Surgery results...

I don't know exactly how many inches I've lost just yet. I still have quite a bit of uneven swelling plus now my skin is starting to hurt because the nerves that were beat into numbness are starting to wake up. If currently feels like a cross between sunburn and how your scalp feels when you take out a pony tail that has been worn a bit too long.
I do know this: the day before my surgery, I tried on jeans at Old Navy--size 14 in the styles of Diva and Sweetheart. Last weekend, I went back to the store and was able to easily zip up a pair of size 12s. Granted, I had my girdle on but it doesn't hold in that much. Really, it kind of pushes what is there to different locations. I will go back in a couple weeks and try them on again, sans girdle, and see how well they really fit.
One reason that I know I still have swelling is how my bra is fitting. Pre-surgery, it was hooked on the smallest set of hooks. The week that I went back to work (and had to actually wear a bra again), I could only hook on the largest set of hooks. I am, currently, on the middle set. That tells me that I have at least another inch of swelling that needs to go down where my band sits on my ribs/upper abdomen.

My Sept itinerary:

The cities that I will be in and when I'll be there:
Sometime between Aug 31st and Sept 4th, I will drive to Altoona, IA.
Sept 9th fly to San Jose, CA
Sept 9th drive from San Jose to Salinas to stay the night with my aunt
Sept 10th drive to Fresno
Sept 10th to Sept 13th bebopping around Fresno
Sept 13th drive to Blythe
Sept 14th to Sept 18th hanging out with my grandma and my mom
Sept 18th back to Fresno
Sept 18th to Sept 22nd bebopping around Fresno again
Sept 23rd fly back to Altoona, IA
Sometime between Sept 24th and Sept 28th, drive back to DE

Soon to be...

girdle free, during the days at least. I go see the doc for my four week post op appt. Four weeks, technically, isn't until next Monday but my appt is Friday so it's close enough. I'm completely bruise-free--I will spare you a pic of my bruise free butt 'cause then it's just a pic of a nekid tush rather than the horrendous bruise that I had three weeks ago.
I will tell you: it was totally worth it. I'm lovin' my shape right now. Once I'm able (allowed) to run again, I will be out on the road like a fiend. Don't get me wrong, I love to hate to run but I know how good it is for getting me in shape. My military medical profile doesn't expire until Aug 12th, so even though my surgery (civilian) doc will be clearing me to exercise come Friday, I still have to follow the limitations of my military profile. Totally bites!! cause that's still another two weeks away. However, it just says that I can't run. I can pedal and I can walk and I can use the elliptical.

From an email that I received...

This isn't first hand but definitely something to think about...

One light bulb at a time.. this is a good read...Check your labels

good idea... one light bulb at a time....

Check this out. I can verify this because I was in Lowe's the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China. The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA. Start looking.
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job. So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track. Let's get behind her!
My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more. My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.
This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled, "Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA in a company in Cleveland, Ohio.
So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here.
So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets....yep, you guessed it, Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada. The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!
(We should have awakened a decade ago......)
Let's get with the program.... help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A

My girdle...for the next couple weeks

It's very similar to this, except the zippers go all the way down...and it'sblack. Let me tell you...this is NOT comfortable to sleep in. I was also wearing an 8" x 10" piece of foam on each side that's 1" thick--in between me and the girdle along the sides of my body. I removed those today. Tired of wearing them.

The other difference is that it's "open" so that I don't have to doff and don it every time I need to use the bathroom. Very handy.

Imagine if they only showed "After" photos like this:

This was taken four days Post Op. Looks like I got my butt stomped.

Post-Op

I made it through and I'm still standing. We got up to Wilmington SurgiCenter shortly before 10 and they called me back a bit after. Four different people asked all the same questions. The doc drew hirogliphics(sp?) on me. I was lead into the OR at 11. I remember laying down and them injecting me with the "fuzzy" stuff. Woke up in Recovery feeling pretty good and wearing a two sizes too small girdle. They're like Spanx--they go from the rib cage down to my knees with accomodations for going to the bathroom. In between me and the girdle are pieces of foam in select places to discourage swelling and encourage shrinking.
Anyone want to guess how much fluid they removed?

Not sure what to title this...

