Back from Ohio

I drove 15 hours with my munchkins yesterday home from Ohio. We split up the trip on the way down and stayed over at a hotel but it really is more work to get the kids unpacked and into a hotel room by myself then just enduring the misery of such a long drive. The kids did great on the way home and not a single tear was shed. Thank goodness for their individual DVD players, we could not have done it without them. It's just too far.

My Grandma was very thankful we came for the week. It was a loooong week. The hospital my Grandad is in is an hour from her house so it would be too much for her to have driven it everyday. He has improved a tiny bit. He got the breathing tube out of his throat and had a tracheostomy put in. When they take him off the ventilator, his blood pressure goes up. When they take him off the sedation, he get aggitated and moves too much and risks knocking something out. He is basically like a newborn baby right now mentally and physically. He will have to relearn everything. The best part was one night my brother and I went up to see him and I told him to open his eyes and he looked right at me and a tear come out. After the trach surgery he was able to keep his eyes open for an hour and breath on his own too. Each day they will try to extend that time and get him off the vent and meds. So, I know he is in there. We just need to get him to come out! My brother called to brag today that he smiled twice today. Whether its all reflex and there is no brain function behind it, we like to think there is hope!

I definitely learned what kind of nurse I want to be. Maybe because they work in ICU and are numb to everything, they forget that these patients are someones loved ones. Maybe they just have little social skills. I want to be positive and focus on the good. I want to encourage without giving my opinions on the future. I want to learn about my patients and suit my care to their needs. I was nice when we heard the nurses comment that my Grandad was a runner and must be very strong! That made my Grandma happy. Too many just saw a near comatose old man and didn't care enough to talk to my Grandma about him and basically ignored her. I also want to make sure that the families get to talk to the doctor. She went 14 days without talking to him. I couldn't believe when I got there that she hadn't seen or heard from him since BEFORE his brain surgery. I fixed that and now she feels comfortable requesting to talk to him and asking him everything on her mind.

Anyway, that is my vent for the day. I am so glad to be home safe with my family. I am trying to appreciate my husband more. As much as my Grandma griped about my Grandad, I know she would give ANYTHING to have her companion back!

Grandad

My Grandma and Grandad in probably near 1955 with their first-born son, my uncle Gary. I had to take this of a real 3x3 pic with my cell so forgive me for the quality.

I LOVE this pic! I keep wanting to take it to Kinko to have them enlarge it and get it framed. My Gram and Grandad in LOVE! Weird to see Grandad with HAIR!

I have been wanting to post every day for a week now but just could not find the words. So, two glasses of wine later, here they are.

Last Tuesday while at lunch, my mom called and told me my Grandad went to the ER and had been Medi-Flighted to a larger hospital and had a hemorrhagic stroke. Last Tuesday he went to the ER complaining of vomiting. A few hours later, he had had brain surgery to put in some tubes to let the blood in his brain flow. Those few hours have impacted my family greatly. Those few hours took a man who just spent 2 weeks vacationing in Florida visiting my mom, golfing daily, able to run a 10K without trouble. My Grandad is 84 years old and spends 5 hours a day in his amazing garden. He still works as a Life Insurance agent. He golfs weekly. He runs a few times a week. He goes to the VFW, the Moose and the Elks to spend time with the guys. He is not your normal 84 year old. Until Tuesday. Now, my Grandad is laying in a hospital bed, hasn't breathed on his own for more than an hour in 7 days. He has tubes and needles poking out of every part of his body. He shows 15 minutes of improvement, gets everyones hopes up and then starts flailing around and makes our hearts sink. My Grandad is not doing well. So, for the few people that may read this. . . please pray for him.

Please pray for my Grama. She is acting like nothing has happened. They celebrated their 58th Wedding Anniversary 2 weeks ago. She has spent more than 58 years with him and she is acting like nothing happened.

Everyone grieves differently. Even though we have not lost my Grandad yet, she definitely has lost a big part of him. I cannot express how much I miss him already. I cannot express how much it hurts. I have cried (mostly in my car, I guess because the kids cannot see my tears when I am driving) every day over the past week.

