Hungry Hungry Ramona

When I was little I used to love slamming my hand on the little lever of the Hungry Hungry Hippo game, screaming at the top of my lungs thinking it would make my little hippo eat the marbles faster than my brothers. Well that's how I feel today. I want to scream and eat, LOL. Can you tell I am still on liquids from my fill? :P

So my experience yesterday was interesting. Yes, that's the word I'm going to use because it wasn't bad, but not great either. I got to the hospital and it was pouring rain, thank god for valet parking (and the fact that they have it can be attributed to the abundance of older folks that come for treatments and such). Why the radiology department is on one side of the hospital campus (where dr does the fill under fluro) and the office is on the other is beyond me. But it's excercise so whatever. I got lost going down all the different hallways and arrived just in time for them to call my name and take me back. The cute little nurse in her full metal jacket (heehee) comes to get me and i go in and lay on the table. She shows me my band and port on the monitor and its super cool to see. Then my dr asks me how much I can eat. I said...A LOT! He says ok then, we will do 2cc's now and come back in 4 weeks for 2 more. :( :( :( Why not just do 4 cc's now? He says he doesn't want me back in a week for a unfill. Which makes sense, but come on people. I have a 17cc band. 17cc's. Does he really, honestly think I will be overfull with 6 cc's in it? Hmpf.

So anyway, he gives me the numby shot which burns like the pits of hell and pokes me with it again. OUCH! I actually said that and he kinda looked at me like, really? Whatever dude, it hurt twice and burned a lot. Bite me. As soon as my fill was done he said, see you in 4 weeks and walked away into the other room. I was like, um ok. Too bad if I had any questions for you, BUTTFACE. I was his last appointment of the day, I get that. But don't be like that to someone who hasn't seen your ass in 6 weeks. Ok, end of that rant. He is a good dr, I just didn't like being so discarded.

Anyway- then I hiked it over to the dr office and have my check up with the RN. Their scale says I've lost 26 lbs and she says I'm doing good. Um....k. Then I get my ass chewed for not taking my vitamins. She says I will lose more if I do, blah blah blah. Then I'm setting up my appt, excited that its for 4 weeks from now, when the secretary says "Honey, he's trippin, he's out of town till mid december". Good times. So 6 weeks is my new fill time. Blah!
Then I headed to Walgreens to spend $40 on vitamins. Calcium Citrate w/ D, Biotin and B12 sublingual. I already have a liqui-gel vitamin at home. I also bought one of those days of the week pill holders to keep in my purse. I'm officially a geriatric patient. LOL kidding.

I had mashed potatoes for dinner and snuck a little nibble of my moms chicken tender but it gave me a heartburn feeling so I stopped. I'm doing mushies today and hungry, but cest la vie. At least I will have restriction long enough with this fill so I won't partake in the abundance of chocolate Peyton gets tomorrow.

Is the rain here ever going to stop? It's rained for 10 days straight and they SAY it will be sunny and 60 tomorrow. Right, and monkeys might fly out of my butt! :P I just hope Peyton gets to trick of treat. He has talked of little else and seeing him so excited just makes my day. Not to mention the like 500 calories I will burn walking all over east Jesus with him. HeeHee.

Off to work I go. Have a great, safe, DRY Halloween weekend and don't forget to get that extra hour of sleep Saturday night. Muwah! :*

Fill #2 Day

Good morning everyone! I am feeling MUCH better from my episode the other day. When I called my surgeons office they said it was a "dumping" type thing that isn't super common for Bandsters, more with Bypass, but it can happen when you get too much sugar in your pouch, all my symptoms matched. So I slept for 4 hours and had some plain baked chicken for dinner to even out my blood sugar. Whew! I for sure will not be doing that again.

So today is fill#2 and from my prev post you all heard about me asking how much my fill will be cc wise, and the smart ass answers I got from the nurse. Well I'm hoping its at least 4 cc's to get this damn ball rolling because I'm 3 months out and should be rocking this band a little harder and with the right push I will be. My appt is at 315 today so I'm on liquids all day (minus the 2 mini chocolate donuts I relished early this am). I stopped and got a 20oz pumpkin spice cappicino and boy does it smell heavenly. Now if I can just wait to drink it so it doesnt scald my tongue :P

Have a great day ladies! I'll post again tonight or tomorrow with the update on the fill. Muwah!

Bad reaction

I'm pretty sure I'm either in sugar/food shock or something right now. I'm shaking, sweating, dizzy and having cramps in my stomach. My mouth is watering and my throat is burning.
What did I eat to do this? TOO MUCH CRAP!

