BYOC thanks Drazil

I found this quote today. It really is where I am at in my life right now. I just have to share....
"The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you what." - Ben Stein.

Here are the BYOC questions for today.

1.What’s your favorite smell?
Cologne on a man :)

2. What is your all-time favorite movie and why?
Wow its hard to pick one, but since I have to pick one. I will pick Top Gun. It is a classic. Amazing movie, plus a great soundtrack. Who don’t like to look at Tom Cruise in a towel????

3. What’s your trigger food?
Ice-cream. I have never been a sweets person, but my friend Brooke introduced me to Cold Stone Cake Batter with Reese’s cups… There are no more words for me just typing that… *sigh*

4. When someone you love is going through a difficult time – what are your go-to words to make them feel better – in just a sentence or two?
I love you, and I am here for you no matter what. What can I do to help. This to shall pass, my famous line… Keep your head up yo!

5. This one is always the same. Who is your nominee for the blog of the week for YOU? Which blog OR comment touched your heart, spoke to you, stuck with you all week?
Amy’s blog when she came back in town from the weekend with her parents. She was so honest in everything she ate and her weight gain. That is what this whole process is about. Being honest with ourselves when we screw up. We are honest to our friends here because we keep each other accountable. The comment would be everyone that comments on my blog makes me grin ear to ear and my heart happy. Thanks everyone!!

Proud Aunt

First off I would like to thank everyone for the comments yesterday. You guys are great. I have been thinking about what my present to myself will be when I get to 100 down. Any suggestions???


Last night I went to my Nephew Joey's baseball game. He absolutely loves that game. It is a rare occasion that I can make two games in a week, and this week I did. Super exciting. I love that kid more than anything. I am one proud aunt. When he was little we started saying "I love you 10,000 alligators." Still to this day he is almost 13 and he still say it. I begged and begged for Lee and Kathy to have another baby, but they just won’t do it. So Joey is a little spoiled, but hey what Hall isn’t? :) My poor parents only with one grandchild isn’t that just sad (Kathy you should feel just horrible... just kidding.)

A few pics from last night.

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday.

Catch Up from Tuesday

On Tuesday I had my appointment with Dr. C. My previous posts have been my frustration with feeling like I have not lost anything. Well when I weighed in I did lost 6 pounds for the month. That is good just not great. I thought it was gonna be a bad day at the doc's, but he was pleased. He said I am one of his star patients. I am happy with my progress thus far. He gave me a fill, so I am certain that this will get me back on the down slope again hopefully. I am 8 and a 1/2 months out of surgery and 94 pounds down. I am so close to 100 I can almost feel it. :)

I am so excited to share with ya'll that I have purchased my plane tickets for BOOBS trip to Chicago. I am bringing my sister in law Kathy with me. Love her. She has been one of my best supporters and having her on this trip with me makes it a perfect weekend. I have a goal that I would love to make it to onederland by this trip. I can do it!!!

I do have a mega achievement to tell you about. Yesterday was an awful day. I am dealing with something with a friend that is really crappy, but I was really stressed out. It involves my family as well and it just has been bad. Yesterday I reached my breaking point. I was mad, frustrated, sad, pretty much every emotion you can feel. I just wanted to come home catch up on my DVR and just be by myself. Kathy stopped by to tan. She sat down on the chair and I just went to town venting. Till she got up and said I'mmmm gonna go now.. haha.. I reached out to my other good friend Brooke. Then I had enough. The achievement is normally the old Gail would have found anything and everything to eat and I DID NOT DO IT. Not only can I not eat like I used to with the band, but I didn’t even try ice-cream, my favorite slider. I told Kathy I just wanna eat a whole pizza. The urge was there, but I didn’t act on it. This is AMAZING for me. Wow.. I can’t even believe it. I am so proud of myself. Really. This is huge. I went to bed early. Hey you gotta do what you gotta do right.

I hope everyone has a great day.

BYOC Questions

I am going to play along with Drazil and answer the BYOC (bring your own craziness) questions.
It’s Bring Your Own Craziness day where we answer 5 questions we may not normally address in our blog as a way to get to know each other a bit better. Enjoy! Happy Answering!

1. Name a career you would NOT want to do and tell why.
I would not want to be an embalmer at the funeral home. That whole process just creeps me out. When I start thinking about the process in which those people that work for the funeral home have to go through to embalm the body wow.... Not something I can do at all!! I have seen my share of dead bodies my dad is has been with the Sheriffs office my whole life and I used to ride a lot, so looking at them don’t bother me I just don’t want to deal with them. Ha-ha.

