I am so happy with life right now though. Losing this weight has been amazing and I know I would've never been able to keep up with a life this full before. I just didn't have the stamina.

I will try to get some updated pics up soon. I can't find my camera but I know it's around here somewhere. I am down to 186 lbs. as of this a.m. It feels wonderful! It has been so worth it.

I am getting braces in the next couple months as well. I have to get spacers put in next week, then teeth pulled, more spacers, then the brackets go on. I hope I don't look too crazy lol. I feel weird being 28 yrs old and getting braces, but I want that perfect smile to go along w/ my thinner self. LOL :)

The kids are doing great... Gabe is my little man, and is growing up too fast. Hannah brought home straight A's on her midterms again and Abby is still my prissy little precious princess. ;)

Life is amazing. :)

I'm back!

I will be updating more often again!! I've missed you guys!! I have to sort of redo my page... it looks crazy... does it look messed up to all you guys too?
I have new pics to post and everything! Sit tight!

Quick update

My updates may be few and far between for a few weeks. I started working outside the home again and the kids are heading back to school on Tuesday. A lot of things are changing right now, and blogging is having to go to the back burner but only for a short time.

I am 18 weeks out now and am down 71 lbs.... Only 2 lbs. to that half way mark. Not bad for 4 month out! ;)
Take care everyone!!

17 Weeks

The 4 month marker comes on Thursday. 4 months. Wow. I was hoping to see 70 lbs gone by that day... still have 2 days and 2 lbs. to go. lol We'll see.

I am getting into some of my size 16 pants. Sunday I wore a pair of size 16 dress pants from Old Navy w/ a size L shirt and a size L cardigan. It felt nice. :) I got a ton of compliments too and it really gives a boost to my self esteem.

We are leaving for vacation tomorrow...finally! We've been trying to get going since last Thursday but we had some issues with the camper that will finally be resolved tomorrow. We'll been gone a week and I am so ready. When I return, I'll have tons of stories and tons of pictures, I'm sure! :)


Oh yeah! Saturday night I attended my (lame) 10 yr. High School Reunion. It was a flop from the get go (which I knew) but was hoping things would perk up once we were all there. It didn't. We stayed and had dinner and tried to talk to a few people, but the music was so freaking loud you couldn't even hear the person next to you (and that was while SCREAMING!!!) It was rediculous.

I found out that out of my entire class (136 people), I have been married and have stayed married the longest... (7 yrs.)... I found out that most of my classmates still think they are 19 and act like it. What is weird though, is that the ones who acted the most immature LOOKED the oldest!

I would've liked to have been at goal when I went to the reunion, but you know what? I walked out of there feeling AWESOME about ME! My life is so grounded and happy and peaceful. I am mature and hopeful and HAPPY! I have grown up since HS... and sadly a lot of those other people haven't. They are still running around, sleeping around, acting crazy and broke and without any boundaries in their lives. It's sad really.

As we walked out and got into the car to leave, I felt a huge sense of satisfaction w/ my life and my choices. It hasn't always been easy and there have been times when I have looked at my life and wondered how I got here. At that moment, I decide that there is no where else I'd rather be!

Pics!

Of course there were a ton more of him opening presents, but suffice it to say, my livingroom looked like Toys R Us exploded in there afterwards. :)

Neglecting the BLOG

So I'm guilty of neglecting the blog, BUT I have a good reason. Last Wed. (Aug. 1), Gabe turned 1 yr old!!! I spent ALL of last week planning his party and then spent all day Saturday getting things ready and finally at 4 p.m. the festivities began. It was great. We had about 70 people show up and had a blast.

I had gotten a pony for Gabe to have at the party so the kids got pony rides and the usual cake and ice cream and treat bags, etc. It looked like Toys R Us exploded in my livingroom by the time everyone was gone and we brought everything inside. It was so worth it though! :) I got some great pics too that I'll share later.

Today marks 16 weeks since my RNY. I am down 67 lbs. I wanted to hit the 70 lbs mark by 4 months out (which will be Aug. 16th) and I think I have a pretty good shot of making it. Eating is going pretty well and I've still only thrown up once and have only had something stuck 2 or 3 times. I think I'm pretty lucky, although I do know alot of it has to do with the fact that I am careful with what I eat, and how fast I eat.

I've been struggling a bit w/ drinking while eating or drinking too soon after eating and I just need to get a grip on that again. I have noticed that if I let myself be lax about it one time, it was easier the next time to do sneak a sip too early. It's too early for me to be disregarding rules and so no more of that.

The kids are getting ready to go back to school at the end of the month (WOW! Time flies!) and I wanted to be below 200 lbs. when they went back. I am going to do my best to make that goal too. I took them school shopping and we have gotten everything they need except shoes, and Abby needs some more clothes. Hannah is set pretty much.

We leave for vacation on Aug. 13. We are just camping this summer but it seems that is about the best thing to do when you have 3 kids. It's fun, cheap and they like being outside so it's a go. The second week of vacation we will come home and get stuff ready for school, since they will start the week after, but I also have a couple day trips planned. One to an Africian Wildlife Safari Park in Sandusky, next we'll go the Soak City (Cedar Point) and then finally we will head to COSI in Columbus for a day. I'm so excited!

I haven't talked much about Abby going to Kindergarten but she is starting this year. I'm doing ok with it though so far. Mainly b/c it is only half day and also b/c she went to preschool last year and really had a good time there. I also just found out that her cousin, Hayley is going to be in her class as well so that will be nice. (As long as they behave and don't gang up on the other kids lol..)

DJ is off work, after getting hit in the chest w/ a steel tube at work. He works in a steel mill and was guiding a (thousand pound) tube as the craneman was moving it. The craneman rammed the tube into the wall and it came back and plowed into DJ's chest. It spun him around and now his back and shoulder are injured. :( He went to the hospital and they doped him up pretty good. He was off for the weekend, and now, this morning, has to go see the company doctor since this is all workmans comp. Ack. Workmans Comp. I have heard some horror stories there. Anyway, I am hoping that he wakes up feeling better today and we can just get back to life as we know it. Although he is pretty entertaining when he's on prescription drugs lol.

I guess that's all for now... I'll do better at updating this week. Promise! :)