I had some chinese food for lunch, followed by a slice of pecan pie. Within minutes of finishing the pie I began feeling this way. If it doesn't come up soon I'm going to have to go home because I'll be damned if I'm going to sit at my desk, shaking and sweating waiting to barf and being too far to make it to the bathroom.

Good lord I feel terrible. The food was NOT worth this pain. Ouch. :-(

Weigh in and rain

Happy Monday to you all! It's still raining here in St. Louis and it's getting on my nerves. We had to dress up today at work because the CEO is coming in for a office visit, so here I am in my nicest slacks and heels trudging thru the rain soaked parking lot trying to carry all my stuff. Ugh!

Weigh in day: 0. Nothing gained, nothing lost down to the ounce. I'll take it. I have my 2nd fill this thursday at 3 in the afternoon and am really excited about it. I'm hoping it will give me some restriction and get this ball rolling a little faster. I meant to start doing my walk away the pounds dvd's at home, but I've been going to bed early to try and get my little man into a routine for the wintertime before the time change this weekend, so I've been in bed by 10 or so lately and that doesnt leave much time for working out. It's not a excuse, just a reason ;)

Gotta go, work is calling. Love ya's!

Delish!!!

I found this recipe on another blog...amazing! All protein and hardly any carbs at all. You can also make them with turkey or another lunchmeat.
~~~~~~~
Eggs Florentine


Step 1: Preheat oven to 375. Fill greased muffin tins with deli sliced ham (to form little cups) and place fillings in bottom of cup. We tried the spinach and tomato they suggested on their site and also threw in some hashbrowns and broccoli. I think next time I'll add some diced onion

Step 2: Break 1 egg into each up and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step 3: Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees, then top with cheese and bake 5 more minutes.

Step 4: Let them cool down and enjoy. We all really like them...the tomato and hashbrowns were the favorites!

Workout

Happy Hump Day!

I'm starting my workout program today. I've decided to start slow so I don't aggrevate my pneumonia. I got the Walk Away the Pounds DVD's that I can do in 20 minutes at home while my little man is playing nearby. My sister did them before her wedding and toned up a LOT so I'm hoping they work. Have any of you used them?

I noticed the tops of my thighs are getting saggy and that is not cool. I was hoping to only have to do a tummy tuck and boob lift once all of the weight loss was over and not a thigh or arm lift. Any tips on how to tighten those areas? (the bat arms and the flabby top thighs)

Gotta get back to work. Toodles

I'm driving the wagon Ms. Daisy...

Did you read that? I'm in CHARGE of this wagon. I'm taking CHARGE of my life one step at a time, starting with the only thing I can actually control 100% and that is my band. I can't make people do what I say, I can't change how people feel, I can't control the weather. But damnit, I CAN control this part and I'm doing it. YAY!

Today was weigh in day and I lost 3 lbs this week! :-) I'm at 28 since surgery and just went into another number arena. I'm almost to the weight I was when I had my son 3 1/2 years ago. WOOHOO!