I am not a fan of funerals, heck who is. Ever since my grandmother died in 1993 I do not sit through funerals at all. I will go to the viewing and see the family of the passed love one usually the day or night before the funeral, but if I do go to the funeral I will not go in and sit through the service. I just can't.

2. What’s the best present you ever received for your birthday?
My birthdays are always great. My Dad is totally the best man ever and never ever lets me down. So every year is amazing still at 29.

3. What do you hide behind?
Drazil's answer to this question was awesome. So take time and go read it.


I think for me personally. I hide behind people. I have in the past tried so hard to make people like me. I wanted to be liked by everyone. I always put myself last and wanted to do whatever it took to make people happy and me to fit in. This journey however, is causing me to find out more and more everyday that people don’t really matter as much as I gave them power over my life. I want to be happy in my own life. That means I have to love myself, and put me first. I don’t think it means changing the person I am. I will always be that sweet caring Gail everyone that knows me already, but I am not allowing people to determine what I want anymore. I am moving forward making decisions of my own.
Hope that makes sense.

4. Where were you born?
Born in Jacksonville, Fl raised in a small town right out side of it called Callahan

5. Copied as Drazil wrote it.... A little twist on this one..usually we ask – what blog spoke to you the most, stuck with you, had the most effect on you this week? This week I’m adding to that which comment may have affected you greatly? Sometimes a blog can lead to amazing comments and they deserve their own claim to fame here in this question.
I haven’t been not really been into the blog world, but I am trying to get there. When I first started this journey I know I have wrote this before, but I will share my story on how I found this blog.... I got sick at work on May 17 of 2009. I got transported to the hospital because I could not breathe. After a bunch of tests I was sent home, and referred to my primary Dr. I seen him he had me go through a bunch more tests. My dr told me that I had to lose weight. He said I think you need to have lap band surgery and I went crazy saying I am not having surgery ever.. It was a bad day he really upset me, but today he is on the top of my list for helping me by pushing me to get where I am today. I have not seen him since. I left that office so upset. I never wanted to go back, but I have an appt set exactly to the date of one year when we had that bad day and I will be over 100 plus pounds down. I can’t wait to see him and tell him how thankful I am to him. Anyway back to my point after I left that office that day.. It took a day or so, but I started to think about what he said. I worked nights then so I had a lot of time on my hands. I began to research on my own what lap band really was. Gotta love Google. ha.. I came across blogspot the first one was Amy. I went back and started to day one of her blog and read it all in one night. She inspired me. She is amazing as you all know. We had so much in common, and I just thought right then if she can do it so can I. So I then took it to my parents and talked to them. They were very supportive. Knowing that I have dealt with my weight since I was young. I reached out to two people at my work that had the surgery, and decided to go with the place they had it done. I made an appointment for a small group seminar took my mom, and that was all she wrote. I found out that my insurance did not cover the surgery, so I had to be a self pay. It made the process much faster. On July 16th I found out my surgery date would be August 11th 2009. I realized that through blogspot there was like a community if you will of lap band patients. To encourage and help each other. I found it absolutely amazing. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but knew I needed help. I emailed Amy and asked her to help me and she has been awesome. I am trying to get more involved now. I am super excited to meet everyone in Chicago.


As for the comments part of that question. There has not been just one that stands out. I love them all and thankful to each of you that do comment. So theres a little tid bit of who I am..

So there are the answers to the questions... Happy Friday to everyone!!!!

Thanks to you all...

This past weekend/beginning of the week I went with my parents to Asheville, NC. My Uncle Jerry my dad’s brother got pretty sick, and had to be admitted to the VA hospital there. It was a good trip. When we got there we noticed that he was doing a lot better than the week before which is great news. We was able to take him out for a couple of hours so that was good. He has always been one of my favorite family members. He is blind and after this weekend spending time with him I have come to realize that maybe he can see better than me. He has been through a lot of schools, and got lots of help, but just watching him was amazing. I have never paid that much attention before, but this trip was really eye opening for me. I found myself trying to help when it wasn’t even needed. I am still just in amazement how he can use his other senses. He could go around the whole hospital leading the way giving us a tour without seeing anything. I mean up and down elevators, outside, everything. Totally amazing! I just love him so much. My Aunt Jean his wife was also there. At dinner one night with them they had me laughing so much. There connection and love for each other is absolutely amazing. My parents and I got to spend sometime together. We did a trolley tour of downtown Asheville. It was fun. I always cherish any time spent with them.


As far as I go… I go to the Dr. on Tuesday hopefully the scale has finally moved more. Ya’ll know my frustration with that lately.

Tonight is Zumba and I am super excited about that.  I’ll be sure to let everyone know how that goes. Ha.

