Less than 24 hours to go!

It started off stormy here in Williamsburg Friday night, lots of rain and lightening. But once we got that out of the way, it's been a very nice weekend.

Saturday we ran some errands and watched one of our netflix movies, The Queen. I really enjoyed it. It's all about the way the royal family dealt with Princess Di's death and Helen Mirren did a great job, she looked so much like the Queen. Even though it shows Tony Blair coming to the defense of the Queen's seemingly cold emotions towards the event, I still find it hard to have much sympathy for her or her husband. (Now Prince Andrew is another story, he's a cutie!) Then last night we went to see Disturbia. It had me on the edge of my seat a few times, really liked it too. I want to live in that neighborhood, the houses in that movie are gorgeous. And I love that kid in the movie, Shia LaBeouf. We used to watch him on Even Stevens on the Disney Channel and he was in Holes.

So this is my last day, I got up this morning and I'm down 19 pounds! WOW...one more day to go and I'm hoping to lose one more pound to make it 20. Thanks to everyone for the emails and phone calls. I really appreciate it! I will keep you posted...xxoo

A Little Closer

I'm 9 days into my pre-op liquid diet and I'm down 13 pounds. Yipee! Mac is out of town this week, he'll be back tomorrow. Scott is up in Richmond, and Megan and Justin are here with me. I've just been working on tying up loose ends at work and preparing to be out.

I've bought all my vitamins and I feel like I'm ready. For those who don't know how this works, here's a website you can look at that shows a diagram of what the surgeon will do and a brief description of how it works. http://www.vcu.edu/lesspainsurgery/obesity/gastric_roux.htm

Basically your food no longer passes through the lower part of your stomach (thus the name gastric bypass). The lower part of the stomach is where the vitamins and minerals are processed and absorbed, which is why you have to take vitamin C, B12 and a multi-vitamin for the rest of your life. Of course I should be taking vitamins anyway, but I never have regularly! The website is great, it has all the info to educate anyone on the process and it's provided by VCU, which is where I'm having the procedure done. Everyone there is very professional, helpful, experienced and friendly. They've made it a positive experience so far. =)

I'm off to watch American Idol...I'll update again on Sunday.

Count Down

Hello All -

Well we had a great weekend, the weather was fantastic. The boys got new laptops and they were busy getting those set up. Mac and I drove up to DC on Saturday.

We went to the National Botanical Garden (if you're facing the Capitol, it's on the right hand side of the building), and then we walked down to the Smithsonian Visitor Center, where the crypt of Mr. Smithson is kept and all the information of how he was an Englishman who left his fortune to the establishment of museums at the US capitol. We then walked down to the National Aquarium. We wondered why it wasn't part of the Smithsonian, and once we paid our $5, we quickly discovered why. It was the saddest excuse for an aquarium we'd ever seen! It wasn't much bigger than our living room and kitchen. (The best part of it was the gift shop) After visiting the Monterrey Aquarium our expectations are way up there, so it'll be hard to beat!

We got up this morning and decided to go check out The Grindhouse. WOW, if you don't know, it's two movies and the first one is gooey, yucky, ooozy, bloody zombie movie. (I had to cover my eyes several times) The second one is more suspense, but it has some blood too. Not for the faint of heart. Overall we really liked it, and the fake previews were great. Of course, the first one takes place somewhere in Texas and the second starts out in Austin, Texas...so you can't go too wrong!

So we kept busy and stocked up on protein drinks. Also, I was very pleased to see that I have lost 11 pounds as of this morning! My goal for pre-op weight loss was 15 pounds, so I'm right on track.

Mac is heading out of town tomorrow =( and I head back to work to wrap things up before I go out for surgery. During my six weeks of short term disability I'll be working on some online classes and doing a little work from home. Also, I'm told after the first five days I should be able to get out and walk. I want to keep busy. =)

Off to bed now, chat later.

The Beginning

Ok, maybe not THE beginning...I've been trying to get approval from my insurance company to have gastric bypass surgery for some time now. It started July 2006. Six months of visits to the nutritionist, a psychological evaluation, physicals, and an EKG, I finally have my approval from Cigna and off we go. I'm scheduled to go to VCU Medical Center in Richmond on April 30 at 530AM.

I started a two week pre-surgery liquid diet this past Monday. Five protein shakes a day and all the water I can drink! WoooHoooo! The purpose of the pre-op diet is to shrink the liver to allow more room for my surgeon to do his voodoo. So far it's going well. I'm actually having a hard time getting in five shakes a day. Since Monday I've lost almost seven pounds.

Last Saturday Mac and I drove down to Ocracoke Island, N.C. where we had a nice dinner at Howard's Pub. Ocracoke is a cute little island, with lots of little shops, places to eat, bed and breakfasts, bicycle and kayake rentals...lots of fun stuff. You can go diving, fishing or just lay out on the beach. We spent the night and drove back the next day thinking we'd wait out the storm, but it decided to hit on the drive home! Yikes. When we got home we went to Uno's for pizza and drinks...(we had some of the things I won't be able to eat later, fried cheese, etc.)

So having my last dinner with fried stuff and pizza, I'm feeling good and ready to get this done. Mac is very supportive and once I get back on solid food the types of food we'll be eating will be high protein, low calorie, and sugar free (Splenda is my friend!) so should be good for both of us.

I thought this would be the best way to keep everyone up to date, and anytime you have a comment or want to say hello feel free to add your comments!

Pic of me in February before surgery in April.

Love,
Cindy