Wonderful Christmas!

We have had a wonderful Christmas in Kentucky! There were 11 people who spent Christmas Eve at our house, and Christmas morning. My two children, their spouses, my two grandsons, my parents, and my sister all came to spend the night. We played board games and had some chicken pot pie with fruit for Christmas Eve, then opened presents Christmas morning followed by a wonderful Christmas Brunch. We had a sausage casserole, fruit, juice, coffee and coffee cake.
I had the worst problems I have ever had with my band also. I have never PB'd, but I came really close. I guess we had too much good food around, plus I forgot to chew carefully and eat slowly! I got stuck on a pretzel snack mix last night, then again on a sausage ball this morning (you know the sausage/cheese/bisquick ones? Stay away from them!). Well, I just need to take all my Christmas candy to my sister-in-law's Christmas dinner on Sunday, put it out for everyone, and get back to band-friendly eating! I wanted to post a few pictures to show you my Christmas memories. I made Christmas cookies with my grandsons, opened presents with them, and read a Christmas book to them. I love them so!!! (For some reason my pictures posted in reverse order?? I am still trying to figure this out!) Notice that my wedding ring is on my middle finger, too large for my ring finger! :) AND I am wearing a new Large t-shirt, NOT 2X. YAY!!

I LOVE Christmas

I LOVE Christmas, the whole Christmas season!! Now please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason!! (Adapted from How the Grinch... . Can you tell I'm a librarian?) Another quiz.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I usually wrap, my daughter really likes wrapped better than bags, and I like to make her happy.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Fake. We had a real tree all the years the kids were home, and they still give us a hard time about it. They want everything to stay the same. I have a pine scented candle for ambience!
3. When do you put up the tree? As quickly after Thanksgiving as I can get my husband to put it up for me. :) I decorate it all by myself, tho.
4. When do you take the tree down? I like to leave it up at least until New Year's Day. My husband usually throws everything in a box when he can't stand it anymore! I would probably keep it up all the time. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Christmas?
5. Do you like eggnog? I adore Boiled Custard. (Not fond of the nutmeg in eggnog)
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don't remember. I just remember lovely, warm, "Little House on the Prairie" Christmases with my wonderful family.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband. He is very particular, and much more of a clothes horse than I am.
8. Easiest person to buy for? My son, Brandon. He always types a Christmas list on my computer with links to the exact item he wants! I just have to decide how many things I can afford.
9. How do you decorate your tree--matchy-matchy or hodgepodge? My tree is all country, a mixture of red, wooden, quilted ornaments I made myself, or purchased from folk artists in the Smoky Mountains.
10. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We do one on Christmas eve, which is either a Christmas movie or a game for the family to play on Christmas Eve, and the rest on Christmas morning after Santa comes.
11. Favorite Christmas song? I love Christmas music, I begin listening to only Christmas music right after Halloween, and go straight through New Years. My favorite CD is the Partridge Family Christmas Album!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? How the Grinch Stole Christmas, original animated version, NOT Jim Carrey's
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I start collecting lists from everyone around Halloween, and it is pretty steady shopping after that.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, but rarely.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My moms Pork Roast with apricot glaze
16. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I travel to see friends and family about an hour and a half away.
17. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Oh, yes. I've been an elementary librarian for 20 years.
18. What do you want to do for Christmas this year? Be with my children and grandchildren.


Have a great Christmas!!

I'm in love!

I have a new love to share. It is Laurel's Short Caffe Mocha. :) Pour one pack of Hot Chocolate Mix into a coffee mug, add one or two packs of Splenda, pour your favorite coffee over and stir. 25 calories, as much calcium as a glass of milk, and STUPENDOUS. WAY cheaper than Starbucks, and really luscious! Hot and steamy caffeine fix in the mornings, and really satisfies me. Several times it has been my breakfast and keeps me satisfied until lunch.

Finally, FIFTY!!

