One more step to Onderland...

I am so happy to say that I dusted off my elliptical today! I completed a 30 minute routine!! Yipee! I was totally jamming out to Godsmack, AC/DC and the great song by Justin Timberlake "I'm bringing sexy back". I really need to figure out how to do a playlist on my player. I have to have fast paced songs! When the slower songs would come on it would totally break my stride! I guess I am going to have to break down and reach the owners manual! hahahaha
Hopefully someday I really will bring sexy back!

Update on my daughter...

My daughter is doing great! She is really bouncing back from surgery. She went to the movie yesterday to see Marley and Me with a friend and she is off to meet another friend today for lunch. She is actually helping me re motivate! I am remembering what it was like right after my surgery. I just wish I had her 18 year old body! hahahahaha It takes a little longer for us 40ish types to get going!!
Now I need to go to my basement - dust off my elliptical and get to exercising! I am still looking longingly towards Onederland!

Flirting with Onederland

I have been flirting with Onderland for over a month. Why am I such a flirt and not ready to commit?? I think about Onderland - I dream about Onderland - I fantasize about Onederland. I also have not been ready to commit to getting there. I guess I am subconsciounsly thinking that Onderland can just be deliverd to me without much effort! WTF! Am I nuts? Well...actually yes is the answer to that question!
Today is the first day of my commitment to Onderland. I have less than 10 pounds to lose to get there. I know how to get there - I just need to get on the train. Well I bought the ticket and am spending time over the next two weeks packing my bags. All aboard!!!

Thanks for the lemonade....

I was just listening to a song called Lemonade by Chris Rice. It struck me about how your life is changed by adversity. So with this adversity what do I do? Make lemonade and get an extra straw or something else? In the past adversity caused me to do something else...become depressed, eat my problems away. You betcha that is what I did. My food was my crack - my nicotine - my booze. It comforted me when I was living in a bad marriage - when my little niece died food held me tight through the tears. Now I am living a life where my friend and companion is no longer food. Food cannot really hang out with me anymore - it does not make me feel good any longer. We have officially broken up. Now I am facing my adversity with a big glass of water and a elliptical in my basement. I am facing the daily trials with a new outlook on my life. The adversity I have had in my life has served to help me recognize when things are good. Right now things are GOOD!! I have a wonderful husband who I love dearly. My kids are doing great and they are happy. I have my parents who I speak with everyday. I am blessed with a nice job for great people. I am finding some faith which was absent for about 8 years. So I am pouring lemonade into my glass which is now half full. Life is all how you look at it. It is my choice to be happy no matter what. The world is tilting in my favor - life has given me lemonade and I am enjoying the frosty glass.

Sleeping in hospital chairs and other motherly duties...

We didn't sleep very well last night. My daughter had a lot of shoulder and rib cage pain from surgery. She was out of bed each hour. The hospital staff has been wonderful for the most part. One nurse did tell her that she should not cry as it is "only gas pain." Incredible! Of course this nurse has never had laproscopic surgery! The gas pain was the worst for me when I was in recovery for the two laproscopic surgeries I have had. Anyway, some people is all I can say about her!
I have been on overdrive mom duty! I really enjoy helping my daughter but also encouraging her to get out of bed and walk! She is doing really well so far and has made 8 trips down the long hospital hallway. Last night she was having issues with a shy bladder. I turned on the faucet so she could hear the water running and also put warm water in her basis so she could put her hand into it. It finally worked! The nurse was thinking that they may need to put in a foley catheter. My daughter really didn't want to have that placed! She is so modest the mere thought of someone inserting something near her "hoo ha" was enough to scare the pee out of her!! hahahahahaha
She is really going to bounce back quickly! Oh the added benefits of being 18 years old! lol
I am looking forward to getting home and brushing my teeth!! Yuck!!

What a day!!

Today has been quite a day! I am sitting in a hospital room with my daughter as she recovers from surgery. She is doing great! I will be sleeping here with her in the hospital. She is 18 but still my baby! It is so funny to see her on pain medication. It makes her very emotional. She has cried 5 times and thanked me for being her mother! If you have a teenager you know that this is unusual! As far as eating today - it has been just a little bit. I had about 1/4 cup of chili for lunch. For dinner I had two chicken nuggets. Wow! I can't believe I am not losing weight!! I am sure it is still the salt from that wonderful soup to blame!!

What to do with leftover ham??

OMG! My boss gave everyone a half ham for Christmas. What am I going to do with all of this ham??? We had ham for dinner last night. I made ham and eggs for DD and DH this morning. Now I am making 15 bean and HAM soup! I did not eat any of the ham yet. I started my Christmas dinner with..you guessed it...French Onion Soup! So here I sit, totally bloated from salty soup with a HUGE ham! decisions, decisions!

Salt is not my friend!!

I have been craving french onion soup for a few weeks. Every time we go out I look for it on the menu! I talked my husband into making a pot from scratch. It turned out oh so delicious! We tried to use the low salt ingredients but the salt still must have added up! I have gained up to 6 pounds in this last week! My hands and ankles are swollen!! I love the stuff but it obviously does not love me!! I hope I am able to get rid of all this extra fluid soon! I am going to drink tons of water today. Keeping my fingers crossed that the weight gain is caused by the salt.

A small victory but a victory just the same....

When my brother was leaving tonight I packed a bag for him. In it I placed the large bag of M&M candies plus the humongous bag of pistachio nuts. I have been eating the nuts and M&M's for the last week or so while simutaneously wondering why I have not been losing weight! Thankfully I found a person who can eat this stuff and get it AWAY from me!! Its a Christmas miracle! hahahahahaha

Merry Christmas!

Today was a pretty good day! We drove to Winchester and picked up my brother. It was nice to see him since it has been a year or more since the last time. We ate our Christmas ham and it was very good. My daughter and I took the dogs for a little walk. It was not very cold so that was a good thing! Bella the GSD ran and ran! We all needed the excercise!