Rangers in the Rain

This past weekend I met up with a few fellow FHS (Frederick High School) Alumni. We met up at the Rangers baseball game on Sat. The game was supposed to start at 3:05pm however it was delayed by the rain and didnt start until almost 4:30pm. We still had fun despite the rain and it did taper off as the game started. We played Wingo which is a form of bingo using baseball plays. It was sponsered by Hooters Wings hence the name Wingo. We had really good seats behind right field and they were cheap too! We went to Humperdinks afterwards to grab a bite to eat. Here are a few pics from the day.

Jeannie Shaw Sessums, me, Craig Bowie, Devin Sessums

Zac Thomas, Karen Lease, Greg Lease

Jeannie Shaw Sessums, Greg Lease, Zac Thomas, Craig Bowie, me

Girls Weekend

Last weekend a couple of my friends from San Antonio came up to visit. Teresa and Lynda were also part of the group that I went on my cruise with last year. In fact Lynda and I were roomies on the cruise.


We didnt really have a set agenda of what we were going to do for the weekend but one thing we knew we wanted to do was chill, relax and catch up. One cool thing was that Teresa had gastric bypass last fall so it was good to get some pointers from her on snacks, protein shakes and other eating tidbits.


One thing we had to do was to drop off my neighbor Candace at the airport on Fri afternoon. She was going home to NY to visit her family for a long weekend. On our way back we decided to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. It was yummy and we got some cheesecake to go which we nibbled off of all weekend. (And yes I still lost weight after this weekend :) )


The gals came prepared with lots of wine that we started out with on Fri evening. We also played some Wii with our wine. I only had a little since I am not a big wine drinker. It was fun and although Teresa had never played Wii before, we had a hard time believing her since she was did so well.


Then Sat morning we checked out the complimentary breakfast at my apartment complex clubhouse. (The first Sat of every month they bring in a couple chefs to make specialty pankcakes and made to order omelets and fruit and mimosas. They also have a coffee bar featuring Starbucks coffee available all the time.)


After we filled up on brunch we decided to head out to Southfork Ranch. For those of you that lived under a rock in the 80's and 90's it was the house from the TV show Dallas. I hadnt been since I was little. We just thought we would be able to see the house from the road and take a few pics. Boy were we wrong. They have really made it into a tourist attraction now complete with tours, gift shops, a deli and banquet halls. So we decided to do the tour. We were surprised on how small everything looked. Teresa took pics so I will post them once she has them developed (yeah we were all dorks and forgot our cameras and had to buy a disposible one.). A photographer was there as well take pictures before you start the tour (kinda like at an amusement park) and of course they were for sale after the tour. Teresa and Lynda both bought one, but I didnt really have the money to buy one so the photographer gave me one for free. Wasnt that nice? Here is the picture. Kinda funny how the backdrop doesnt really reflect anything about Southfork or the show.


Then once we finished up at the ranch and Teresa bought a few Mothers Day gifts for herself ;) we decided to skip going to Billy Bob's in Ft Worth since we were at the ranch a lot longer than we thought we would be and we could see storms were coming. So instead we stopped off at the mecca known as Sam Moon. It started to get cloudy while we started out at Sam Moon and once we got done it was really dark out and just starting to rain, so we decided to just go back to my apartment and chill for a little while before dinner. As we were driving home the weather just kept getting worse and worse, sheets of rain, lots of thunder and lightning. After we got in my apartment the tornado sirens went off which was a first experience for them. We also had the TV on and heard about the collapse at the Cowboy training facility. Crazy time!


Once things cleared up we decided to head out to dinner before the next storm was supposed to come thru. We went to Texas Land and Cattle which was also very good. Between that and The Cheesecake Factory, I had my meals set for Sunday with the leftovers.


It was great to see my friends and we definately had a great time even though we didnt do a whole lot.

