Back in 2008, I made a vow to lose weight.  I wanted to do several things: Get to a weight that starts with a "1", give up Diet Coke, and a few others.  WELL...it's now February, 2013.  I'm still not at a weight that starts wth a "1" and I did give up Diet Coke - for a while.  I allow myself a Diet Coke once a week if we go to a restaurant that serves Coke products.  I haven't drank a Diet Coke at home or work for at least a year. 

On the diet side...back in 2011 I had knee surgeries on both knees to scope them out.  That surgeon loved cortezone and it was his solution for everything.  I was "too young" for a replacement, according to him.  No matter that every step just killed me.  The scopes seemed to help some but about a month after, my ankles continued to swell horribly and there was a lot of leg pain. 

In Auguest, 2011, I had a pulmenary embolism - blood clots made their way to my lungs and almost killed me.  Apparently, I was VERY lucky as it does kill most people.  As a result, I spent a week in intensive care at a wonderful hospital - Bethesda North.  I had the pleasure of having a filter inserted in my lungs that ran from my groin to my heart, to trap any stray clots.  And I had the thrill of taking coumiden for 6 months.  A lovely drug that caused my hair to thin considerably and caused twice weekly blood tests.  However, I AM alive so it was worth it.

Jump to April, 2012 and a new surgeon.  He did tests and found that my right knee was by far the worst - in fact, it was considered end-of-life and a replacement was needed.  But at my weight, he wouldn't touch it.  He gave me a mission to get to 280.  I did a decent job of losing all by 5 lbs and the rest just wouldn't come off by myself.  My chiropractor suggested a place in Vandalia - Medi Weight Loss Center.  I gave it a shot and have had great success.  When I started with them, I was 285. Now, on February 10, 2013, I am down to 229.  Still fat but not quite as fat.  So with that weight, you'd think I had my knee replacement, right?

WRONG!  He referred me to the surgeon that did his replacement because of my insurance and when I visited him in December, he said I had to get to 225.  Geez!  Very frustrating after thinking 280 was the number.  But, after almost 19 weeks of dieting, I'm 4 lbs away from his goal - and 7 more weeks to get there. I've decided to keep going after the surgery to get to a healthy weight - and after the success I've had, I can't wait.  In the 19 weeks that I've been doing this, I've only had 1 week where I gained - and it was only 0.02 lbs - not even 1/2 lb. 

I decided to put on the same clothes that I had on before and had my wonderful hubby take a picture to see how much I've changed in the 82 lbs that have disappeared.  Like I said earlier - still a LONG way to go but MUCH better.  Only took me 5 years. Better late than never! 

Something New

Weight loss is not easy - but I have to admit, I really haven't ever given it my all.  Maybe once back in 2002 but not since.  But being uncomfortable all the time is pushing me to try again but more seriously.

I went to a seminar on the various weight loss surgeries available Monday night.  I had really decided that the LapBand was the way to go for me.  I know a friend that has had great success with that method.  But after the seminar, I had decided that I need to really try - without the aid of surgery.  It is just too drastic and although the results could be great, it is not a guarantee.  With LapBand, you still have to change your lifestyle eating habits and exercise, so I might as well do that without surgery.

So I ordered NutriSystems food plan and I will try that.  I just got an email saying that my order has shipped.  I'm excited.  I've written down my goals in a book but will put them here too...

1. Get to a weight that starts with a "1".

2. Exercise a minimum of 2 - 3 times a week.

3. Stop drinking soda

I'm excited - so hopefully, with some hard work and determination, I can meet those goals.

Saying Good-bye Is Hard

Yesterday (March 31) I had to say good-bye to my dog - a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback. She came into our lives about 12 years ago and quickly made her way into our hearts. She was truly part of the family.