~~~~~~~
Food today-

B-1/2 roasted chicken breast, 4 cubes cheese, water
S-coffee w/ splenda
L-salad w/ protein & vinnegrette
S-candy (im letting myself eat a tootsie pop each day, curbs my chocolate craving!)
D-pork roast, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli
Bedtime-milk
~~~~~~~

My weekend was full and fun. My sister's bday was Saturday so we had a family BBQ, then went out that night. I had a few mixed drinks for the first time since surgery and was very drunk. We had a good time and yesterday was a relaxing day for the most part, minus the cleaning the house. LOL.

I'm going to start actually doing work now, LOL. I'll check in on everyone later today. Love ya's!

Their loss, not mine...

I didn't get the new job :( They didn't say why, they just said they chose someone else and would keep me in the mind for the future. Why do they say that? Its not true and just not fair to give someone hope when you wouldnt choose them then either. Oh well. I'm trying to recite my thought of "Everything happens for a reason" over and over in my head. But I'm just ready to go to bed, my head hurts and I'm bummin.

Toodles

Well excuuuuuse me...

I called my surgeons office today to ask how the Dr bases the amount he does for the fills. My 2nd one is Oct 29th and I was hoping to get more than 2cc's. Well the nurse asks me a bunch of questions about my eating habits and tells me I'm eating too many carbs, drinking during my meals and not having control of my portions. Um, excuse me? Did I call and ask you to tell me the things I'm doing wrong? Nope. I called to see how he bases how much fluid he uses for the fills. She then said he does it under fluro and will ask me about how much i can comfortably eat and base it on that, normally 2-4 cc's per fill. Well thank you miss smartypants, thanks for FINALLY answering my question after 10 minutes of being grilled by you on my habits.
Not to mention she asked if I had a journal, so I say yes I have a blog online. She then proceeds to talk about how only people who are struggling blog or journal about their band because the ones that are succeeding don't need help from others, therefore don't blog.

Um, WHAT? :(

I've never had any problems or experiences like this with the surgeons office, so I'm hoping I just caught her on a snippy day or something. Sheesh.

Well I'd like to tell my blog readers that I appreciate you taking your time to help me and support me on my journey. All of you are success stories and she can bite me BIG ASS!

Ahh, I feel better now. Love you's! Muwah :*

NSV

I'm pms'ing big time and also craving ice cream and cake. We have both of those things in the house right now, but I made a great choice tonight by having grapes and a peach as my bedtime snack, with water as my drink! :-)
I know it doesn't seem like a big NSV, but if you knew how out of control my cravings are at this time of the month, you'd know why I'm posting right now. Yay!!!!

Just say NO

That needs to be my new motto. Just say NO. You remember those red and black bumper stickers they gave out in elementary school for the D.A.R.E program? I need to tattoo it on my eyelids. LOL

Things I'm having trouble saying NO to:

Drinking while I eat
caffiene
snacks
candy
full fat mayo and salad dressings


Now, keep in mind I have ZERO restriction and am doing this pretty much on my own right now. But that's just a excuse. And excuses are like buttholes. EVERYONE has them, and they STINK! It's like I know these things are bad for me, but my brain farts or something and I eat them anyway. Alright, my frustration with myself is to the point where I have to curse for a second...FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

I hate being weak, and hate even more knowing that I am. I'm a little pissy today in case you can't tell and I'm sorry if the negative tone of my post is disturbing to some, but it's how I feel and this IS my blog so there ya go. :P

I'm done ranting at my own weakness and tomorrow is a new day, a bright (yeah right in missouri, lol) new day in which I will try my damndest to make great choices and excercise. Taking the elevator at work is so much easier than taking the stairs, but the elevator does nothing for my ass, so there ya go right?!

I love you all. If I didn't have support I'd probably be a bitchy hungry lady. LOL

Toodles

Weigh in, pics and howdy's

Good Monday morning ladies and gents. Weigh in today was good, down 1 pound. :) Nothing else new on that front really.


I do have pics of me from last night. I wore my size 22 jeans and this cute black shirt to go out with my bff. Of course my son wanted to be in the pics, silly boy.

OMG, it's after 8am and I should be on my way to work already. Have a great day!

Friday Fun

Where is your cell phone? on my desk at the moment


Your hair? just past my shoulders, growing out my sideswept bangs

Your mother? my best friend

Your father? a hot mess

Your favorite food? cheese

Your dream last night? None that i remember

Your favorite drink? Coffee, it used to be Diet Pepsi

Your dream/goal? Be comfortable in my body

What room are you in? office

Your hobby? singing

Your fear? Spiders

Where do you want to be in 6 years? thin and happy

Where were you last night? in sweats on my couch watching Grey's

Something you aren't? snobby

Muffins? warm blueberry, or pumpkin

Wish list item? to get my teeth whitened

Where did you grow up? Cincinnati/St, Louis

Last thing you did? took my medicine

What are you wearing? jeans, gray 3/4 sleeve top, gray/purple asics

Your TV? on all the damn time

Your pets? None

Your friends? loyal and fun

Your life? stressful

Your mood? indifferent

Missing someone? yes

Vehicle? 2001 Saturn L300

Something you're not wearing? jewelry

Your favorite store? WalMart

Your favorite color? Purple/Yellow

When was the last time you laughed? a few minutes ago

Last time you cried? last night

Your best friend? Beth

One place that I go over and over? Walgreens

One person who emails me regularly? Beth

Favorite place to eat? Melting Pot

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Food log-

B- 5 slices turkey bacon, coffee w/ splenda
S- string cheese
L- grilled steak tips, onions, 1/2 baked potato
S- cheezits :(
D- salad w/ protein and LF dressing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's raining again here today. Last night was so relaxing, DH and I made breakfast for dinner and then layed around with Peyton watching tv and it was great. We have such a busy schedule that Thursday nights are our down time to watch tv and just veg out. We watch CSI and Grey's Anatomy. I just love Grey's, but I have been finding myself describing myself lately as "dark and twisty". Hmmmmm :-)

Mom and I are supposed to be doing the yard sale again tomorrow in one last attempt to get rid of all of Peyton's baby stuff before I donate it. I'm praying for no rain, but this is Missouri. We wait 5 minutes and the weather changes.


Ok, I have a rant. It won't make a lot of you happy I'm sure and I'm sorry about that. I hope you keep reading after this, and if you don't then again..I'm sorry.
I'm pissed off about something. Why in the HELL did Obama get a Nobel Peace Prize? He was nominated like 12 days after being elected. RIDICULOUS!!! He is doing his job people. He is doing peace talks and trying to make the world a better place. Um, didn't Clinton, and Bush and Reagan and Nixon all do that too? I mean WTF?! I'm not a racist in any way, shape, or form. But I can't help but feel that organizations are going out of their way to recognize him because he is the first black president. I'm proud that our nation can see past someones skin color and elect him based on his beliefs, but this is just kissing ass a little tooo much ya know? I didn't vote for him. I am a Republican. Does that mean I don't support him? No it doesn't. Any president deserves respect and support from his people and I will give it. But this? This is just going TOO FAR. He didn't ask for this, he was given this by a commitee of people who wanted to go down in history as the first ones to give the FIRST black president one of the most top honors in the world. It makes me sick. Ugh. I'm done.

If you are still reading and still like me then thank you and have a great weekend.

Love ya!

My goal present

I finally decided on what I want my goal present to be. I've wanted a Nova Check Burberry purse for the last few years, but they run from $350-$950 and I have never spent more than $50 on a purse before. So I will give $3 for every pound I lose and see which one I can afford when I'm at my stopping point. I'm excited at the possibility.

This is the fake one I found online, it's still $175

Or this real one for $495

Which do you prefer?

Rainy days...

First, here is my food journal for the day.

Today

B-2 slices ham lunchmeat, 1 string cheese (110 cal)
S-small banana, coffee w/ splenda (90 cal)
L-turkey meatballs on a hotdog bun, steamed broccoli, skim milk (475 cal)
S-large red apple, FF yogurt (100 cal)
D-slice homemade quiche, 2 turkey sausage links, FF milk (400 cals)
s- candy (100 cals)
liquids-coffee,water,milk
Excercise-steps at work, cleaning at home (I still have pneumonia and cant officially work out yet)
Calories-approx 1275