Weight Loss Update

I am now under the 215lb mark which I havent been below that in I dont know how long. Yay me! So far my total weight loss is 17lbs. I also got a Wii Fit this week (Thanks Dad and Chrissy!) so that will also help with the exercising I should be doing.

I also had 2 friends from San Antonio come to visit this weekend. I will post more about that later. But even with eating out a few times I was still able to loose a couple pounds. It was also good to compare notes with one of my friends that was here since she had gastric bypass last fall and has been very successful. She looks fantastic. Yay Teresa!

My First 'Fill'

Last Fri I had my first 'fill' or 'adjustment' for my lapband. This is where they add the saline thru the port to tighten the band. The reason it is also referred to as an adjustment is because they can also remove saline if the band is too tight.

When the lapband was originally put around my stomach during the surgery they do not keep saline in it because there is already a lot of swelling going on for the stomach due to the invasiveness of having the band put on initially. So with the surgery they place the band around and attach the port then test the band by adding saline to make sure it will work. Then they remove the saline and stitch ya all back up.

So now that I had my fill, I feel full a lot faster and definately feel a difference if I eat larger bites. So far I have lost a total of 15 lbs. Yay me!

Catch Up

I didnt have internet or home phone for a few days so I am getting caught up.

Once again I was denied DirectTV. This time my apartment building was in the way by a couple feet. UGH!!! Last year it was because I was facing north and the dish needs to face south. So I was excited when I decided to move apartments and my new apartment was facing east. Unfortunately I did not factor in that the building would be in the way!!!

Then when AT&T tried to hook up my home phone and internet they ran into a problem because the building was wired wrong and guess who was the first person in the building to have AT&T service? So that took a couple extra days on top of them not being able to set up my initial appointment for a couple days after I moved. It made it a bit harder to look for jobs without internet. I am still getting a few nibbles a week but so far no interviews which is pretty frustrating.

Weight Loss Update:
Its now been 5 weeks since my surgery and I have lost a total of 14 lbs so far. I am still trying to balance getting my 60 grams of protein and staying within 1000-1200 calories. I have been so scared of not getting my protein that I sometimes go over my calories. I have heard a lot of stories about not getting enough protein post surgery like your hair falling out or your finger nails getting very weak and falling off. So I am glad that I have prevented any of that.
Also I have not thrown up which has been my other biggest fear. I also get to start exercising more this week so that should help too. Fri morning I have my first 'fill' which is when they inject the saline into the band to make it tighter.

Packing, Packing and More Packing

This weekend I am moving apartments. My lease is up at the end of May and I decided I should downsize from my 2 bedroom to a 1 bedroom and will save over $100 a month in doing so. I am staying in the same complex but moving to phase II which just opened a couple months ago. Last week the Apartment Office called to ask if I could move earlier than 5/2 since they have someone that wants to rent my apartment. So I decided I would rather make some money back by moving out earlier so this weekend was pretty much the only weekend my moving helpers are available.

I am recruiting Mike and a few Young Life kids to help with my move. In exchange I will be donating money for the kids to be able to go to camp. So its a win win for everyone. :)

My new apartment will be brand new which is exciting for still being in an apartment. It is also more energy efficient with a more open layout and oddly no bedroom door. I guess that is ok since it is just me living there. :)

Grammar Test

I got this spam email the other day and couldnt help but laugh at the grammar. I may be desperate but I dont think I would be this desperate. :)

• Hello!!!!I the lonely girl. To me of 28 years. I have found yours E-MAIL in agency of marriage. I have addressed in agency of marriage to find the man. I have paid to agency of marriage 8 $ to make questionnaire. I have in a stock there data and a photo. To me have shown photos of several men. I at once have decided to write to you the letter. Thus I have found you! But I search only for serious attitudes, please answer me. Harmony, understanding and belief also very much it is important. If you interesting corresponder with me also. Write to me on my personal e-mail: mmarinochka28@yahoo.com I hope you to me, you will answer!Your friend Marina!!