I Moved...AGAIN

I learned a few things with this move...
* This was my 15th move (8 in MD and 7 in TX)...scary! I really need to stay in one place for longer than a year or 2. :-)
* I am too old for this crap. Every part of my body is sore and I have more bruises/scratches than I can count.
* I wont live in an apartment again...ok well maybe but the first floor only (I may need to when I am old and in an assisted living/nursing home or something LOL). No more stairs!
* I will not move in the middle of summer (in over 100 degree heat), what was I thinking?
* I should have lost about 10 lbs from going up and down the stairs to move out of my 3rd floor apartment in the 100 degree heat. I will verify this once I find my scale...its in one of these boxes here.
* Dont tip your movers until you are sure they tried their best to get EVERYTHING in the truck. (not only did I tip them but I tipped them well because I felt so bad about the heat). Dont get me wrong, I was happy with my movers, not only were they on time but they were early. I just wish they had tried a little harder to get it all on the truck for me and I certainly wouldnt have given as big of a tip as I did, had I realized how much didnt make it.
* My brother in law is the best for coming over and helping me move the rest of the stuff the movers couldnt get on the truck.
* My mom and sister are the best for helping me pack/unpack and declassify myself as a hoarder. :-)
* And I am really glad to be in a house again...so much space and I may actually unpack all my boxes this time. Believe it or not I still have boxes that I have not unpacked since I moved from MD. So most of that stuff will probably go in the yard sale box but at least it will get unpacked finally!

slacker

just noticed how much of a slacker I am! Cant believe its been a year since my last post...I promise to get back on the blog wagon. There are lots to catch up on. So all 2 of you reading my blog, stay tuned!

If You Post It...

it will happen...Shortly after my last post about my weight, I finally broke thru the 200lb mark and am below 200 for the first time in a very long time. Woo hoo, yay me! I think one of my most recent changes I have noticed is that I now can see my neck, as in the structure of my neck like musles and stuff. Before it was just like a thick piece of flesh holding my head up. LOL

In a few weeks I will be headed to MD for a week. Gizmo is coming with me this time, so excited! His first airplane trip and he will be traveling with me in the main cabin. Otherwise he would not be going. I am excited for him to meet Sandler (my parents dog) and spend some time with his Granny and Pop-Pop.

Its weird, I havent really been homesick for MD since I moved to TX almost 5 yrs ago, but for some reason the last year I have been feeling just a little homesick. I think it has a lot to do with Facebook and reminicing with old friends (by old, I mean long time friends) and fun memories of growing up in Frederick.

I guess it could also have to do with turning 40 this year. Or as I like to call it the 19th anniversary of my 21st birthday. :-) I remember when 40 sounded SOOOOOOO old. where did the time go???

I honestly thought I would have been married with kids by the time I was 40. what happened? Well now that I put that out in the blog-o-sphere maybe that will happen sometime soon too :-)

Slacking Again...

What a slacker I am...I have a long blog started about my move but that will get posted later. Lets just say everything that could go wrong did. :-) Glad its over.

So its been a year now since my lap band surgery and still no regrets. Its been a tad slower than I expected but thats ok since they say it takes at least twice as long to lose weight than it did to gain it so its all good. I have lost 31 lbs so far and I am 1 lb away from being under 200....and that is one stubborn pound too! The best part is clothes shopping again. I can shop in normal stores again and it feels great. In fact I did a little retail therapy today!

My birthday is this week and I am not looking forward to it. Its the big 4-0 and I have been dreading it for the last year. I think a lot of it has to do with thinking that I have probably lived more than half my life so far, kinda scary. Plus I really thought I would have been married and had kids by now. In fact I always thought I would be a young mom and well that doesnt seem to be the way it will be so that bugs me. Oh well, not much that can be done about that now. Just need to find that Mr Right For Me and soon! Getting tired of looking/waiting.

I am off to Austin this weekend to hang out with my gal pals from San Antonio. Cant wait should be a great time!

Blog Slacker

Geez...didnt realize it had been so long since I blogged...things going on...


• had a scary episode where my lap band swelled shut for over 48hrs in Jan...not fun! It’s made me very nervous about having it filled again. Its about half filled now and I think I am doing ok for now. I am one pound away from 30 lbs and 3 lbs away from being under 200.

• job is going well.

• dog is doing good too...he is taking his first airplane trip with me back to MD this summer for a visit. He will be traveling in the cabin with me (I wouldn’t even do it if he had to ride with the luggage, I just could not deal with that). I bought his carrier for him this weekend. At Petco I put him in it to make sure he would fit and he went right in just like a pro and laid down. So I waited a few min to see if he would try to get out, etc. but he didn’t he just laid there like he knew that is what he is supposed to do. What a good boy he is!