Tomorrow is my surgery. Liposuction of the hips, abs, and "back fat." Am I nervous about being put under? Not sure. It's definitely a serious procedure. Olivia Goldsmith died while having liposuction done on her neck. I think it was something to do with anesthesia (sp?). Good thing I updated my will. lol. Okay, bad joke...but still a valid point. If anyone asks, it's in a manilla folder on the white bookcase in my office.I've been off work since Friday. Actually, Thursday afternoon--we had our Wing picnic and then were released for the day. I was supposed to leave for camping that evening but that little voice inside said "don't go." I didn't question it. I just let my friends know that I couldn't go. It didn't help that Aunt Flo decided to make an appearance as well. Camping and tampons, although they contain many of the same letters, do NOT go together. This weekend especially. Now, this may be TMI but tough!...it's my first red wave since I ceased with the BCPs--a pre-op requirement having to do with clotting or some such thing. The doc told me to stop taking them, I did. It's not like they're doing anything except keeping my skin clear anyway. Oh, and affording me shorter red waves. Normally done in three days, this time it took three days to get momentum. Yuck! I know.So, back to being off since Thursday afternoon. That's a lot of time with just me. Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy my time by myself but I like doing projects and stuff. Unfortunately, I'm more concious of my spending which makes doing projects more difficult. I did plant some veggies, and watermelon, and some flowers. I've also been eating a ton of junk food--kind of the last supper, I guess. Since weight gain ususally goes to my hips, it kind of works out. :))I also went to the mall. Tried on some cute jeans at Old Navy. Didn't buy them. Why would I? They won't fit in a couple weeks once the swelling goes down. Instead, I look forward to buying them in a smaller size. I wonder if my shape will be drastically different or just smaller. Imagine, having one shape your whole life--for me, that's square hips; you know, where the most weight is carried above the butt rather than at the butt--and then POOF! it's different. I think I'm more nervous about having to deal with a new shape than actually going under. I'm all typed out for now...C ya!

Do you have a couple hours to spare?

www.bbbsa.org/

Breakthrough Study Finds Adults Mentored as Children in Big Brothers Big Sisters are Better Educated, Wealthier & More Fulfilled than Peers
New Study Released at Big Brothers Big Sisters’ National Conference Suggests America’s Largest Donor-Supported Network of Volunteer Mentors for Youth Breaks Cycles Linked to Poverty
Miami, FL, June 16, 2009 -- A study conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Big Brothers Big Sisters finds adults mentored as children through Big Brothers Big Sisters are more likely than peers with similar backgrounds but who were not involved in the program to have a four-year college degree, incomes of $75,000 or more. They also report strong relationships with their spouses, children and friends.
Big Brothers Big Sisters released the findings this week during its National Conference. The 2009 conference is being hosted in Miami and is sponsored by Comcast.
“The children we serve are among America’s most vulnerable, whether they have one parent, live in households experiencing poverty or have a parent who is incarcerated,” said Judy Vredenburgh, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America President and Chief Executive Officer. “Independent research has told us for some time that Big Brothers Big Sisters improves the odds that children we serve will succeed educationally and socially. This is our first large-scale examination of the long-term benefits, suggesting we have the potential to break cycles too often associated with family and community poverty.”
The cross-sectional study was commissioned by Big Brothers Big Sisters to gather evidence that its long-term structured mentoring program’s effects reach far beyond the time that children are enrolled in the program. The nation’s largest donor supported volunteer mentoring network’s 255,000 community- and school-based mentoring matches depends on donations to recruit, carefully match and screen volunteers and provide ongoing support to the mentors, children and their families.
Among the study’s specific findings:
Alumni were 75% more likely than non-alumni to have received a four-year college degree (28% of alumni vs. 16% of non-alumni).
Alumni were 39% more likely than non-alumni to have current household incomes of $75,000 or higher (46% of alumni vs. 33% of non-alumni).
A majority of alumni are extremely or very satisfied with their relationships to friends (72%), family (65%) and spouses (62%). Fewer non-alumni report the same level of satisfaction (46%, 50% and 40%, respectively).
Approximately two in three (64%) alumni are extremely or very satisfied with life compared to just over one in three (35%) non-alumni.
A majority of alumni (62%) perceive themselves to have achieved a higher level of success than their peers who were not involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters. Furthermore, this is twice as many as the 31% of non-alumni who report being more successful than other people they grew up with.
Adult Littles are more likely than non-alumni to be engaged in their community over the past 12 months, particularly when it comes to volunteering (52% vs 35%, respectively) and holding a leadership role in an organization working on an issue (29% vs. 16%, respectively).
"One of the most effective strategies for successful fundraising is to demonstrate the long-term value of our program,” Vredenburgh said. “Foundations, individuals, corporations and public funders – want to invest in programs proven to change lives and break cycles of poverty.”
A little more than half of the alumni Littles who participated in the study grew up in single-parent homes (52%) and described their childhood financial situation as worse off than the average American household (51%). The Big Brothers Big Sisters alumni reported that having a “Big” in their lives positively influenced their self confidence, provided stability and changed their perspectives on life, taught them new things, influenced aspects of their education, pushing them to set higher goals and make better decisions.
Methodology Between March 3 and April 16 2009, Harris Interactive conducted an online survey of 449 adults, 200 of whom participated in Big Brothers Big Sisters as “Littles” for at least one year during their childhood and 249 who never participated in the program. Alumni Littles were sampled from a combination of Harris Interactive’s panel of respondents and Big Brothers Big Sisters lists. All 249 of the non alumni were sampled from the Harris Interactive panel of online respondents. The non-alumni segment allows for a comparison between Big Brothers Big Sisters alumni and adults who had a similar profile as youth but who did not have a Big Brother or Big Sister as a youth. A full methodology is available.
About Harris Interactive Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit harrisinteractive.com.