I am driving 15 hours with my two kids Friday to go see my Grandad. I could save my money in order to be able to fly up when he dies. I could spend my Spring Break building the new desk I want in my front room. I could sit around and reminisce of the days I had no plans. Instead, I am going to go be with my Grama while she visits my Grandad every day. 7 days. I will get to spend 7 days with him. It may be the last 7 days I ever see him.

Okay, I am now bawling. I have to stop this. Please pray for me. Pray that I do not say anything to hurt my Gramas feeling. Pray that I can help her grieve. Pray that my Grandad comes out of this

NEED SUNSHINE

As boring as this blog post is going to be, I will do anything to get away from my school books. I have a test tomorrow and after a full day of class, I am just not in the mood. . . to say the least. We have had good weather here off and on. Last night when I went to bed it was 71 degrees at 11PM and I woke up to 36 degrees at 630AM! Now that is a big change. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm again but unfortunately, I have class again all day.

So these pics are to remind me of the fun I get to have with my boys and to enjoy every minute with them. Being in school full time, it just doesn't quite feel like enough.

I have two days left of Phase 3 HCg Maintenance and it has gone by in a flash. I slowly get to add in starches and sugars again. Woo hoo! I now realize the effect they can have on a body so I do not plan to indulge any time soon.

Well, I better get back to my studies. BLUGHHHH!!!!!

Have a great week!

Visions of Brad Pitt?

I have not had a day off this week and I am exhausted! Actually, it is about 2145 Friday night and after I finish this post, I am hitting the hay. Speaking of hay, I promised pics of my new chickens! I asked on Facebook for name ideas and I cannot decide between Laverne and Shirley and Thelma and Louise. If I choose Thelma and Louise, it will bring up visions of Brad Pitt I had as a preteen that may help me get through each day. If I choose Laverne and Shirley, well, what can I say. . . So without further ado:

The two on the left are Betty's new roommates. They are called Cochins and I think they are just adorable. They are huge and fluffy and have feathered feet! Betty wasn't sure what to think at first but they were fast friends sniffing each others' rears and plucking feathers within minutes.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I have to catch up on laundry! Boo!

Excited

I am very excited to share that I am down to just .5 over my lowest weight while on the HCG diet. I had been fluctuating so much and pretty much accepted that I was going to stabilize at 3 over but I have just been eating a ton of protein and not as much wine and cheese (my two favorite things). I have also been very active lately. We have 5 acres and it takes alot of work to keep up with it, mainly the kids toys scattered and the dog poop! We have had such gorgeous weather that I have been taking full advantage of it!

Anyway, the rest of my life has my head spinning. I feel so frustrated trying to keep everything in order. My husband works out of town alot which leaves me to handle basically everything. It is alot of work keeping up with the house, the kids and of course lastly, MYSELF!

It definitely helps feeling so great about my body. If I was still over 180 pounds, I can see myself sitting on the couch and eating oreos more often! Instead, I am just keeping at it and trying my best every day. If I do not get everything accomplished or if I have to change up my plans, I just move forward and dont look back!

So those are my encouraging words for the day! Now, I have to go pack 3 lunches, get two little monkeys dressed and ready for school, take them up to the church and then get myself to school across town. The hardest part will be surving 6 hours of class today! Wish me luck!

Growing

I have been thinking alot about summer since we have had such wonderful weather the past few days. I would really like to have 3 4x8 raised garden beds this summer. The only problem is I am not good at gardening. I hate weeding and watering. So, where does that leave me? Not sure. Surely if I put in the effort to make 2 more raised beds, I will put a little more effort in this year???
I want to grow:
romaine
bell peppers
jalapenos
cucumbers
onions
tomatoes
strawberries
watermelon?
I would also like to get some apple and cherry trees. I realize they will not be producing for quite awhile but we are planning on living here foreverish.
The problem here is our soil. We have very sandy ground. I guess I could just give it a try with what I've got. I plan to start my seeds inside soon!

Anyway, I don't have much to report today because I was in class all day. Another fun day of lecture! I like to sit in back and check out all my fav blogs but there are like 30 people in front of me and I find it so strange that they just sit there and stare at the power points for 5 hours! Really? Isn't that old yet?