• moving to a new apartment complex...why may you ask? more space for the same money, change of scenery, closer to my work (not that I had a really long commute to begin with). The new complex is a little older than the one I am in now, but has been recently upgraded and has a few more amenities (tanning beds, individual tvs on gym equipment, and dog parks. oh and they have an indoor basketball court, not that I would be using but hey, when dad comes to visit, he can check it out. oh and they also have a putting green, again not that I will be using but hey another thing for dad to check out.)

• babies are all doing good. Ashlynn and I usually have a date once a week except when she went on her first spring break with her mommy and daddy to CO for YL ski trip. Grammy got to go on that one too. Jailynn is doing good too. I try to see her every couple weeks, at least once a month. She and her mommy stay pretty busy. Both babes got their first tooth/teeth and are eating baby foods. They are so much fun now as they start interacting more and are all about putting everything in their mouths.

• oh and we got snow 4 times in Dallas. One time it was 12 inches a new record for the history books. Crazy weather.

Christmas Already!

Its been a while since I blogged. I cant believe it is almost Christmas already! Where did the time go??

So since my last blog I have started a new job and so far I love it. It makes going thru the last 1 ½ years worth it. I guess going thru being unemployed and working as a contractor has made me really thankful for my new job all the more. I also think my experience at Chase also made me realize how much I was working before I moved to Dallas. I think if I had continued down the path I was on back then, I would have become burnt out.

Here is a cute pic of the babies with Aunt Amy from Thanksgiving.

Arent they just adorable?

Oh and my new favorite thing is to Skype. I got to skype with Dad and Chrissy recently and that was a lot of fun. We are going to try to do it on Christmas too!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

FINALLY...

...I was offered a permanent job last week. I start on Nov 30th. I am very excited. I will be working as an Analyst II for Conifer Health Solutions. They are a subsidiary of Tenet Healthcare. The cool thing is my aunt works for Tenet, but we will be working in different sites. So finally after 1 1/2 yrs I will have benefits again, woo hoo!

Howl-o-ween!

Gizmo decided to dress up for Halloween this year...doesnt he look cute?!?

Fill'er Up!

So I went to get my lap band filled this morning. When they do this, they take an x-ray of your abdominal area so they can find the port (which is where they inject the saline). I am always nosey and want to see what it all looks like so I turn around to see the monitor. Today when I went to look, I saw all these little fasteners/hooks (9 to be exact) in the same general area as the port. Turns out they were from my bra! LOL I got a good chuckle out of it.

Speaking of bras, did you know that VS (Victoria Secret) now has 'memory foam' bras? I didnt either until this past weekend. In fact I am wearing one now and it is super comfy!

Weight Loss, etc

WARNING: THIS POST IS ON THE GRAPHIC SIDE AS I AM POSTING ABOUT MY LAP BAND ISSUES.
Well, I have kinda hit a road block on the weight loss. No loss in the last month or so, so its time to go back for a fill. I was a little hesitant to do it since I am still having some trouble eating. On the upside, I havent really gained any weight so that is at least good.

Basically with certain foods or even with foods I have eaten successfully, I can have problems. I have narrowed it down to a couple things...I am still taking too big of a bite of food and I am not chewing enough. I have been told you should sing the ABC's while chewing to make sure you chew it enough so I am trying to do that.

I seem to be ok on what I call my 'safe' foods. The foods I eat over and over at home. However, I seem to have issues more so when I eat out or eat at someone elses house. Occasionally I will have problems when I am starving and I take that first bite that ends up being too big (and I dont chew it as well) and I know it as soon as I swallow but there is nothing I can do at that point. But I have become a little smarter and immediately stop eating because I know it will just make it worse by eating more on top of something that is already stuck. Your first instinct is to eat more to 'push' the food thru but that does not work. Your other instinct is to drink, another big no no. Basically those things will just come back up.

After some research I found out what has been happening is called 'slimming'. Kinda gross sounding but at the same time perfectly describes what happens. This is what happens when you get a piece of food stuck in the band area and your body starts producing extra saliva (it also tends to be thicker too). When this happens it buids up in your esophogas/stoma area and after a few minutes it really starts to hurt as if someone just punched you square in the chest. The only relief is to cough it up. I say cough because it really isnt like throwing up. I really just cough a little and it just comes up. And honestly its not food that comes up so I am not turning anorexic or anything. :) It is just clear slimey goo. I have also read that it helps to use Papaya Enzyme. This helps to break up the blocked food. They are chewable and actually taste pretty good.

