Thoughts

I was watching a young women today at the Wal Mart riding in one of those scooters, because she was so heavy that she couldn't walk for long on her own.
I felt like yelling at her at first, that she was stupid for letting her self get that fat. Then, I thought about the fact that I had just spent an hour walking around the Wal Mart, and I was not tired or sore from standing.
Last night, I was able to trim my toenails without contorting myself, or getting out of breath.
If I had not gotten the surgery, I would probably be in a scooter right next to her, or even worse, been on my way to the morgue.
Everyone has to find their own way past the prejudice they accumulate over the years, and the stereo type thoughts that fat people are stupid.
I was really surprised at my reaction. I guess I have a bit more road to travel.

The end of the year.

So, how many others are thinking about this time of year right now?
Every year, I go home to Levittown and remember the "good old days".
I go past all 3 of the homes I lived in, and think about the people I knew. I think about the friends, and the not so friends, and I wonder how they are and where they are.
I miss them.
But this year, as all previous years, is different.
Through the world wide web, I have made contact again with many of them. I have touched base with them, and have actually met new "old" friends that remember me, even though I don't remember them.
The good feelings I get from knowing these people, has helped me through this very difficult time.
It is tough for me for two big reasons, and a variety of smaller reasons.

1. I miss my Parents. My father died this past summer. My Mother died when I was around 23. (55 now)
2. The Christmas holiday has never been my own.
   

• I haven't achieved what I was put here to do.
• One of the smaller reasons is because I miss being young. I wish I could go back and do it all again sometimes. And of course, sometimes, I wouldn't change a thing.
• I haven't found everyone I want to meet up with again. That makes me sad. I have seen a few who haven't lived this long, and that bothers me.
• I would like to correct old mistakes that still affect the way I think and do things. I have corrected many of those mistakes.
  

So, in the next year, I plan to:

• Continue to lose weight and change the way I do things. My mind is the number one obstacle to that goal. My stomach has already been taken care of. The rest of me has to get in line, or it will all be for nothing.
• I need to get out of debt and manage my money so I can do more of the things I want, and less of the things I have to do. Busy work has to be eliminated, although that will be an ongoing goal. Busy work can never be eliminated. It's one of the things released from Pandora's box.
• I need to develop a system that I can keep track of people places and things.
• I want to write my books.
• I want to run a marathon.
• I want to Kayak.
• I want to live in the warm climate year round. I'm tired of the cold temperatures.

I think I'm done writing for now.

So much to learn

My brain memory banks were full until I had this surgery. I didn't think I had anything left to learn that was worthwhile. Now I know I was wrong.
Food, diet, exercise are all new to me again. Vitamins, minerals, are all new to me again.
I am down to 229 or so, and feel good.
I am still sore from the cold temperatures, but I can live with that.
I got on my treadmill today and was swinging my arms so wildly while I was talking into my microphone, that I accidentally pulled the panic cord and reset my program. I had it set for 45 minutes at various speeds, and it reset! I hate that. I was able to start up again, but didn't bother to reprogram it. I just set it and adjusted the speed as I went along.
The microphone is so that I can dictate my book into the recorder. I kill two birds with one stone. I get exercise and write a book at the same time.
Now, I am listening to Jazz playing on my TV and run through the home theater. The music fills the house and I can wash the dishes, make dinner, and run a load of wash while listening. I ran the Dyson this morning, but didn't have the music playing because of the machine noise.
Dinah Washington..... great music!

UGH

My Hard drive crashed on Saturday morning, so I went over to Cyber Warehouse. They offered me one that was twice the size as the one I had, and gave me a good price to reload XP pro since I didn't have the disc.
They told me it would be Thursday or Friday until I got the computer back. I went back home and they called me an hour later to tell me it was finished and I could pick it up! Wow!
The computer is now flying since I found a cable to connect it directly to the DSL line instead of using a wireless connection.
I have been working all weekend to reload the computer so I can restore my files. I use Carbonite, which is an online storage service. It is very reasonable, but I am having some trouble reloading my files and will have to contact them to figure it out.
In the meantime, I have a new "twice as nice" hard drive, and renewed energy in my lappy, so I am happy.

Tools of the trade!

How about the Magic Bullet?
It's a great help when you first start the post surgery diet. It also helps for mixing drinks and other foods.
The book that comes with it really adds to the experience.
The machine is solid and works very well, as advertised.
One thing you can't mix is protein drinks. They tend to blow up into some kind of foam. They expand like crazy and make a real mess.
Veggies, fruit, all mix together nicely.

Baby spoons?
Yup, I use them for yogurt, and soft foods. It allows me to still feel like I'm eating faster than I actually am. I use regular utensils when I'm out eating in a restaurant, but don't fill up the fork or spoon as I used to.

Storage containers?
Well, I found plastic and glass containers with lids that are very small at Wal*Mart. I can fill them up after making a meal that I can spread out over several days. Or, I can take them to work with me. When I travel, I take them along. Saves the hassle and expense of eating out.
I also use lots of larger containers. I can make my killer chili in a very large crock pot over about a 6 hour period. Then, I transfer it to 6 or more equal size containers. I then freeze all but one. I eat one meal of the chili each day. On the second day, I remove another container from the freezer and let it sit in the fridge. If I am in a hurry, then I can pour out what I need into a bowl, and nuke it, saving the rest for another day. Works for me.

Drink containers?
Oh yeah, I buy a case of Fruit 20 (two O). Then one day, I will drink the water in the bottle. Rinse it out, and then refill it from the fridge with Crystal light Tea. I buy the Crystal light at BJs, so I have 3 choices in flavors. Iced tea, Raspberry ice, and lemonade. I don't like the lemonade, so I use the other two a lot. Never get tired of them. I bought two gallon size containers from Wal*Mart. These containers are narrow and rectangular. They have spigots on the ends, so I can fill them up, and pout them out, as I wish.
So, I empty the bottle out, rinse it, and refill it from my fridge. No one has to know the liquid in the bottle cost a fraction of the price of a bottle of flavored water!

I plan to buy a second coffee maker so I can set up one for my wife (high test) and one for me (decaf).

I also bought a shaker bottle, which to me became a waste of time since I prefer to stir my protein, rather than shake it. They are also hard to clean. I have large glasses that are smooth, so i can wash them out easily. Protein powder, no matter how hard you mix it, has a tendency to stick to the container. The smooth glass solves that problem.