Holidays Every Day

I didn't make too big of a deal about Christmas on here.

I have my reasons.  One of which is that I've been so darn busy with the family that coming online to do anything was almost impossible.

Another reason is because I have a problem with the "Holidays".  Yes, this time of year is magical and amazing but shouldn't the rest of the year be the same?  I try to find one thing in my day (in my week at least) that makes me feel just as magical the rest of the year.  This past year has been full of amazement for me.  I have a whole blog post of "Wows" ready for New Years so I'll save that rambling for this weekend.

Christmas here at the VM house was nothing short of amazing though.  It was simple, sweet, and filled with family, just the way it should be.

I indulged a little bit more than I normally do.  I had a bit of sweet potatoes, red potato salad and a tiny slice of my Sister in Laws Famous Apple Cake.  With all the carbs I managed to get down I lost 4lbs.  Crazy for the Normies with their Normie bellies but for my DS belly awesome stuff!  Carbs are normally a no-no for us.  Carbs are easy to digest therefore we absorb all those calories and they can have the same effect as it does for anyone else with some added gas.  However if you follow your DS diet and indulge a little bit on a rare occasion expect it to shake things up a bit, in more ways than one.  Every DSer reacts a bit differently but for me all I had was a tiny bit of extra gas and the loss of a few lbs.

For Christmas we go to my wife's Aunt for Christmas breakfast and than we come home and I have some of my family over for dinner.  This year we were able to have my dad, my Sister in Law and her awesome boyfriend, and on Monday we took a trip to my moms to spend some time with my Step Dad, my Mom and my Step Brother.  Like I said, simple and full of family.

How were your Holidays?

Calm before the storm

My Theme song for today:
Born to Be Somebody by Justin Bieber  (don't judge me, I love this kid, his music is inspirational)


I am calm. I am centered. I am ready. Most of all I'm ready to ROCK this surgery!

I signed my Living Will today.  That was big. Huge even.  It caused some controversy in the Vanishing household.  Which is why I did it.  No one should be forced to make those decisions for me, so I'm doing it ahead of time. 

I have some shopping trips to do.  Tomorrow we're going for one last round of grocery shopping.  On Sunday I'm hitting staples for their super cheap penny and quarter back to school sale. 

I promised Vamoosh one last cleaning run of the house from me since I won't be able to do it for a while. 

I have to clean Trent's cage out tonight.  Vamoosh won't touch him and his cage is a mess.  I just fed him so he won't want to eat for at least a week or two.

I feel like I can't sit still.  It's the little things that I feel I still need to do.  So I'm working on breathing.  I've been stuck on this website I breathe and close my eyes and picture myself at my moms.  My moms is the most relaxing place I know.  I joke that when I die I want my ashes scattered along Route 130, but I really want to be made into a tree and planted in the middle of her huge backyard.  I want to be a part of her relaxing landscape. 

Ok... I'm rambling which means I need to force myself off of here before I lose readers. LoL

Ready, Set, Go!

So obviously I've been bad with my schedule.  I think I like the way I've been blogging better anyway. 

My bags are packed, my vitamins are stocked, and everything is ready.  I received my final shipment from Vitalady today. 

I have enough vitamins to last me until November, barring any additional things I may need depending on my levels.  I won't need to start taking these for a few weeks but I'm armed and ready.  The box you see is full of samples and protein packets.  The liquid prescription bottle is pain meds filled and ready and the pink boxes in the background are Ziplock baggies.  That's how I'm going to organize my vitamins at first.  I'll have a big bag with four smaller bags inside.  Each big bag will be good for one day and each little bag will be labeled which time of the day I take it.  I will of course re-use my bags.  I will eventually switch to The MedCenter 31 Day Organizer.

I have a few jars of baby food and a box of baby cereal.  I have plenty sugar free Jello and Crystal Light.  I stocked up on creamy soups on my last trip to Trader Joe's.  I told you I was an over-preparer.

In my hospital bag (no picture, sorry) is:
pads (because of course this is a popular time of the month)
underwear (hospital underwear suck)
a brush
my own shampoo and conditioner (again hospital handouts suck)
chapstick
deoderant
and on Sunday I will add my phone charger, laptop and MP3 player (aka my wifi only Droid)

Nothing fancy.  I'll be too drowsy to really care about much else. I almost thought about not bringing my laptop but it's mostly to communicate with my son through video chat.  Well one way video chat.  I can't find my webcam for my home computer but he'll be able to see his mom even if all I am doing is sleeping, walking and, well, sleeping.   

Tomorrow in the mail I should have my Long Reach Comfort Wipe.  I said when I started this blog I wouldn't hold anything back and I'm sticking to my promise.  For those who aren't familiar with major abdominal surgery (my surgery is open), my stomach muscles aren't going to work the way they should at first.  Taking my size into consideration on top of that leaves us with a very messy situation.  In the hospital I have no problem asking nurses for help.  I had to do it when I had my appendix out and I can do it again.  Once I get home though it's a different story.  Yes, Vamoosh can help, she's even offered.  But honestly that's not an image I want burned into her head of me.

Tomorrow I also receive my BlenderBottle.  I wish I had this when I first started my liquid diet.  Oh well lates better than never since I'll need it for my protein shakes.

The only thing I'm missing now is my surgery time.  I'll find that out on Friday.  They say to call between 2 and 5.  Does anyone really wait until 5?  I will call promptly at 1:59 pm. 

I won't be able to update my blog obviously right away.  I am training Vamoosh on working Blogger so that when she comes home that night she can let you know how I did.  Anyone that knows me outside of my blog (friends and family) and wants a phone call, Email me.  I've already had a few people ask and I have a small list for Vamoosh to call. 


I'm soo excited.  I don't think even a trip to Disney World could top this feeling!

Reflections

I'm writing this on a Saturday because last night I grabbed the midget and decided to spend time at my moms for the weekend.  My partner had other family obligations and I have to admit, she was right.  She told me to use this weekend to spend quality time with my family.  As much as I would of loved her here to enjoy the weekend with us, this has really given me time to reconnect with my mom.  We had my celebratory Last Night o' Food and munchies.  My mom and step-dad treated us to some Mexican, and for dessert, a smoothie for me, and some ice cream for the rest of the bunch.  I of course came home (well to her house) and almost collapsed from all the food I ate.  It was a great ending to a great day. 

My mom lives in the woods.  

No really, I mean the woods, like Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs woods.

Nothing spells relaxing than the sound of nothing but trees and birds.

Her house is nicely tucked away and behind her house is a clearing with trees and plenty of woodland animals to make you feel like you steped into the story of Red Ridinghood.  It's relaxing, calm and the perfect start to my liquid diet.  I was totally apprehensive of coming here to start this. I have recently quit smoking, my monthly friend should be here by tomorrow and I just had to say good bye to my soul mate (food).  I had wanted to curl into a ball, put some Netflix on with my headphones and not leave the bed all weekend.  I'm glad I have family who pushes me.  My mom played guilt trip until I agreed to come and I am grateful for every minute of it.  I can go out on her deck and listen to the trees, or I can curl up on her couch with her and watch some QVC (hey, don't judge us), or I can sit at her kitchen table with an awesome view of everything that is calm.  Not to mention I made sure I packed my xanex for the tough moments.  Plus this isn't really good bye to food.  Since I chose the DS it's more like "I'll see you later good friend" My diet post surgery won't be restrictive like some of the other weight loss surgeries.  I'll be able to eat all I love again, it's just a matter of time. 

This is the perfect ending to a near perfect week.