~~~~~~~~~~~
I had my interview for the internal position yesterday. At first I was sooo nervous that I almost had a panic attack, but I calmed down and aced it I think. They said I will hear something by next Friday, so let's cross our fingers and hope. For those of you who don't know what I do, I work in the business office of a hospital system in St. Louis. I'm a auditor, which means when a bill goes to the insurance for someones stay and comes back either underpaid or not paid at all, I have to research why and get it paid. I deal a lot with the insurance companies and their contract areas. I love it! I'm really enjoying the medical field without being a nurse (no needles for me, yuck!). The new position is a analyst position, which is more concentrated on bulk issues by running reports and correcting the errors so we can get paid, and training the other depts how to do the new process right to avoid problems in the future. I still shake my head everyday with how analytical I'm getting as I get older. If you told me 5 years ago I'd be dealing with algebra, accounting, legal and contracting I'd laugh at you.

My dr. wants to try one more round of meds before putting me inpatient for my pneumonia. I'm going to follow his directions to the T and not push it this time in hopes that it will go away.

Alright, I have tons more thoughts, but I have to get some work done today. I'm looking for yummy easy recipes for us bandsters, so if you have any, PLEASE SHARE!

Love ya's!

Problems commenting?

I've been told by several of my followers that they can't post comments. I think I fixed the problem. If you try and can't post anything please email me @ ramonad79@yahoo.com and let me know what the error message says.
Thanks

Shoes, need opinions plz

I'm looking for new work shoes, something dressier than the black and brown loafers I wear when I'm not wearing tennis shoes. Here are the ones I like so far.

Boots, $24.99 Target.com

Obviously for the rain and snow so I don't ruin my new shoes. LOL

Black t straps  $19.99 Target.com

Black Pumps $22.99 Target.com

Brown t straps $19.99 Target.com

Brown round toe pump $22.99 Target.com

So? Opinions? Suggestions? I need both black and brown dress shoes that can NOT have skinny heels. I'm too big still to walk on those. LOL

The Good, The Bad and the WTF?

Hello there friends. I'm sorry I didn't post my usual Monday weigh in and ramblings, it was a rough weekend and I didn't do much yesterday.