Road Trip

I had a busy day yesterday. Started off with a 10am wedding on the beach for one of my best guyfriends, Jeremy. It was so beautiful. Sarina is now wife looked absouletly stunning. I will post a pic up it looks like I was in the wedding cause I matched without even knowing yellow was the color. Ill just say I was his best girl instead of best man!
After the wedding I met my parents we went to a surprise 50th birthday party for one of our close family friends. Then, we hit the road headed toward Ashville, Nc. My dads brother, Uncle Jerry, is not doing well. He is in the VA hospital there. So we wanted to come visit with him and my Aunt Jean. Please keep my family in your prayers.
Since we got a late start we decided to stop for the night in Columbia, Sc. Now we are on the road again. I am loving my netbook and at&t air card. Blogging on the road... AWESOME!

I am loving the new followers from BOOBS. I am trying to catch up and read everyones blogs. I can't wait to go to Chicago and meet you all.

Have an awesome Sunday!
xoxo

Road Block

Frustrated, Yes! I am very grateful to be as successful as I have been thus far; however, we are only human to feel frustrated and discouraged right? The scale as not moved in over two weeks now. I am sticking to things like I should. Still seeing Deb my trainer and eating the right stuff, but it won’t move.. This scares me the most cause there are so many people watching. I do not want to be a failure. I know, I know I can hear the sigh in some of your voices. I am not doing this for everyone else, but just knowing that there are so many that are encouraging me and standing by me that pushes me to stick with this. I am making this whole process not a diet. I am changing my life. Changing the way I think, eat, act, and live.


I am growing as a person. Changing not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. For the first time in my life I am actually doing what Gail wants to do. I have lived so long trying to make everyone like me. I wanted to fit in every circle. It took losing a significant amount of weight to start living for me not everyone around me. I am still always going to be the nice person that wants to help everyone that part I know will never change, but I do find myself being more vocal about my thoughts and feelings. I find myself putting my needs and wants first which is coming very strange to me. My attitude lately has been this is what I want if you don’t like it then oh well... :)

My close friends are such an encouragement and challenge for me. I in the past have wanted people just to tell me what to do cause I was scared to know what the outcome would be if I stood on my own. I had an issue come up yesterday work related a very close friend gave me their opinion on what I should do, but he said I will not make your decision for you. Even though I kind of begged him. He forces me to think for myself. That is why he is one of my favorite people. This comes at the perfect time in my life cause I am not scared to do what Gail wants to do. (I love talking about myself in third person haha.) I went to bed with a heavy heart and my mind full, but for once I will make my decision and know it is what I want. That makes me feel like I am actually living my life now. Not just being a people pleaser as always or allowing everyone to live my life for me. I am thankful and blessed to have people like this in my life. You know who you are and I love you for it!

The best thing for me to do is keep going. Fighting this fight with my head held high. Just sometimes its ok to be a little discouraged I suppose. I am trying really hard. I see the Dr. on the 27th. So maybe a fill is what I need. We are praying for movement on the scale people!!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday!

xoxo

My First 5K!

Yesterday I completed my first 5K! I think it is awesome that Amy and I both did 5K's at the same time in the same state just hours apart.

Cops and Kids 5K Walk/Run at Fort Clinch State Park, Amelia Island, FL.

The event was for a program that the Nassau County Sheriffs Office has for children in need. They call it "Cops and Kids." They use the proceeds for children to shop for Christmas with a deputy. This was the first ever 5K walk/run that they have done. It was a great turn out. My Dad is a Chief there, and has been there over 30 years, and my sister in law, Kathy, has been there a while as well. I pretty much should just say I have grown up there as well as worked in the dispatch center for four years a while back. The people are like family some of them, so it was good to see them and reunite after an almost 100 pound loss in 8 months, amen!! :)

It was a fun time. I went into it saying I really want to finish in an hour. When I crossed the line it was 48 min. I was like WHAT!! Yay, super excited. I have been working out, but not doing as much cardio as I should, so I wasn’t sure how the results would be. For my first time I am very pleased.

My brother Lee, sister in law Kathy, and nephew Joey was also there. It was fun to do the family thing. I realized I didn’t take any pics, so we did some parking lot ones.

I was standing with some of my friends there during the awards ceremony. They did some raffle drawings giving away prizes. I said, "I wanna win, I never win." Then I hear 220, which was my number yay! I said, "That’s me." as I waved my hands in the air. I won a gift basket of car cleaning stuff from Paul Clark Ford, as well as a years worth of free oil changes. Super exciting!!

It was a great day. I can't wait to do it again, and just continue to improve.

p.s. today is 8 months since I have been banded. Man time is a flying!!!