So I am going on Tues to get another fill. There are some foods that I can totally eat and not so sure I really should be able to eat so I know its time. Plus I have found that I can eat a little more than I should too. I am also getting a little more motivated by adding a new widget to my blog to track my weigh loss. Now that the weather is getting cooler and its not raining as much I am more motivated to walk again and am also going to start up on my Wii Fit again. I am still a little scared of Jillian and her Wii Fit workout but will be trying it later today!

Have a great week everyone!

My Favorite Reality Shows…

Let’s move on to my favorite reality shows…

Let’s face it, I probably watch more reality shows than regular shows and most of them are on Bravo, who’d a thought?

Flipping Out
I love love love me some Jeff Lewis. This started a few weeks ago but had to include. I am really bummed that it looks like Jeff and Ryan are headed to a falling out.
The Rachel Zoe Project
This also started a few weeks ago but wanted to include.I am also a big fan of Rachel Zoe, not sure why but I love that show too. I think I like it because I wish I could shop like she does. I think I can relate to her assistant Taylor. 

The Real Housewives of Atlanta
I think I am just about over this show…I see the same things happening that turned me off the TRHOC. They have turned into a bunch of petty, self involved, holier than thou bi-atches. I don’t find myself, waiting and anticipating for the next episode anymore. Bring on the TRHNY!

Top Chef
Even though I am one of the pickiest eater in the world, I still love this show. And as a special bonus one of the contestants in from Frederick! Actually now that I think about it, his brother would have to be from Frederick originally too even if he isn’t living there now.

Project Runway
I kinda miss this show being on Bravo. I am little disappointed that about some of the people that were sent home vs the ones still on. Also kinda diggin the models show afterwards so you can get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes.

Survivor
OMG ~ Russell is pure evil. I have to say though he is playing the game though. Probably better than most others before him. Sabotaging your own team is pretty low. Not sure I could play the same way though. Not sure who I want to win yet, give me a couple weeks. Oh and McDoctor is very yummy!

Fall Season Review…The New Shows

Ok well we all know I am a TV junkie, and my TiVo has been getting quite the work out the first couple weeks of the new Fall season.

Let’s start with the new shows…(I will post another one about the rest of the shows)

Accidentally On Purpose – B
I did enjoy the show and found it to be more realistic than Cougartown. The only reason I compare them is because they do have some similarities involving older women.

Community – A-
First off I love, love, love Joel McHale from The Soup…so I went into this not expecting to like it since that is normally what happens. Secondly, Chevy Chase is one of my all time favorites. I loved the tiny references to his movies in the second episode. (a line stolen from National Lampoon’s Vacation, ‘Nooo. She’s ugly.’ And of course the nod to the Three Amigos, even though I really hated that movie.) The first episode also had a nod to one of my favorite movies, The Breakfast Club.

Cougartown – B-
While I did enjoy the show, I found it to be unrealistic. Not very many women over 40 look like Courtney Cox and further more are we really supposed to believe her character was married to that dude up until 5 months ago? Sorry having a hard time buying that one. I still enjoyed the show and really liked Busy Phillips in her role and it was great to see Krista Miller from ‘The Drew Carey Show’ and ‘Scrubs’. Oh and loved how the main character was hatin on her neighbor for dating younger women. I am going to go out on a limb and predict she will be hooking up with him sometime in the near future.

Flash Forward – B+
Pretty good show…I like the concept, but at the same time, I heard this show is similar to ‘Lost’ and that makes me a little nervous. I never really jumped on the ‘Lost’ bandwagon so I am a little apprehensive. I tried to like Lost once upon a time but just couldn’t get into it. I think its because you had to think too much trying to remember everything. When I watch a show I don’t want to have to be tested the whole time trying to remember who did what when and how, etc. So far I am hooked and hope that I continue to like it.

Modern Family – C
I really wanted to like this show more than I did. I think most of the funniest parts were in the previews leading up to premiere night. I did find myself laughing out loud but not until much later in the show. The dad (the one with the family, not Ed O’Neill) trying to be the hip young dad was my highlight for the show. And if I am not mistaken his daughter is from the now defunct ‘Lipstick Jungle’ (which I loved and am so bummed it was cancelled.).

Dog Days of Summer

Now that fall is here, the pools in the area host Pooch Pool Parties and Gizmo got to attend for the first time. He had a blast but only lasted about 20 min before he was over the big dogs splashing around. He just wanted to lounge around the pool and the big dogs slashing around kinda interrupted it for him.

As soon as we got there Giz hit the water belly first. :)

Look, I am swimming, doggie paddle of course!

Can I get out here?

