Alright, you asked for it. Well, maybe you didn’t but I’m going to tell you what I think anyway. Submit questions or requests or suggestions to AskAuntWendi@gmail.com.
I’ve got worms!
May 2, 2012 at 8:11 am (Uncategorized)
One of my garden experiments this year is vermicomposting.
this is the worm bin right after I dumped the poor little guys in there
Aka composting with worms. The worms are in their container and are ready to be fed the scraps I’ve been saving for them. I am totally freaked out about this whole thing. I mean, I know they are just worms but what if I kill them? ? ? Please think good, hungry thoughts for my worms. They are going to need all the help they can get.
And how are YOU doing?
April 30, 2012 at 8:21 am (Uncategorized)
You guys are seriously like clockwork. I just passed my 9 month surgiversary and the questions have been rolling in for weeks. When do we get an update?? Well, this is your lucky day. Things have been going great. The first 4 months of 2012 have been very busy with quite a bit of travel both for work and pleasure, doing all kinds of projects and fun things with my Main Squeeze and trying to keep all of the balls up in the air just like everyone else. As far as the surgery is concerned, everything has been just fine. So far I’ve lost 122 lbs from my high weight just over a year ago. Everything with eating has been fine. I rarely have any bad reactions to food even when I’m not as careful as maybe I should be. (and when I say “reaction”, it is never anything serious, just a little intestinal distress very similar to what I would have experienced pre-op if i ate something my tummy didn’t like.) Vitamins are easy most of the time as long as I remember to take my lunchtime dose. The thing people ask for the most is to see pictures so I’m going to shut up and let the pictures speak for themselves.
This is pre-op, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months.
A million, billion thanks again to Eldeen Pickett for taking these shots. She really has an amazing gift for capturing personality in photos and I’m so grateful for her friendship. Seriously though, check her out EldeenAnnette.com and photocardchef.com.
40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge
February 23, 2012 at 1:25 pm (Home Improvement, Organization)
Well, it’s Lent, folks. Being raised Mormon, I didn’t even know what Lent was until I was an adult so I wasn’t raised with the tradition of observing Lent or giving anything up. However, a friend turned me on to an idea from a fun blog of getting rid of 40 bags of junk, clutter and excess stuff from your house to help focus on purging, cleaning and simplifying during the 40 days of Lent. I’m totally doing this! I started yesterday, the first day of Lent, with my desk drawers. I work from home so I sit at this desk A LOT. This desk used to house my craft stuff at my old apartment so here is a list of some of the stuff I cleaned out that didn’t make the cut to stay in the desk:
A bag of jingle bells
About 25 computer disks (I don’t even have a machine that can read these anymore!!)
A pitch pipe
About 4 huge paint brushes
3 containers of glitter
Some friends were over last night making fun of that pile. Obviously things that shouldn’t be in my work desk but now I have to find other homes for them.
I’m going to try to really focus on sticking to this and updating on my blog. Who wants to join in? Let’s encourage one another to simplify our lives, for heaven’s sake! Here is a picture of my favorite drawer in the newly organized and purged desk:
Those of you that know me well know that I LOVE Sharpies. So this is the new home for My Precious. (Shut up, Jodi)
Here is the link to the blog that spurred me on to try this. She provides a great explanation of the Challenge and why to do it: http://www.memoriesoncloverlane.com/2011/03/one-week-from-now-40-bags-40-days.html
Attic Adventures
February 21, 2012 at 11:01 pm (Home Improvement)
So I haven’t written much about my house even though I’ve been here for over 18 months. I love it here. The house is so cozy and lovely and the guy who fixed it up (JH) did an amazing job. Most of the improvements and enhancements that I’ve done since I moved in have been in the yard but I have done a handful of things to the house itself that have been great. This blog is about the one that we accomplished last night. My Main Squeeze, hereafter referred to as MS, is a handy guy. One of the many reasons I love him. In an effort to expand the storage space in this tiny house, I ordered a pull down ladder to allow access to my attic. JH, who fixed up my house, built some storage platforms and shelving up there but there was no easy way to access it. You know you’re a boring grown up when you get super excited about an attic ladder. *sigh* But it is very cool so I’ve included some pictures.
I ordered the Televator AA10 by Werner. The installation was mostly easy with just a couple of hiccups. MS did most of it but I helped and we are a good team!
This is the new trap door that we put up in order to access the ladder
The ladder came with a pole that can be used to unlatch the trap door, pull down the ladder and in my case, turn on and off the light switch that JH put up there.
Here is the ladder extended
Here is a picture of some of the storage I gained from this little project
Jealous???
7 Month Update
February 17, 2012 at 9:07 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: bariatric surgery, duodenal switch, weight loss, weight loss surgery
I can’t believe I haven’t done a blog update in 3 months. What is wrong with me?? Well, I’m busy and out living life, and that’s the truth. But today, I feel a blog coming on, so here it goes. A few days ago, I was 7 months out from my DS surgery. When I got up this morning and stepped on the scale as I do every morning, I realized that I have lost 110 lbs from my pre-surgery weight. In 20 more pounds I will have a “normal” BMI and in 30 more pounds I will reach my arbitrary goal that I set before I started on this journey. The funny thing is, I was talking with my friend about it yesterday, she also had the DS and has about 15 lbs to lose until her goal. We were laughing about how we are so discouraged by these last pounds we need to lose and it feels insurmountable. Even though I just lost more than 5 times what I still need to lose, I just can’t see how it will ever happen. Funny how our brains play these self-defeating games. My weight loss has slowed down quite a bit and I suppose you could consider this a stall but I am still losing slowly. For those of you that love the stats, here they are:
Pounds lost: 110
Starting BMI: 45.4
Current BMI: 27.8
Inches Lost: 99 (dude, that is over 8 FEET!)
