Sam posted this survey on her blog and I thought it was a fun idea!  I love getting to know people better.

1. What is your occupation right now ?
I am a travel nurse in Labor and Delivery

2.What color are your socks right now? 
No socks.  Just when I go to the gym.

3. What are you listening to right now? 
Watching TV right now but love 80s, 90s, and today.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? 
I am eating tilapia made with cherry heirloom tomatoes that I found at the farmers market today with a splash of white wine and topped with basil.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? 

I know how to but am not graceful at it so therefore I don't.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? 
My dear friend from OKC, Nuttygirl.  I miss her so.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? 
Yes!

8. How old are you today? 
 36

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? 
I love collage football, the Florida Gators of course.

10. What is your favorite drink? 
It used to be diet Pepsi, but now I am on water and tea.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? 
Not as often as I should.  As a matter of fact I need to right now.  My hair has been blonde and red and is right now light red, oh and gray.

12. Favorite food? 
Mexican and Italian

13. What is the last movie you watched? 
Harry Potter

14. Favorite day of the year? 
Any day that my scale says that I have lost weight!

15. How do you vent anger? 
Lol I usually talk to myself or a few choice friends.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? 
I had a doll that I remember most.

17. What is your favorite season? 
Fall

18. Cherries or Blueberries? 
Blueberries in baked goods and pancakes, but cherries when they are in season which they are now and are awesome.

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? 
oh yes

20. Where is you favorite place to escape?

The beach or any place where there is no one that wants to talk to me.

21. Favorite Tv Show?
Law and Order(all of them), Greys, the USA and TNT shows, and Dexter.

22. Living arrangements? 
Currently I am in a hotel for my contract.

23. When was the last time you cried? 
It has been a long time and I really want to keep it that way.

24. What is on the floor of your closet? 
My shoes.

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest?
My friend Theresa since high school.

26. What did you do last night? 
Laid in bed sore from the day.

27. What are you most afraid of? 
Losing myself.....

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? 
Cheese, spice, and bacon

29. Favorite dog breed? 
I love doggies, but I would have to say golden retrievers, although I don't own any animals.

30. Favorite day of the week? 
Again any day that the scales say I have lost weight.

31. How many states have you lived in? 
Well due to my job I have "lived" in many, but ones I have actually had DL in, FL,KY, and OH.

32. Diamonds or pearls? 
Diamonds but love Pearls too.

33. What is your favorite flower? 
Hydrasngeas right now.

Weigh in, Farmers Market, and Possible Dinner

Weigh in.....

OK so I cant seem to get a good picture of the scale so my say so will have to do.  The scale said 228 today which is a 2 pound loss for the month of July over all.  But a loss of five pounds for this week as I gained 3 pounds the first three weeks of July.  So now you see where I am at which is back on track and I am excited about that.

Farmers Market

I went and found some many great veggies, spices, flowers and they even were selling raw beef, chicken, and goat.....crazy.  I do have to say the north west does have the best farmers markets.  I cant wait to be able to go into San Fran for that one....so big and crazy.  At this one I went to today they had bread, and bread and bread....all fresh and smelled great.  No worries I did refrain from buying or even tasting.  This next picture is of the purple that grows from the artichoke plant.  So pretty.

Now for dinner I am gonna brown some tilapia and then add some cherry tomatoes that I bought today, some white wine, and then to top it some fresh basil I bought Friday at yet another farmers market in front of the hospital I am working at right now.....very cool.

Sore seat....

It seems that when I lose 30 lbs or so I lose it in my rear.  Sitting in a movie theater, driving for more than an hour, siting on the couch watching tv, sitting in a restaurant having dinner or breakfast, or sitting in the bed of my hotel room writing this blog and my tailbone gets sore and I am constantly changing position to get comfortable and sometimes the comfort doesn't come.  I will take it......just another NSV that is a little painful, but still means the same as any other NSV, I have lost weight and this is just another reward.  I know I am strange and maybe even sick....lol.  I will take it.

Ok so now on to more fun things..........

The Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, CA

Wow that's a lot of garlic.  Nice weather, good food, great sangria, and good exercise.  This is no small event either.  So many people, food, vender's, and of course garlic.  What I didn't have a lot of was water and not near as much food as I once would have had.  This brings me to my next topic....Have I lost my foodieness.....I know that prolly isn't a word but some of you know what I am meaning.  I wanted to taste many things, but I didn't want to stand in line to get a whole order of something that I knew I, one couldn't finish and two I didn't want to finish.  I can remember a time when neither of those reasons would have kept me from tasting something.  I know that these are good signs for my weight loss, but what about for my foodiesness.  Am I losing my love of food, and love of good food?  Or was I just tired and a little dehydrated, and really trying to keep a handle on what I am eating?  Ideas anyone?

This was cool...they were cooking calamari

Four Months.......

and one week ago I had the day that changed my life....for the better.  I had my new best friend placed inside me to help me straighten out my life and live again.  March 31, 2011 I had lap band surgery.  Gerty was placed and then after some tests I went home.  I haven't regretted a second of it.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Ok numbers
Start weight 280
Start clear liquid diet 3-21
Surgery date 3-31 weight is 265
4-20 weight 255
5-12 wt 245
6-22 wt 234
7-28 wt 228



So those numbers mean I hit the big 50lbs down and man I am happy about that. 


This is the charm from James Avery that I bought at my 3 month bandiversry and 50lb loss which is halfway to my main long term goal.

Lately I have been ask about my surgery and should they get surgery.  Well I of course never tell anyone that they should or shouldn't have surgery, but I do share with them why I chose surgery and what I have experienced since surgery.  I let them know that making this choice takes lots of research and big life changes and not just a diet. 



New Product......
Trader Joes Chicken Meatballs.  Yum

Ideas......

So many ideas for blog posts running through my mind.  I will catch them all and write on each of them I promise.

Well the weight loss continues and I am loving it.  I am keeping the carbs down and protein up.  Water and vitamins are in everyday too.  Missed the gym yesterday and Monday, but those are the only days this week.

More tomorrow.....

First Day....

First day at my new contract....not a bad day except for the fact that I forgot my protein powder today and all I had was a lean cuisine that turned out nasty.  Yuck.  I started downing the water and did ok.  I got home and had some chicken and fresh cherries....yum. 

I am down another pound of my vacation weight and am hoping to have lost the rest by the end of this week so I can get on with real weight loss.

Nothing more to report for now...night all.

New Blogger Alert.....

Go over and say hi to Bel at http://thefitmother.blogspot.com/
Show her some love and your encouragements.

What Did I Do Today

Well for starters I had nothing to eat except clear liquids.  Then I was really not wanting to go to the gym today, but since I had not had anything to eat but liquids to jump start some weight loss I thought maybe I should go.  So I did.  Thirty mins on the elliptical at a resistance of 8 the entire time and burned 100 cals every 10 mins, this is a new high for me.  Then I worked arms and legs with weight machines.  I then went to treadmill and for 30 mins I trained with the couch to 5K app on my phone.  Another 100 cals.  I finished in the wet sauna for 20 mins..... my new favorite thing.  I went to the wet bar and had a protein shake that has 230 cal and 30g protein and a big big water.
After the gym I hit Target and bought frozen individually wrapped tilapia filet's and boneless skinless chicken tenders.  I came home and baked up fish and chicken for dinner and lunch tomorrow.

Wow what a full day...lol.  Here's to my jump start.

What the.....

Ok so I have joined a gym out here in northern Cali and am noticing about 50% of the folks out here working out in hoodies, sweat shirts, jogging pants, long sleeve shirts and so forth.  Some even where hats or the hood of the hoodie while working out.  As if I don't sweat enough these folks are wearing winter gear.  Now I know that the temps are a bit cooler here, but not that much cooler.  I also know that if you sweat more the work out is better, come on give me a break....can someone else give some incite as to why a person wear winter gear would be in the gym working out in it?

My work out today was great.  I really enjoyed the wet sauna....my new favorite thing.

