New Tattoo! Oh yeah

Well we did it! We got our tattoo I was talking about on Friday and I even threw in a little twist and told Mary we should not only get the latin phrase but our zodiac signs to go with it! Have a look see below:

This is me wencing in pain...

Still shrieking in pain....

And finally the product. Gemini sign and the saying

alter ipse amicus-a friend is another self.

And my weight loss trek is on the low....as usual! I guess I am doomed to stay in the 180's for the rest of my freakin life!!!! All thanks to my non-existent mental capacative ability to stop stuffing my face. (not sure if capacatative is even a word but oh well, A for effort right?) I ate like crap all weekend. Mexican food here, chips and dip there, and all kinds of devil food! I only have myself to blame. Oh balls!

BYOC...holla! hehe

Well hopefully today is better than yesterday, that's all I gotta say...oh and this too:

1.This comes from my post yesterday about me bragging that I can still wear the same earrings I wore in high school….got me to wondering…how many piercings do you have? (the ones you can tell us about anyway – *wink wink)

I have a total of 10. I have 3 holes in each ear lobe, 1 cartilage on my left ear, 1 tragus on my right ear, my tongue and my belly button. And I used to have my nose pierced but I got bored with it and trying to cover it at work so I let it close up. Fun while it lasted though.

 

2. I’m asking this one because I’m getting another tattoo soon…and even have plans to get one of a lizard – my little Draz – because this blog and you all have become a major part of my life. Anywhoozle – how many tattoos do you have? If you have none and wanted to get one – what would it be?

I have a total of 6. See below for pics and meanings of each:
 

This is my "tramp stamp" on my lower back. It's a rose and tribal. This was my very first tattoo and I was 18 years old. I have a love for roses and butterflies. My Nanny and my Granny did as well and that was always something that connected us.

This was my second tattoo, a friendship tattoo that Mary and I got together. Mine's on the top of my left foot and hers is a butterfly on her right foot because I am left handed and she is right-handed so we got them on our strong sides. I chose to make the flower blue because...well I love blue. So you will see that trend from here on out! hehe

Tat#3: Butterfly on my lower left stomach. This one is probably one of my favs. Like I said I love butterflies and there's the blue again!

Please ignore my hairy legs and the huge pores! This is my fourth and it symbolizes the term "Every rose has its thorn." Which is what the black swoopy thing is...a thorn. I love the song by Poison AND it applies to my life in many ways with my husband who I have been through ups and downs with. Bittersweet for pain lies in all beauty.

Number #5: My eyeliner is tattooed on both top and bottom lash lines on my eyes.

My 6th but not my last: Clovers on my right foot and I got it for my Irish pride. Yes, I am part Irish and my Mom wanted me to get a tattoo with her...AGAIN so she offered to pay and I chose this. I am proud of this one too.

My next tattoo is coming up as well and it's an addition to my friendship tattoo that Mary and I got on our feet. We are going to add the Latin phrase "Alter ipse amicus" in cursive circling the tat. It means "A friend is another self."

3. If you’ve ever suffered from a weight-loss plateau, what’s your best advice to get past it?

Well I am in one now. I guess the obvious answer would be to either cut a few more calories or up the exercise. Sometimes that is difficult but that's usually the answer. Unfortunately I am too damn stubborn for that, although I completely intend on kicking my own ass into gear on this. I gotta do it!

4. This is a repeat. I liked last week’s challenge for BYOC and I saw a lot of people this week follow through on the promise they made last week. You pick one thing for just one day next week that you want to do….and mentally doing it for the one day can totally jump start more successes. And I feel like I can do anything for just one day.

I am going to challenge myself to get into the 170's by next Friday and I have already started drinking 100oz of water a day the last 3 days and I want to continue that! I am soooo ready!

5. Repeat *make someone a Superstar* question – what's your favorite blog or comment of the week?


I am going to say Amy W. for her VLOG on how she's been. I am glad that she specified her reasons for her choice to take a break and be single for a while. It was an eye-opener in a way. I am glad she explained that.

Well that's all for now, folks! Hope your weekends bring you lots of joy and excitement. Mine probably won't but hey I guess I will just have to live vicariously through you!

Quit Monkey'n Around!

Happy New Week people! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, beautiful daaaaay!!!! Why am I so chipper you say? Well, I'm not! I just thought I would try to sound chipper and obviously it's like poison rolling off my lips. I know I know, I am so "glass half empty" right now! I hate being so damn cantankerous all the time but crapola! What can I say??? That's me! Grrr...

So I am debating on whether or not to get another fill. I have been having the whole stuck pain after the first few bites of every meal and this morning I even had it when I drank my hot tea (highly unusual) and the weather is clear today so it's not the barometric pressure. But unfortunately this is not preventing me from eating anything and once the initial pain goes away I can eat, eat, eat, which is where the fill would come in because I know I shouldn't be able to do this but I am afraid of another fill for 2 reasons:
#1: I am already at 7.5cc's in a 10cc band and I feel like I am so close to 10 what if I get another fill and it doesn't work???? I am so afraid I will be topped off at 10 and still eating like this. Then what? I will have had this surgery for nothing and have inevitably been one of the poor souls who worked their way around the band and failed it!!!!!