Let's get to the bad first.I gained 2 lbs this week :-( I'm back on track and am bringing more fruit to work and am snacking less during the day, so I hope to see a bigger number next Monday. I'm going to be making a therapy appt to talk about head hunger, so if you ladies (and any gents) have any suggestions on how to work with head hunger, please pass them my way.

My food today-

B-english muffin with whipped cream cheese, strawberries
S- string cheese
L-small grilled burger patty, pretzles
S- large red apple
D- 1/2 c. lasagna, 1 piece butter bread
S- glass of FF milk

The good. My clothes are fitting better even though I'm not losing on the scale. I've been getting compliments and when I go shopping it's hard to remember that I'm down a size already. Does this get easier? The mind dismorphia? Hmmmm. I'm in desperate need of bras, if anyone has any coupons to any store let me know, money is squeaky tight right now, but my ladies are suffering in these baggy bras. LOL

Now for the WTF?! I STILL have pnemonia and its pissing me off. 8 weeks now is getting ridiculous and I'm calling my PCP today to see wtf we can do. If I have to go inpatient and spend time with a IV in the hospital then i will, but seriously? I can't sleep and can't focus at work because breathing is hard. Not to mention i want to start excercising.
The other WTF thoughts are about my fills. My surgeon said he will do 2 cc's each time, 6-8 weeks apart until i have restriction. Um, hello dude, I have a 17cc band and that will take frickin forever. I'm needing restriction NOW. So when I got at the end of Oct I'm going to ask for more cc's. Unfortunetly my insurance will only cover the fills when they are done by the dr who did my surgery, so I hope he listens to me.

I'm not in a bitchy mood today, but mildy irritated and I don't like it. I have my music on and am trying to just let it relax me but it's not working so far.

OH!! I have a interview tomorrow afternoon for a promotion at work. I'm so damn nervous it's terrible. So I'm going to doll myself up and wear heels and pearls and the whole bit and hope that I don't ramble. This would be great for me right now, so good thoughts are appreciated and of course I will update when I know something.

Love ya's!

P-A-R-T...Y?? Because it's Friday!

It's Friday, I'm at work in a hoodie, jeans and hot pink flip flops. It's 65 outside and sunny and I'm rockin the classical music today. Am I a wierdo? You bet your tootin booty I am. LOL

I have a new favorite fast food breakfast.
McDonalds Fruit & Yogurt Parfait (the mini one)


Cal-150
Fat 2g
Protein-4g

I always eat the granola because I love the crunch, and it only saves like 20 calories without it, so I'll take them.

I'm going out to dinner with friends tonight, having a yard sale with my mom and sister tomorrow morning and watching football and cleaning on Sunday. Sounds fun right? :)

Gotta run, work is calling. Have a great weekend peeps! Love ya!

Product Review-YUM

I LOVE caramel apples, but they are expensive, full of fat and hard to eat especially at work.
So I got these at the local grocery store and had a cup with my green apple today for snack and YUM! They also make it in a large container for home, but I got the individual size for my desk at work.

Marzetti Fat Free Caramel Dip

Daily food and stuff

B- strawberries, string cheese, coffee w/ splenda

S- green apple

L- chicken salad and crackers

S- weight watchers yogurt

D- salad (w/ cheese, olives, parmesean & SF/LF cesear dressing), 1 slice quiche

Liquids-coffee(x2), SF raspberry tea, water, milk


~~~~~~~~~~~

It's raining here today. One of those cold wet days when you just want to snuggle with a cup of coffee and a book in your sweats on the couch under your favorite blankie. I like to cook on days like this and will be making my full size quiche tonight for dinner and pairing it with a salad. I'm not supposed to weigh mid week but I was feeling flabby this morning and needed a pick me up. The scale said i was down 1 lb since monday. I know how much that can change so I'm not trippin on it.

Changes are happening ladies. I can't really get too much into them all right now, but I'm going to need your love and support more than ever so just bear with me ok? I may need to rant about non band things, which I know is ok, but I talk a LOT, so it's more of a warning than anything.
I'm getting back into classical music a lot lately and am going to attempt to do a video sometime this weekend. If it's decent I will post it, if its shit..then no way jose.

Gotta work, bring in them dolla's! Love you and have a great day. I hope its warm and dry where you are, if so send some my way so the garage sale mom and I were going to do this Sat wont get rained out, cuz i could use the money honey. My bras are too big and my work slacks are falling off of me!

Toodles

P.S Hey Amy, or Libby or Tiff (or anyone) how do I make my background something other than the standard? I found one I love from another website and am clueless on how to make it come here. THANKS