Getting Settled In

I knew that traveling with my job after surgery would be a challenge, but I so did not figure on every challenge.  When I packed I knew that my scale was a MUST and yes I packed it and yes it is here with me.  I knew that clothes space would be at a premium and so I wouldn't be able to take clothes that were to big even just alittle.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to find all of my products that I found in Dallas and have been surviving on and I wasn't gonna be able to pack all that I had.  I knew that I wouldn't have an Anytime fitness to go to either(that is the gym I go to in TX and feel comfortable at).  I knew that I wouldn't have the piece of mind of knowing that my surgeon is right close by.  I knew that (and this one is a biggie) my support....all of my support would be miles and miles away.
So here is what I did to deal with each of theses.....
I packed my scale and as we speak sitting in the bathroom floor where it belongs.....lol. 
I packed only the clothes that fit me at this size and nothing bigger than that. My first week here I had a lot more orientation than I am used to.  This led me to having to buy 2 pair of cropped pants size 18(YAY) and got them at Ross(which I love) and for a good price.  Right now everything else I brought will work.
I found a GNC and no they didn't have my Max protein powder so I looked and found a new one.  It doesn't taste as good as the Max but it has 110 cal, 25g protein, 3 carbs, and no sugar.  Yay!!!

This is it.
It is by Cytosport and excuse the small part of my head there....lol

I also didn't find my protein crunchies but my friends in TX are gonna send me some or I am thinking of ordering them online. I did find my newest favorite thing.....these.....They are protein cookies that I found at the Vitamin Shoppe.  They have per cookie 145 cal, 10gr protein, 15 carbs, and 11 sugars.  I know they are kinda heavy in calories but when you need a cookie these are better than chips ahoy.  They are soft and very tastee.  I did bring my new Click powder and will be ordering more soon as I love this stuff. 

I joined a 24 Hour Fitness here.  Its close, big, has a pool, and a wet sauna(which I love) but it is very busy and I have to work around the busy times of the day which are 630-900 at night.  Which is when I get of work and is the time I like to work out.

I haven't dealt with not having my surgeon close to me yet but I am planning a trip to TX for another fill in Aug and if I needed a doctor here I would contact one.

And finally my support being miles and miles away.....the phone, Internet, texting, and of course my support from my bloggers which I can take with me where ever I go.  Thanks everyone.

Bits and Peices

Let me just say I had a great time in IL for my friend's wedding, and in HI. 

While in HI my girlfriend took me on a hike up Manoa Falls.  Not a high or long hike, but for this girl it was very tiring.  Mud, trees, mud, tree roots, mud, rocks, mud, oh and a waterfall.  Did I mention there was mud?  lol no worries it seems I survived.

The beaches were awesome.....needless to say.  What does need to be said is the fact that I neglected my protein and water intake and am now presently paying for it in two ways.  One I haven't lost any more weight and have stalled at 50lbs.  I am not discouraged.  Two I am losing hair....this however worries me.  I know one of the hardest things to do is play catch up with protein intake due to hair loss.  This does discourage me. 

I had an appointment set for another fill on Thursday but had to cancel it due to a class I had to take and missed my fill.  I am not hungry and think that missing the fill will be ok.  I wont be able to get back to Dallas til Aug. 

The gym here that I joined is close to the hotel and is nice, but during 6pm-8pm is so busy I have to wait for machines.  Not something I am happy about.

I am in a nice part of Northern CA and the temps are nice.  When I got here it was 56 degrees......

Yes I am ALIVE.......

Wow what a bad blogger I have been.  Here is the update....

I went to IL for my girlfriend's wedding and had a great time.  I spent the Fourth of July with her and her new husband's family.

I then flew back to Dallas on the 5th and then the next day I flew to HI.....Waikiki was awesome.  Beautiful, warm, cool breezes, and some great people watching.

I did make my 50 lb loss goal before HI, but I gained 3 pounds back with the lack of regular exercise, high fat foods, and irregular eating patterns.  I am not discouraged. 

Just a few Pictures from HI.......

Three mile Hike up Manoa Falls

Tomorrow I fly to Vallejo, CA for my next contract and I promise to not disappear again for so long......