Fionna Is Tough

Elle Cousina Fantastica! Share my cousin's very awesome music.

This Week

We've been having a good week mostly this week. Mother's day was a toughie for me, but the Pastor at church was Skyped in and projected onto the wall so that was cool, and then later at my dad's place Carol and her family were in town so we played in the yard then took a short walk over to the park and kids got to climb and play before birthday supper for my dad at my place. We ended up keeping Elora with us for the week or whenever she couldn't stand being away from her family any more, which actually was today. We each drove halfway and met just before Verner to hand the little girl back to her daddy. She had a good time, only tearful at bedtime a little each night, but I guess Dhara wasn't having a good time either, and also Dhara will have her turn away next week as she's accompanying me and Carol to Toronto for the week, so it's good they have a few days together again as buffer between absences.

Last night Jake set up the bouncy castle and the kids jumped and jumped and jumped and Hayden and Elora got very staticy hair. Sage's is too short to stand on end, but holy crow did Elora ever make up for it! Then we got the bubble gun and mega-bubble-wand out and they ran and ran and ran with Tilly, chasing bubbles on the grass.

 

And when we got back from driving Elora to Verner, this is what our lovely grassy lawn was doing:

No more lawn. They're putting in a parking lot. I feel very crappy about this. When I talked to the landlord to ask what the heck was happening he said "oh I guess I should've warned you. Sorry." You THINK???  They "needed the space" and "that grass was damaged anyway" by the trucks they'd parked there over the winter (5 half ton trucks along that white wall) and the pontoon boat that sat there all summer long for the past 5 years, unused.

I am thinking I would like a small fence erected, or at least reflective markers, telling the people who are going to be parking there how close they are allowed to get to our house.

And guess who was driving the bulldozer. Mr Crabby Gardener Himself. Laughing like a maniac the whole time. TAKE THAT!! AND THAT!! I heard him yelling as he destroyed and killed the lawn we use. Okay no I didn't hear that, but last year I was upset he mowed down my daffodils and lilacs. This year he's mowing down the whole freaking lawn. I suspect our house will be next.

But I can't let this get to me. I have positive thinking about my surgery to do. 

The plan is as follows: Sunday we were going to go to church, but I think I'm being talked into skipping it and heading to North Bay with the family a little earlier. Tilly will be watched by friends in town. After reaching North Bay, Carol, Dhara, and I will head south to Toronto and stay at Carol's mother-in-law's house. Sheena has very graciously let me stay there while I recover, before they let me leave town. Monday morning at 10am I will arrive, unpanicked, at St Joseph Health Centre in downtown Toronto. Surgery is scheduled for noon. It will take about 3-3.5 hours. Once recovered enough, Carol will be allowed to come in and see me. She's promised to doink chin hairs while I'm still out of it. Her suggestion. Three nights I will be in the hospital. On Thursday at some point I will be allowed to leave, but like I said, they've asked me to stay in the area for another three nights JUST IN CASE something happens, I'd be very close to immediate help. Sunday morning we will head back to North Bay. Depending how that car ride goes pain-wise, we might stay over the night and come the rest of the way home on Monday.

If you pray, please pray for me. If you don't, please wish for a perfect performance by Dr Smith. If you don't do wishing either, pretend you do and do it anyway. THANK YOU.

Wow Moments

Surgery is two weeks away and after almost two weeks on Optifast liquid diet, yesterday I had my first wows.

1) My jeans are loose. I don't wear them that often, but I tried a pair on today and I can hold the waistband away from my skin by a whole bunch! I can even pull them down without undoing the button. Wow! [side note, I might need to get a belt soon.]

2) Sitting in the "guest" chair in my bosses' office was not painful! It usually is, and if I'm there long I end up with severe pins and needles in my feet because of the circulation being cut off. But yesterday (I was away for a week) I sat and was not in pain! I couldn't believe it and made several excuses to go back to her and talk, just so I could sit in that chair again and make sure it wasn't my imagination.

3) A male co-worker who is well liked by all and very hip and funny noticed I've lost weight! Here's how it went down:

I was standing near the printer which is outside Derek's office, waiting for a large document to print. Derek came by and said "Hello!" as it was our first encounter of the day. "Hello," I said back to him. He kept walking into his office. About 5 seconds later he poked his head out his door and said "Um, " and I knew what he was going to say. Or rather, I hoped I knew. "Um, you've lost weight, eh?" he said kind of quietly. I beamed at him and said "yup!" "That's great! good for you," he beamed back, then returned into his office. Another 5-10 seconds passed and he poked out again "How much have you lost?" he inquired politely. "Thirty" I informed him. I had lost 29 lbs as of Monday and figured that rounding up one pound after an additional 4 days on Optifast wouldn't hurt. "Wow! that's really good!" Then he almost went back into his office again but instead came over to me, to have, I suppose, an official conversation. "So what are you doing?" I told him about the shakes in preparation for WLS and he was very happy for me. He used to be chubby too, before I met him 7 years ago, but took up running and now is quite the athelete. He's an awesome human being all around and I'm just thrilled to the nines that he noticed the difference already.

And to top everything off with a sugar-free cherry, when I got home from work before I could finish telling all my exciting wow moments to Jake, he was looking at me with such pride and lots of kisses and hugs I felt completely loved and cherished by my wonderful husband.

And nobody AIN'T seen NOTHIN YET!!