T-minus 29 Days and Counting...

On Monday, November 4, I will have gastric bypass surgery.  I'm really not all that big, when you compare me to the majority of people who have this surgery, but I'm having it anyway.

This is a process that started way back in April of this year.  One of my dearest friends, Tiffany, and I work with a woman who had the surgery back in August, 2012, and we were so amazed with the difference that it made in her life, that we started looking into it.  For Tiff, it was much more of a serious matter than it was for me.  She is larger and I barely - and I mean, BARELY - made it into the BMI range for being eligible for the surgery.  We went to a seminar put on by Denver Bariatric Surgery and it was amazing.  And our insurance covers it!  How cool is that? 

Anyway, like I was saying, for Tiff, it's more a big deal that it is for me.  Yeah, I know that I weigh about 65 pounds more than I did when Kenin and I got married, but I also know that he loves me no matter what.  As a matter of fact, his prime concern with me having the surgery is that I will get too skinny and he DOES NOT like skinny women.  (Do I have the best husband in the world, or what?)  I guess you could say that I "followed" Tiff into all of this.  I've been heavier than I would like for the majority of my life.  I was made fun of by my brothers for many years as I grew up, and it helped to shape the way that I looked at myself, and that caused a lot of issues for me.  I certainly don't blame them; we were all in bad places at that point in our lives.  But I felt like I wasn't good enough and all I wanted was to feel loved.  I did lots of inappropriate things to get that "love" that I wanted, and as I said, that caused some issues.  Eventually, I grew a backbone and some self esteem, and at that point, I didn't really care what anyone thought of me, because I was (and still am) happy with the me on the inside.  Unfortunately, I'm not as happy with the me on the outside.

Food has always been a big part of my life.  My favorite memories are of me as a small child, and the family gathered around a table, chowing down on a holiday, or just visiting each other.  A lot of my memories of my biological mother involve food - her cooking our favorite things, her dieting and weighing her food on one of those tiny scales.  And I've always had a sweet tooth.  If it had sugar in it, I made a beeline to it.  I can still remember the bake sale that we had at school when I was 6 or 7 years old... there was the most incredible, ooey, gooey, marshallowy Rice Krispy treats that I think I've ever (even to this day) put in my mouth.  So, yeah, I started out young.

To be continued...

yummy, yummy in my tummy

I love to eat. It's one of my favorite things to do, ranking right up there with sleeping and breathing. And as much as I like to munch, it takes a fair amount of yumminess to impress me, so I don't run around pontificating about food or restaurants on a regular basis, or really ever. Until now.

Last night Kenin and I took my mom out to dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Hacienda Colorado. I had some yummy enchiladas, but still wanted a little something sweet afterward, so I ordered some chocolate cake, because chocolate is one of my very best friends in the whole wide world. And I know it's a mutual feeling, because it hangs around for a long time, usually on my belly. Anyway, this HUGE piece of chocolate cake arrived with one of it's best friends, vanilla ice cream. And because chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream brought along a friend called brandy butter sauce, we proceeded to have an experience better than sex. This sauce was so sweet and creamy and incredibly delicious, I just wanted to bathe in it, it was that good.

And because I'm now trembling with excitement just at the mere thought of this heavenly treat, I'll leave you with this... go to Hacienda Colorado and have the chocolate cake. What about an entree, you ask? Who needs an entree? Just eat cake. And you know what? If the French had been serving chocolate cake with a brandy butter sauce, there'd have been no revolution whatsoever. Everybody would've been more than happy to take Marie Antoinette's suggestion.

Those Pesky Grocery Bills

Wanna save some of that money that you're spending for all those vittles that go into your tummy? Want to do it without having resort to eating road kill? If so, check out the following tips.

~ First of all, get a membership to Sam's Club, Costco, or something along those lines. Generally speaking, in wholesale or warehouse clubs, you'll find better values on items. Items that are particularly good values include paper products (napkins, tp or paper plates), milk, laundry detergent, cheese, condiments, butter or margarine, and ice cream.

~ Use coupons. And I don't mean just now and then, either. I mean religiously. Some online sources for coupons include thegrocerygame.com, and mommysavesbig.com.

~ Sales, sales, sales! Need I say more? Check out mygrocerydeals.com and couponmom.com for the inside scoop on what's on sale, when, and where. If chicken is on sale, don't opt for the steak that isn't. Also, don't be afraid to look at the "reduced" section - we've gotten $12 or $15 dollar steaks for half price or less, and they still have a few days until the use by date. They're great for grilling!

~ Shop online and have your groceries delivered. I know, I know, you're wondering how that particular nugget will save you money, right? Yeah, you'll pay a delivery fee on top of your grocery bill, but by not shopping yourself and only buying what's on the list, you're not wandering the aisles and making impulse purchases, and that will save you some precious cash. And even if you're not buying online, STICK TO YOUR LIST! All those little extras are what cost you.

~ Don't take the kids along and don't browse. Shoppers with children (teenagers, too) in tow spend 10% to 40% more than solo shoppers or those who are 'in and out' shoppers.

~ Buy fruits and veggies that are in season. If it's January and you want fresh strawberries, many times those strawberries are grown in more tropical locales and have to be shipped in. The best prices on seasonal produce are often found at your local farmer's market.

~Use it or lose it. Every now and again, forget the shopping trip and empty the freezer and pantry instead. Put the extra cash in a savings account and earn money instead of spending it. Besides, nothing is worse than having to toss steaks or chicken just because they got pushed behind the box of popsicle's that've been in the freezer since last summer.

~ Use cash instead of credit. With cash, there's a set limit that you can't go beyond. Unfortunately, that limit isn't quite so concrete when it comes to credit or debit cards. Credit users often spend 20% to 30% more than those who use cash, and you wouldn't want to fall into that category, would you?

~ Last but possibly most importantly, cook. I don't mean peel the plastic off, throw it in the microwave and nuke it. I'm talking about actually cutting up some veggies, adding a little spice, a little meat if you like, and putting it into an oven, a skillet or throwing it on the grill. Using raw or fresh ingredients to cook meals are less expensive than buying pre-packaged, frozen, or fast food. Not to mention, it's healthier, too.

Good luck!

Saturday Night Dinner Theatre

The Setting: Red Lobster, during their Endless Shrimp promotion (irrelevant, but yummy)

The Actors: Hunter, as the Narrator; Kenin, Patrick, and me, as the Audience

The Props: A small, black plastic skeleton and a small neon green spider, given to Hunter by a waiter who is very nice to young boys in an almost-but-not-quite-full-blown creepy kind of way, and the small, red, lobster-topped, sword-shaped fruity drink holder thing that came in Hunter's Shirley Temple

Hunter: Aaarrgghh! The spider bit me on the hip (holds spider to skeleton's hip)! Here, let me thrust the sword into the spider (thrusts sword into the spider (duh))! Aw, crap! I hit my hip! Oh, my hip, my hip! Now I can't walk (makes dying sounds, much to the dismay of Kenin, who's apparently taken Hunter's playing just a little bit too seriously)! Aaarrrggghh!

The Audience (okay, it was only me): Hysterical laughter