Starting Pants Size: 24-26
Current Pants Size: 10-12 (I even put on and BUTTONED a pair of size 8 jeans. Who is this person?)
As for food, I’m doing really well with getting in enough protein. Vitamins are no big whoop. All of my lab work looks good, I’m making a few tiny tweaks but nothing major. I have more energy (duh). I’m doing Yoga regularly and making it to the gym occasionally. My goal is to start getting there 8 times a month in order to take advantage of my company’s wellness gym reimbursement program. ALMOST made it in January but was traveling too much. For those who love the photos, here they are:
My boyfriend (more on this later) took this picture when we went to dinner at a friend’s home.
This is a picture I took of myself the night I recorded my video for Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 3.
Thank you all for your kind words and support during this time. I really do have the most wonderful friends and family and I’m grateful for you all every day.
4 month update
November 13, 2011 at 3:53 am (Bariatric Sugery, Duodenal Switch, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Surgery)
I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve done an update! A friend from far away asked if everything is going ok, they thought maybe something is wrong since I haven’t blogged in so long. But no, it’s just because things are awesome and I’ve been super busy. I’m now 4 months out from surgery. I’ve lost 68 lbs since the date of surgery and a little over 80 lbs since I started my pre-op diet. I’ve lost over 50% of my excess weight since surgery and almost 55% since pre-op diet. That is just craziness! I’m feeling awesome. I have no problem taking my vitamins and no problems with food. I can eat a lot more than I expected to be able to at this stage. I eat slowly and often. I often say that I eat like a Hobbit; breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. There are definitely worse things in the world.
Some have asked how much I lose each month. Since I’m keeping ridiculously close track of my weight daily, I can tell you exactly!
| Month 1: | 32.1 lbs |
| Month 2: | 14.2 lbs |
| Month 3: | 10.8 lbs |
| Month 4: | 11 lbs |
In October, I went to NYC for my first post DS surgery vacation. I was a little nervous about it, would I be able to get the right foods when I needed them etc. It was a great trip! I’ll tell ya, the subway stairs and epic walking that I did were a LOT easier this year after losing 50+ lbs than they were last summer. No knee pain or foot pain, it was awesome.
Some people have asked about singing. Have I noticed a difference in my voice? Is it harder or easier? I’d say no real change in my voice, I’m FINALLY feeling 100% after my vocal problem earlier this year and I’d say singing (like everything) is easier. I find that my breath support is easier to maintain without the excess weight pushing on my belly all the time.
I had 3 month labs drawn to check and make sure everything is on track with my nutrients. Everything looks fine and the best news is that my increased risk for type 2 diabetes is already gone. Woot!
The delightful and talented Eldeen Pickett (www.lilacphotography.com www.photocardchef.com) took my 4 month post-op pictures today so enjoy the progress collage below. Thank you to all of my super supportive friends and family!
The Questions at 2 Months:
September 8, 2011 at 4:06 pm (Bariatric Sugery, Duodenal Switch, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Surgery)
Every time I talk to someone these days, the questions they ask are very predictable. I figured I’d use these common questions in the blog to give everyone my 2 month post-op update.
1.) How are you feeling??
I feel pretty great! I’m doing well with hydration (although I can always do better). Vitamins have been no problem (see question 5). Eating has been no problem either. I find if I overdo it with activities, I’m pretty tired the next day, but nothing major. I was able to do a little hiking over the holiday weekend and get some of my yard work done. Definitely upped my vitamin D with some sunshine!
2.) How much have you lost?
I’m knocking on the door of 45 lbs lost in 8 weeks. That doesn’t suck.
3.) Do you feel different?
I’m definitely starting to see the difference in my body and certain things are changing. For example, I can cross my legs again! Woot! However, I have to take the bad with the good…my friends who have had this surgery said to expect my tailbone to hurt. It’s happening. Especially if I’m sitting on a hard chair or bench. I expect this to continue as things continue to shift around and hopefully will get better over the long term. Thank goodness I have an excellent chiropractor!
4.) What can you EAT??
Honestly, I’ve had it really easy with food. Many people who have weight loss surgery have lots of food difficulties especially early out. I really haven’t had any problems. Basically, I eat protein first and then whatever else if I have room. I’ve been pleased that I’ve been able to enjoy some of the vegetables from my garden. I have actually been surprised at how much I can eat sometimes. Granted, it takes a long time, but I can get quite a bit into my tiny tummy! As an example of some of the yumminess I get to have, I’ve included a picture of today’s breakfast. A breakfast BLT of sorts: bacon, home grown tomato, avocado, egg and mayo on light wheat bread. How awesome is that??
5.) What’s the deal with the vitamins?
Because of the malabsorption component of my surgery, I will have to take supplements for the rest of my life, especially fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E & K most notably). I take vitamins 3 times a day including 2 multi-vitamins, A, D, E, K, a probiotic, LOTS of calcium and B12. I had anxiety about the vitamins making me pukey but I haven’t had that problem. I’ve missed one dose in 7 weeks and it was simply because I forgot.
Next Tuesday, I’ll be in Utah to have a follow up visit with my surgeon. I expect everything to go just fine. Thank you to everyone for your kind words and concern and for your support through this major life change! Also, if you have a question that I didn’t cover here, ask me!