We had talked about getting a dog for awhile but had delayed because the boy was afraid of animals - not just a little nervous - but deathly afraid. The fear ruled his life - he wouldn't go for walks around the block because "there might be a dog or a cat". He would only go trick-or-treating to houses that he knew didn't have pets (which made for a very sparse Halloween haul). This was hard for me because I had always grown up around dogs and loved them and Dear Husband grew up around all sorts of animals - everything imaginable (except chickens).

So we figured that getting a puppy - a nice, small puppy - may be the way to get the boy over his irrational fear. I had grown up with a Ridgeback (not a full-blooded one, but mostly Ridgeback) and loved their personality. VacationGirl thought that it would be a perfect fit for a scared little boy.

I found a breeder - amazingly enough - about 5 minutes away. She was an eccentric little lady with an even more eccentric husband. They had at least 5 - 6 huge ridgebacks of their own - cages overruled their house. And where there wasn't a cage with a beautiful ridgeback in it, there were clocks - hundreds and hundreds of clocks.

It just so happened that she had a litter - one didn't have a ridge - the breed trademark. That didn't matter to us but it does to most breeders. If the pups are born ridgeless, most breeders will put them down. But this breeder sold her to us very cheaply - on the condition that we had her spayed so that the trait wouldn't be passed on.

We took Bubba to her house to see the pups - they were too small to come home yet - but he saw them and agreed that they were small enough that he would like her. (Of course, he stayed in her chair the whole time we were there and wouldn't get on the floor to play with her).

So a few weeks later, we went to pick her up - at 12 weeks old. She had grown quite a bit from the previous visit and all the boy could say was "Mom, she got big." He wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. I held her in the car on the way home and she was so scared - she just trembled.

We got her home and confined her to the family room where I spend most of my time. Unfortunately, the boy wouldn't come in the same room with her - he was too afraid. No matter what, he wouldn't come near her - he didn't like those little razor-sharp teeth. Well, this went on for almost 3 months. I thought for sure we would have to get rid of the pup. Then one day, magically, everything changed. One day, the almost 21-year old (he was only about 7 at the time) said "Mom, I'm going out back to play with Sha-Sha".

Well knock me over!

From that moment on, they became good friends and that friendship continued to grow and grow. Sha-Sha would barrel down the stairs when she heard the school bus each afternoon to greet him. When she heard the garage door open, as he got older and was driving, she came to the door to meet him. He grew to love her more than ever expected - and she helped him get over his fear of animals. She was a huge part of our family - and loved by us all. I believe she knew how much she was loved too.

But today, we had to make the tough decision to say good-bye. My girl was in obvious pain with every step she took. There is a huge part of me that now regrets the decision - I want her here with me tonight and I miss her horribly already - but in my heart, I know it was the best decision for her.

So Sha-Sha, please rest in peace and know that you will always live in our hearts. I will never forget you and the unconditional love that you gave to our family!

Scanning Is Not My Thing!

I borrowed a friend's negative scanner about 2 months ago and have been scanning negatives since then.  Every night, every weekend, as I'm sitting and watching TV and working on the laptop, I scan.  I scan, I scan, I scan, and then I scan some more.  It is a long, boring, tedius task.

The scanner has an autoload feature where you can preview all four frames on the negative.  That takes about 30 seconds.  Then I scan the first frame and it does another preview/scan and takes about 2 minutes.  I repeat that for each of the frames.  Boring, boring, boring and time-consuming.   

Then today ~ after 2 months of this ~ I find that I can batch scan each strip.  DUH!  DUH!  DUH!

When I batch scan, I preview and make sure all the frames are good and then select them and scan.  It makes my intervention significantly less so I can actually get things done while I'm scanning. And, it seems as though it takes a little less time.  I cannot believe that I just figured it out.  But, I guess better late than never.  I only have about 100-120 more rolls to scan so any time-savings I can find is wonderful.

I think once I get these done, I'm going to scan all the old pictures that I have that don't have negatives so I have a backup of them in case they fade.  I'm finding that a few of my negatives have begun to fade so I'm glad I'm scanning them now.  I just wish I had found batch-scanning a little sooner.