HCG Maintenance Day 7: My weight went up today by like alot! Scary! I guess my partying on Saturday was a little too soon. I am learning though. Those sugar free margaritas sure were fun in the moment. I ate awesome today. No snacks, just two meals. I planned out my meals for tomorrow too and am staying just under 1000 calories. I think a few days of this will pay off and I can be back down where I want to be. I haven't even gone over the 1500 cals allotted in any day though so I don't know why I am wavering so much. I also just had to try on these size 12 jean shorts today and they fit me better than they even did last year when I was around this weight. I have quit eating fruit because I think the carbs are what is messing with my weight. I am sticking to lean meats and veggies. Oh, and a little cheese! I just cannot live without cheese any longer!
An amazing milestone though is that I have not had fast food or restaurant food in 4 weeks! Not a bite!

Fiesta!

This evening I am hosting a Family Fiesta Night with my Meetup Group Social Mamas! I am so excited because we rarely get together with husbands included. Everyone is bringing a Mexican dish and I fixed a Taco Buffet.

Update on HCG Maintenance Day 6: Have been up and down a few pounds but am maintaining! That is the whole point. I have had a few cheats like my wine, a diet coke today and tonight I am sure there will be some hidden sugar I inevitably will consume. I will do my best but man, this part is actually harder than the first 3 weeks!

Have a great weekend!

Bright White Bathroom

My house was built in 1975 and it shows. It has never been renovated just maintained. When we moved in every light and fixture in the house was so dated and hideous. Lots of bronze and gold. The cabinets all match throughout the house and there are alot of them. The problem is that they are so hideous! So here is my green bathroom with lovely yellow laminate countertops. The cabinets are dark brown and have what appears to be 12 coats of polyurethane on them.

While I hate my bathroom, I do not have the $$ to do much to is. It just always felt old. So in order to give it a fresh new facelift, I got out an old gallon of white paint and went to town!

This snow must be getting to me because I just do not know what to do with my yime when I am literally stuck in the house!

I have never painted any walls white because I love color. I usually choose bold and bright. This space has great light since it faces east so the white really shows it off.

I am so happy with my decision! It still needs alot of work in here but it settled my urge to do major renovations for awhile. Painting ain't easy! Apparently painting white over a dark color is much harder that vice versa. It took me forever and I ran out of paint even before I really got an even coat. So don't sit for too long on my pot because you will see all the flaws!

I used Behr Bright White. I cannot recommend this paint because two weeks ago I painted my hallway with the high end Valspar Ultra Premium paint and primer in one and it was glorious! It is the BEST paint I have ever used. It is definitely worth the extra $8 per gallon.

Next project. . . who knows! I would like to redo the trim and reface the cabinets in this bathroom before I try to tackle the kitchen and main rooms. Gotta get some more dough for that task though!

Have a great day!

REVAMP

I am revamping my blog. I am sick of my weight loss focus. I am a mommy, wife, student, builder, painter, friend and surely I wear many more hats. I try to embrace my life as an Okie (that's what "REAL Oklahomans are called round these parts". My new blog address is "Where the June Bugs Zoom" because when I googled "lyrics to Oklahoma", that is the first line I liked. It basically sums up my house during the summer months. I used to run and hide when the June bugs swarmed but I have learned to accept them, AKA swat and stomp. They are crunchy little buggers too. So, in an effort to express my creativity, rant about whatever the hell I please and be a wanna-be Pioneer Woman, here is my new blog!

I hope I do not lose any of my 7 followers!! I love YALL!!

Done Done Done

I am officially finished with the 500 calorie diet and HCG drops! I still cannot eat starches or sugar for 3 weeks which is still going to take awhile to figure out which foods I can eat and still lose weight. I am so proud of myself because I lost 18 pounds in 23 days! That is just crazy! I feel so good about myself and all the discipline I managed to use over the past 3 weeks. It was not easy at times but overall very doable.

I want to put into writing my new goals so that I do not go astray thinking I am done. I have done an amazing thing but I am still not where I see myself. I will just come right out and say it because I have not been this weight since high school. I weigh 163 pounds now! It seems I was stuck in the 180s for all of my 20's so I am thrilled to be starting my 30's in the 160's.

My new goal is to get down to 155. This is just 8 pounds. Sounds doable right?

Well, I better go cook up some eggs with green peppers and avacado! YUM!

Have a fabulous day! I have an exam and am not looking forward to it. Yesterday was a looong day of lecture and after have most of last week off due to snow, it is hard to stay focused!