After 6 weeks !!?!?! stuck at 48 pounds down, I finally hit 50 pound down! I am so happy! Now, if I can just keep this through the holidays... Happy Sunday to everyone. :)

Another Quiz!

1. How long have you been banded? 4 months

2.What was your highest pre-band weight?/ Current weight now? / Total loss to date? 230/182/48

3. What is your best go-to food to get in your protein? Cottage Cheese

4. What is your favorite protein brand/ shake? I haven't found any I like. I make shakes from frozen strawberries, skim milk and cottage cheese.

5. What do you miss the most now, post-band? So far, I can and do eat anything.

6. What is your favorite "mushy" food? Cream of Wheat

7. What was your worst PB experience? I haven't had a PB yet!

8. What has been the hardest part of this journey so far for you? Typing this quiz!! JK! I still have a lot of trouble with "grazing", especially on sweets.

9. What is your best NSV to date? I am no longer on high blood pressure medication!

10. What is your top non-weight goal for your band? I just want to be healthier...

11. What is your goal weight or size? I think 160 would be great! I may reevaluate when I reach that goal. :)

12.What band "rule" do you live by? (i.e. don't cheat on)? No liquid with meals and for one hour after. (and no carbonation)

13. What band "rule" do you not follow as much or aren't good at? No snacking between meals.

14. What is your goal "reward"? Being able to play with and enjoy my grandchildren for years to come.

15. In the spirit of Thanksgiving being right around the corner (US), what are you most thankful for, post-band? I am so thankful to be feeling better, healthier and happier after lapband!

5th Fill. I WILL get there!

I am kicking myself for my OCD compulsion tonight! I resolved to go VERY SLOWLY with the fill thing, with the result that after my 5th (!) fill I now have 5.3 CC in my band. I wanted 1/2 cc again, (I am very apprehensive of being over-filled) but the PA was encouraging 1 cc. I asked if she could give .75, so she said "How about .8 as a compromise?". So, I went for it! I'm such a chicken! Anyway, I will find out. So far, so good, but it's only been 3 hours. LOL By their scales, I have lost 1/2 pound in the last 2 weeks, at least still going in the right direction. I have lost 48.5 pounds now. I am SO hoping for 50 pounds down soon, but it may not be realistic until after Christmas. "My name is Laurel Nolan and I am a sweetoholic...." :)

What do I eat? 2

My favorite "mushy" meal is Cream of Wheat made with milk. So rich, so creamy, and it slides down warm and soothing Ahhhh... Oh, I'm sorry, I needed a minute there ;) My doctor just says 24 hours of mushies after a fill, so I always have Cream of Wheat when I get home. I understand a lot of people are on liquids after a fill, but I have been doing good with mushies.

I wish we could start another traveling post that would be your own personal "top 10" foods. I will work on it for a post in a few days, then hopefully my new friends in cyberspace will post their Go-to Top 10! I think it would help everyone and give them some new ideas to try.

What do I eat?

(The quick answer is TOO MUCH! LOL)

I just had a dinner that hit the spot for me and wanted to share. I had this veggie burger (120 cal) with some of this, A Land O Lakes snack' n go Co-Jack Reduced Fat Cheese Pack. I melted the cheese on the burger in the microwave, and just ate it slowly w/o bread. cutting it into tiny pieces. YUM! It was moist, ooey gooey and delicious. It was 180 calories and so easy. I will definitely keep some of these around for go-to meals in a rush!

Another Before Pic

I found another picture from my daughter's wedding, so you know this is as good as it gets! HAHA! As I hunt through the pictures I have hidden around the house, I will post a few more. I always love to see before and after pictures, and I hope mine will encourage people, too! It helps me to see them,as well. I still have a long way to go!

