Wednesday Update: My Scale Sucks . . .

Seriously, I need a new scale.

Or I need to make friends with a doctor that will let me come weigh every week.

My scale SUCKS.

One day I weigh in at 220, the next 227, the next 220, the next 228 . . .

REALLY?!?!

And let's not get started on when I step off and step on again.

Did you know it's entirely possible to gain 15 pounds in under a minute?

So here's this week's update:

(by the way, my laptop is a bit out of commission so vlogs are on hold until I can A) figure out why it's being a butt and fix it or B) I get enough money for the really cool gaming laptop I've got my eye on. I'll keep you posted)

Starting Weight: 295

Surgery Weight: 285

Highest Weight: 310

Current Weight: 220

How's my eating? 

Pretty good - I am now where I can pretty well eat whatever I want, within reason. I don't have any more issues with meat or eggs (thank God!). I do not do well with high-sugar items however - remember the discussion we had on dumping syndrome? As it turns out it DOES, in fact, affect a lot of sleevers. I happen to be one of them. Part of me is glad for this, but part of me (the whiny kid that is still addicted to chocolate donuts and pasta) really hates it. But I'll get over it. I need to focus on the GOOD rather than the BAD - both emotionally and food-wise. Making good choices means I don't get sick, I feel better, I keep losing, and, eventually, I reach goal. 

I still have issues with carbs. My husband and I went on a road trip this weekend and brought with us "naughty foods" with the sole purpose of eating as much crap as we could on this trip (this is how our vacations go, for some reason). The unfortunate thing is that we still have some of this crap left over. Guess what I ate a lot of yesterday. Yeah . . . There's a reason why I have to stick to a low-carb lifestyle. I never realized how much my food addiction focused on carbohydrates until now. I had always been taught that carbs were okay - especially whole grain ones. Apparently in MY case, that's not true. I can't resist them and apparently my sleeve really likes them because I can eat a LOT of them.

Now for some NSV's (non-scale victories):

First off, this weekend's trip was centered around a renaissance festival near Houston, TX (yes - we are the nerdy ones that show up in costume). I have, as part of my garb, a bodice that I bought a few years ago for around $250 (I swear I spend more money on clothes for faire than I do for clothes IRL {in real life}) - this bodice has lacings in front and in back. When I bought it, we had to add a second lacing to the back and the front lacing was open about 6 inches. This is what it looked like:

Before: Around 300 lbs

Okay . . . So maybe the bodice is MORE than six inches apart. Yeah. Pretty bad. And I actually thought I looked GOOD. *eye rolling*.

So, HERE'S what I looked like this weekend:

After: Around 220
The lacing in front is tightened all the way, and the back is almost to the point of removing the second lacing.

So, does the sleeve work? 

^^^^^You be the judge^^^^^

So I have 20 pounds until my next goal of 200. This is the weight I was when I graduated high school.

My goal is to reach that by December 1st. 

Tasty Tuesday! What I'm Cookin'!

Today I am making something yummy and delicious. 

Something that was quick and easy, but slooooowwww cooking all day long.

BEANS.

They're wonderful fruit. 

And you know what happens the more you eat of them . . . 

Well, let's talk about the beans themselves, shall we?

First off, I LOVE MY CROCK POT.

It has become my BFF in the kitchen and I use it at least twice a week.

Today it holds a favorite of my whole family.

Pinto beans. 

NOM NOM NOM.

Here's how I did it:

I picked through a lb. bag of pintos, picking out all the broken bits and stones.

I poured the lot into my crock pot and covered it with two cans of chicken broth plus two cans of water 

(I used the chicken broth cans).

I then added a bit of chili powder, some King's Spice 

(from Scarborough Faire in Texas), 

some Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. 

Then I popped on the lid and let 'er rip.

I started them at 7am. It is now 9 and my house smells amazing already.

Tonight we have beans.

Tomorrow night I will take 1/2 the leftovers and mash them and make homemade refried beans.

Thursday they will go back into the crock along with a can of black beans, some hamburger meat, tomatoes, beef broth, seasonings, and bell pepper and onion for a delicious chili.

Yes.

I love beans.

So, what are YOU cookin' today?

Helping Robert

See that beautiful smiling face?
That's my amazing, wonderful, fantastic nephew, Robby.
Isn't he adorable?

Recently, Robby was in a terrible accident.
While he and some friends were out riding their bicycles, Robby was hit by a 3/4 ton pickup truck.
He sustained extensive injuries including a fractured vertebrae, a broken pelvis, and a laceration on his kidney.

It is a literal miracle that Robby is still with us today.
Robby is in the hospital recovering, and doing well.
He's had surgery to install a metal plate in his hip to help the healing of his pelvis and will have to undergo another surgery in 3 months to remove said plate (to allow his bones to continue to grow)
He will be in the hospital for another two weeks while rehabilitating.

His father and step mother have both had to take off work to alternate being with Robby in the hospital, as a result, their income has taken a beating.

Robby will need extensive home care as well as renovations made to their home to accommodate the wheel chair that he will be in for the next few months.

Additionally, because of his parents current financial situation, bills (rent, utilities, etc.) are piling up.
They are in desperate need of help.

I am reaching out to you all - my wonderful followers - to help my sweet nephew.
If you look to the upper right hand side of my page you will see a "donate" button.

This button will link you to a pay pal page where you can donate whatever amount you want to help.

$1, $5, $10, $100, $1000 . . . Ever single dollar will help.

When you get to the pay pal page, please note that the page is in my mother's (Robby's Grandmother's) name.
If you can't help monetarily, then please donate your prayers.
If you go to church, please put them on your prayer list.

Robby is such a joy to us and such a blessing to so many people.
Thank you so much for being a blessing to him.