It's fun to 'see' the old pictures come to life again as I scan them in.  Can't wait till I'm done so I can start playing with photoshop on them!

Back to scanning!  Maybe when I'm all done, scanning won't have gotten the better of me!

About Me - Q&A

I saw this on Anji Patchwork's blog http://anjipatchwork.blogspot.com/ and decided to steal shamelessly. 

1 What time did you get up this morning?  7:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls
3. Last movie you saw in the theater?  I Am Legend (Will Smith movie)
4. What is/are your favorite TV shows?  Eli Stone, American Idol, Two & A Half Men, Greys Anatomy
5. What do you usually have for breakfast?  English Muffin with strawberry preserves, milk, vitamins
6. What is your middle name?  Lynne
7. What food do you dislike?  Beans
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?  Don't listen to CD but favorite I-tune song is I'm Not Going to Write You a Love Song
9. What kind of car do you drive?  Chevy Tahoe
10. Favorite sandwich?  Ham or turkey on wheat bread with a little mayo
11. What characteristics do you despise? dishonesty
12. Favorite item of clothing?  No real favorite clothes right now - too fat to like anything.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go?  Alaska
14. What color is your bathroom? white with lighthouse decor
15. Favorite brand of clothing?  No preference
16. Where would you want to retire?  Oregon
17. Most memorable birthday?  17th - my friends threw me a surprise party.
18. Favorite sport to watch?  Basketball (NBA)
19. Furthest place you are sending this to? My blog
20. Who do you expect to respond?  No one since I don't have a lot of readers.

21. Person you expect to respond first?  Don't expect responses
22. Favorite saying?  "It is what it is"
23. When is your birthday?   November 27
24. Are you a morning person or a night person?  Morning!
25. What is your shoe size?  Size 9
26. Pets?  1 dog - Sha-sha - Rhodesian Ridgeback
27. What did you want to be when you were little?   I wanted to be an executive secretary
28. What are you today?  Software tester
29. What is your favorite candy?   Not really a candy eater but I guess White Chocolate Resee Cups
30. Your favorite flower?  Anyhing purple
31. What is a day on the calendar you are really looking forward to?   My son's graduation in June.
32. What are you listening to right now?  Watching TV right now - Myth Busters.
33. What was the last thing you ate?  Pizza for dinner
34. Do you wish on stars?   Oh yes
35. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?  Purple or Red
36. What is your pet peeve?  Leaving milk in the bottom of glasses.
37. Last person you spoke to on the phone?   My mother
38. Do you like the person/people you are sending this onto?  I like anyone who might actually read my blog
39. Favorite soft drink?  Diet Coke.  I don't drink but if I did, Strawberry Daquari
40. Favorite restaurant?  Bonefish Grill
41. Hair Color?  Brownish Red
42. Favorite day of the year?   Christmas Day
43. What was your favorite toy as a child?  My Betsy McCall doll.
44. Summer or winter?   Fall, really but between the choices, summer.
45. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
46. Chocolate or vanilla? vanilla
47. Do you want your blog friends to carry this on?   I would love to have others post theirs.
48. When was the last time you cried?  Last night watching Eli Stone (the show moves me)
49. What is under your bed?   Just carpet - it's actually clean!
50. Who is the friend you've had the longest?  Sheli Dryfuse - 17 years
51. What did you do last night?  Had dinner with son & husband then watched tv and read blogs
53. What are you afraid of?  Having cancer again somewhere in my body
54. How many keys on your key ring?  1 - my car
55. How many years at your current job?  7 weeks but before that 35 years.
56. Favorite day of the week?  Most definitely Friday
57. How many states have you lived in?  2 - Illinois & Ohio
58. Do you make friends easily?   Not really.
59. How many folks will you send this to?   In all honesty - maybe 1 or 2 but I can hope for more!