Before and After Pics

The "before" pictures were taken in July, as I played with my grandsons a couple of weeks before surgery. (You can tell I enjoyed the huge red "cover everything" polo top in both pictures, they were NOT taken the same day! lol) I had a BMI of 40, weighed 230 pounds, and I am 5ft.4in. tall. The pictures with the brown argyle were taken almost exactly three months after surgery, at 45 pounds down. These were taken at my house, and my DD is in one with me. I wish I had taken pictures as I read you all encourage people to before hand. I just did not want any more pictures made, I thought I had enough awful pictures to compare, but it isn't the same. I like your pictures from every angle in similar outfits in front of the same place. It really helps to be able to compare. Make note bandsters to be! You will be glad you take the "evidence" pictures from before, as you will NEVER be there again!!

Trying to figure out pictures

I have a picture on my profile, but I still have a sillhouette show up when I am a follower. Anyone have any advice? I am going to be experimenting for a while, so you may just see anything on this page! Advice is greatly appreciated!! I would like to post some before and during pics. These are definitely "befores" when I was running around shooting squirt guns with my grandsons the month before surgery, and with my grandson at a Fourth of July party 10 days before surgery. I don't know how to enlarge or delete pictures after they are posted, either!

4th Fill. Ouch!

I had my fourth fill on Monday afternoon, and have actually been having quite a bit of pain from the fill. GETTING the fill doesn’t really hurt, just a little pinch from the pain-killer, but for the next 24 hours, the injection site is swollen and hurts. I had a long day at work yesterday, and then up in the afternoon, I began to feel worse. I was glad to get home to rest. Today has been a good day, tho. How do your fills affect you? I haven’t read much about that.
I had a major “falling off the wagon” over Halloween, as did a lot of people!I haven’t noticed much difference in my eating since my fill, but I have been doing better because I took all the extra candy to school and gave it away. LOL I now have 4.5 ccs in a 10 cc band. I want to go VERY slowly with my fills, because I don’t want to overshoot my sweet spot. I think I want to get another .5 cc every two weeks until it is just right. But that means more fills and more bad days like yesterday. Anyway, I have never had a PB episode, so I am thinking to keep getting filled slowly until I do have an episode, then I will know that I am at the right spot, and that will make me quit eating before I get too full. That is my plan anyway, I hope it works!!

What's better in your life...?

I was reading A Brand New Roo, when a comment by Dinnerland caught my attention. "What's better in your life having lost all this weight so far? " I wanted to answer this question for myself and for other people considering lapband surgery. I have lost 48 pounds, and the list of "What's better in my life?" is longer than I can type tonight! BUT I will begin...

Part 1

-I no longer need medicine for high blood pressure.
-I sleep deeply and restfully without a C-PAP machine every night.
-I cross my legs easily and without thinking about it.
-I have a lap for my grandchildren to sit in.
-My grown daughter hugs me and squeals "You are so SKINNY! I can wrap my arms all the way around you!"
-I walk around school with a bounce in my step.
-a little boy at school asked me "Is it just me, or have you gotten WAY Taller!" LOL
-My husband compliments me.
-I can buy clothes on the bottom floor of Macy's.
-I am surprised everytime I catch a glimpse of my reflection.
-My aches and pains in the knees, ankles and feet are gone.
-For the first time in a weight loss journey, I am burning my bridges, getting rid of the too-big clothes and having confidence that it WILL happen this time!

I have tears in my eyes as I type this, I am so moved by the difference being banded has made in my life. I will post part 2 in the future! :)

Hi! I am just getting started, and my sister is helping me figure all this blog stuff out!

I had lapband surgery over three months ago, and I have lost 47 pounds! I have been reading all the blogs for six months, and you have all helped me so much. Reading about your daily triumphs and challenges is a great help and it makes me feel part of a larger community. SO, Susanna is helping me so I can comment on your blogs, and become known to you all who have been friends of mine for so many months. :) Eventually, I will even figure out how to post pictures, I hope.

Testing testing

Hey! This is Susanna, Laurel's sister, sneaking in to check out the place after setting it up for her. She'll be along shortly, if she figures out how to get here. If not... well... maybe I'll just pretend to be her. Heh.