I didnt get a picture of it but before this last one, he was hoping out and jumping back in a few times. It was so cute. So I think he was trying to do the same thing by this big green slide.

"So how's the new job going?"...

I think I have heard this question about a thousand times in the last 3 months and unfortunately I dont have a good answer. The problem is, I dont know how I feel about my new job. I am very happy to have a job and the money is great but the job itself...well to be honest it is not really what I signed up for. Keep in mind I changed managers 3 times within my first 3 weeks of employment. The first 2 managers told me they would hire me permanently. Unfortunately my current manager does not have a permanent position for me right now. However, I do have a job until at least Nov. Again I am not sure how I feel about this considering, I cant really say I LOVE my job. Also looming over my head is that since my COBRA benefits ran out at the end of July, I now have crappy contractor benefits. I really need a job that has benefits and with the holidays coming up, it would actually be nice to get paid for them as well as some vacation time. So at this point I am keeping my options open and will see what happens.

Its been over a year now that I have been either looking for a job or doing contract work and am really tired of thinking or talking about jobs. So the next time you talk to me, lets try something else instead of how's the new job going? Maybe ask me about my newest niece or cousin? We have lots of baby love going on in my family right now. My sister had her beautiful baby girl Ashlynn 6 weeks ago and my 'favorite' cousin Lauren had her adorable baby girl Jailynn yesterday. So fun Aunt Amy is going to enjoy these 2 new family members and spoil them rotten every chance she gets.

Family

Ashlynn is still awesome and a great baby and we all love her a lot. My sister had a little bit of a rough time and was in the hospital again for a little bit but she is home now and is doing much better now. My dad and Chrissy came for a visit to meet Miss Ashlynn. It was a short visit but it was good to see them and we had lots of fun. Here are some pics from their visit.

Ashlynn and her Pop-pop and Granny

Dad, Chrissy, Me, Michele and Ashlynn

Ashlynn and all her Grandparents

Me and Dad

Gizmo getting some extra spoiling from his Granny

21 Year High School Reunion

Last weekend I went back to MD for my high school reunion. We didnt have a 15 or 20 year reunion so a few of us got together and planned a 21 year reunion. It was a blast! We had a really good turn out and everyone had lots of fun. We had a meet and greet happy hour on Fri night and dinner and DJ on Sat night. It was so good to see so many familiar faces and reconnect with old friends.

Here are a few pics from the weekend.

No reunion would be complete without some break dancing!


And some soul train line...

Group picture of the classmates that attended Sat night.

The party planners. I am going to miss talking with these folks every Tues night. Now what will I do on Tues nights? :(

She's Here!

Well she just couldnt wait...baby Ashlynn Joy Cone was born a week ago today! I of course was out of town and just had a feeling she would come while I was away. And I was right. She was born a whole month early but is perfect in every way. She is very petite but has long fingers and toes. She also has a little bit of hair too. I think she looks a lot like Michele did when she was a baby. Plus she has a little more hair than her daddy...hee hee hee

Here are a few pics...

Slacker Blogger

Yeah I am such a slacker lately with my blog...my apologies. I have been busy busy.

I co-hosted my sisters baby shower a couple weeks ago and then the week before last I stayed with her while her hubby was out of town and in between all that I have been planning my high school reunion that will be taking place this coming weekend.

So this Thurs I will be flying back to MD for my high school reunion and am excited to see my old friends that unfortunately I have not seen since our last reunion 10 yrs ago. Since some them didnt make that one, I will be getting to see some friends that I havent seen since high school. Crazy isnt it? Thank goodness for Facebook...it has allowed me to catch up with old friends both high school and just friends I lost touch with over the years.

Its hard to believe about a year ago some of us that reconnected on Facebook were talking about having a reunion but werent sure where to start and if it was even possible, now a year later we are actually having it! The hardest part has been finding people and raising money. We basically had to start from scratch. It will be great to see everyone and catch, I cant wait.

Speaking of weight (LOL)...I hit a little plataeu in June, went to get a fill/adjustment (its where they tighten the lap band) a couple weeks ago and am back on track.

Ok I think that just about catches everyone up on what I have been up to.

New Job!

I finally got a new job. Yay! It is a contract to perm postition with JP Morgan Chase in Lewisville. I will be a Business Analyst working in the home loans division. I used to work for Chase in the credit card division so now I will be learning a whole new part of the company. I start on Mon 6/8. So I have one more week before I start. I cant wait!

20lbs!!

Yay me! I have hit a small milestone of mine...I have lost 20lbs. Bye bye, dont want to see them again! This just made my day and I wanted to share it. :) Its the most I have lost in any previous weight loss attempts. Only 12 more pounds til I hit my next milestone.