*please share this post with everyone you know - we need all the help and prayers we can get*
God bless you all.

TMI Friday! Are You Mom Enough?

That's Right, Kids!
TMI Friday is BACK!

And this weeks topic is sure a hot one - 

and fits right into the TMI logic.

*WARNING - TMI FRIDAY MAY CONTAIN ADULT SUBJECT MATTER*

Picture Courtesy TIME Magazine, Copyright 2012.

Is there anyone on the planet that has not seen this magazine cover?

The image of a little boy suckling on his mothers breast is not one that I expected, nor desired, to see when I took my four year old to the grocery store. 

Now, let's get one thing straight here, I am 100% in support of breast feeding your child whenever and wherever. 

Within reason.

If you're still breast feeding your kid when he's four, that's you're business.

But please, let's leave it as your business.

I don't believe that breastfeeding a child that big in public is appropriate, AT ALL.

And quite frankly, the possible psychological ramifications from nursing that late really disturb me.

And to go even further, it's not so much the image on the cover that offends me.

I think it's a little strange, and I'm really horrified that the media would use such an image solely for the sake of stirring up controversy (which was exactly their intention). But it doesn't offend me.

What offends me is the implication within the article that I am not a good enough mom because I chose to not be an attachment parent.

No, I am not, never have been, and never will be an attachment parent.

First of all, my kids are way to independent.

Secondly, I really want my kids to learn how to care for themselves.

I am not going to be there when my kid is 18 and in college to nurse him or her to sleep at night because they had a bad day.

While I can see the benefits of attachment parenting to a certain age (like, 2), beyond that, I honestly believe it can do more harm than good.

We are raising a generation of children that will wrongfully believe the world revolves around them.

Their reality will be skewed and they will not be prepared to handle the real world that involves things like solitude, loneliness, and even losing every once in a while.

Additionally, the psychological ramifications that will come from boys growing in to men that have been attachment-parented for a long period of time. He will grow with the unrealistic expectation that any woman he marries will be as perfect as his mother - or even a second "mother" to him.

I certainly hope that extreme attachment parenting is a fad and goes away soon.

For the sake of the young men of America.

Please.

Alright ladies and gents, that's my soapbox for the week! How do you feel about this topic? What's you're opinion? SOUND OFF!

Why Are Children Such Jerks?

Yes, I said it out loud.
MY CHILDREN ARE (sometimes) JERKS.
To me, to my husband, to each other.
They can be belittling and cruel.
They make fun of each other and call each other names.
They throw things, hit, kick, and bite.
What is it about kids that puts them into this mode?

One day my children are perfect little angels,
Playing well together, laughing with each other (as opposed to laughing AT each other)
Even defending one another and being helpful to one another.

Then the next day . . .
All H-E-double-hockey-sticks breaks loose and they become these little tyrannical monsters that appear to hate the world around them - including each other - including me!

Now this is not an everyday occurance - for the most part my kids are wonderful and amazing and I love them more than anything.

But some days . . .
I just wonder if the gypsies are still taking applications for children . . ?

God's Answered Prayers

This post was inspired by one of my dearest friends who is going through a tough time right now. In her struggle, she has begun to question her faith. This is to show her that sometimes the struggles aren't what they seem, but merely a pathway to something better and more beneficial for us.


Once upon a time there was a young woman.
She never thought she'd have anything worth anything.
She was single and alone, married to her work and her education.

Then one day, God showed her that he had plans for her.
He took away everything she held dear.

In their place He put a tiny child.
Then He put love,
A family,
A home,
And Hope.

God always answers prayers,
Sometimes it's not what you expect.
But sometimes it's what you NEED.
God Bless you all.
Have a wonderful weekend.

My Geeky Side . . .

Hello. My name is Jennifer. And I am a geek.
You wouldn't know from this blog, but I am .
A HUGE one too.
I love Renaissance Festivals, Dungeons and Dragons, Munchkin, Console Gaming (PS3, Xbox, Wii, etc) - and not the silly kiddie games either - no, we're talking hardcore games. Infamous. Bioshock. Left 4 Dead. Skyrim. (O.M.G. I LOVE SKYRIM!!!)
Yes. I am a geek.

One of the drawbacks perks of being a geek mom is that you get to raise geek kids. This poses a problem sometimes - for example, D&D time is Mommy and Daddy time. Our 16-year-old doesn't understand this concept and can't understand why he can't just jump right into our game mid-campaign (D&D games can last YEARS).  Another example is that my four year old son can now play Portal and Portal 2 better than some adults. Why is this a problem? Well . . . Okay, it's not a problem, I just wanted to brag on my 4-year-old gaming prodigy of a son!

But there are moments too that really make a geek parent proud. Like when your child can compare the subtle nuances between Little Big Planet and Mod Nation Racers, or they can talk about the importance of breaking during a drifting moment in Burnout. Or they can give you advice on how best to avoid the Creepers in Minecraft. Or the fact that they not only know who people like Rod Roddenberry, Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day or Steve Jackson are, but they actually look up to them as the kind of people they'd like to be.

Sometimes it's rough being a geeky parent in these non-geeky times. But sometimes, just sometimes, it's a blast.

Speaking of being a geek parent, I have started a journey with my husband and our two best friends to leave a geeky legacy for our children to follow. We are recording our console gaming sessions and posting them on YouTube - mainly for our own amusement, but also for the amusement of others who enjoy laughing at someone's expense. Some of them are hilarious, some of them are . . . meh. But they all show my geeky side. Feel free to check them out at http://www.youtube.com/user/4NerdsGaming My personal favorites are the Portal videos with me and my best friend trying to play 2 player - pretty funny stuff!