#2: I fear even the slightest fill will be too much and I will be miserable and unable to eat anything and have to get an unfill eventually. I DO NOT want an unfill! I know it's common and happens all the time but I don't want to do it! But my biggest worry is the not being able to eat part. Because I already get soooo frustrated when I am soooo hungry and it hurts to eat. I could just cry sometimes.

So of course, my depression kicked in......and I was bad...AGAIN! Taco Bell bad! When ya'll have been stuck in the in-between like I am did you get a fill or ride it out????

I have got to do right. If I don't get to the 170's and I mean soon, I am going to lose it, as in, my mind!

BYOC....finally :)

A one, a two, a one, two, three!

1. If your heart had a singing voice, whose would it be?


Gosh that's a tough one just because I love to sing and I have lots of favorites. I guess it would be Reba. I love her music and her old stuff still gets me.
 
2. What is your most disgusting habit?


Don't barf....but I have huge tonsils with all kinds of nooks and crannys in them and sometimes food gets stuck in said nooks and crannys and basically turns into these little white balls of shit-smelling gunk! Well I can always feel it when they are there and I will use my index finger and push on my tonsils to get them to squeeze out and then spit them out. It is gross for sure but it has to be done otherwise infection could set in. It's kind of like squeezing a blackhead. Yup! 
Are you barfing yet???? hahaha
 
3. Carmen and I were talking about Chicago and our fears...for those of you going (and those of you not you can answer as if you were going)...what is your biggest fear?


Well, unfortunately, I can't go but if I were my fear would be not meeting everyone's expectations of what they think I am like, not being able to look people in the eye for more than 3.2 seconds without feeling awkwardness and self-conciousness. Weird huh?
 
4. This isn't so much a question but a challenge. Name one thing you will do for just one day next week in the name of health and commit to it on your blog and to us.


I will say Monday....I will limit my carbs to almost nothing and have a protein and veggie at each meal instead. (Gosh that's hard for me....no seriously!)
 
5. Whose blog or comment stuck with you the most this week?


Well I have been trying to catch up on my blogs this week so I will say EVERYONE is a fav. this time. :)
 
Well that's it for now, have a super duper weekend! Sunscreen people!

Where did BYOC go????

Ok. Maybe I am posting a lil early today but damnit, where is BYOC???? Draz is slacking? I don't believe it for a minute! So I am considering this an "in-between" post. A short response to yesterday's comments and then I will wait for BYOC to arise!

So to answer some of your theories about my fatigue issues.

#1: NOPE, not pregnant! For one, I have PCOS and fertility issues. For two, I have been on birth control pills for like 7 years and unless they all of a sudden stopped working, then this theory is out!

#2: Anemia, well ya know I was told a few years ago by a doctor whom I was seeing for a weight loss program (go figure!) that my iron count was a tad on the low side but not enough to be anemic. He did prescribe me some iron pills to try but I never took any of them because I was worried about iron overdose. I guess anemia is a solid possibility especially now since I am eating less than usual. But it's just funny to me how it has "all of a sudden" become a problem. Like why now??? ya know?

#3: Vitamin Deficiency: This is also a possibility. @Sandy Lee, yes I take my vitamins every single day. I NEVER miss. I am used to this routine thanks to taking my BC for so many years. I take a chewable multivitamin, B12 sublingual liquid, and calcium chews on a daily basis. And I am actually going to buy some flaxseed oil today to start taking daily.

Could it be that I may not be eating enough protein? I mean I eat more meat now than I ever have but it's not very much. I have said it in a previous post that I was vegetarian for over a year a few years ago and I have never been a big "carnivore" hehe. But you would think if I could go over a year with no meat and my main protein source was beans and legumes that it wouldn't be a problem now that I am eating meat. Heck who knows. Last night was better. I stayed up the whole time (no nap time) and I felt fine.

I forgot to mention that my husband is working nights this month so by the time I get off of work and get home he is already gone and the only time we see each other is when he gets home in the morning but I am still sleeping. So by the time I wake up he is already asleep. It absolutely sucks!!! So it could also emotional fatigue because I am very lonely when he works nights. Although this fatigue doesn't seem emotional.
Your guesses are as good as mine, though. If it doesn't improve I will go get some blood work done!

Bang, bang, bangs!!!

Well I finally made the leap and.......got bangs!!!

I haven't had bangs in years upon years and I wanted to do something different with my hair to compliment 25lbs lost! :) I always thought bangs weren't for chubby faces but I kinda like it! Whatdya think? Be brutally honest, I can take it. I promise I won't break down in sobs if you tell me my face looks like a can of cinnamon rolls that exploded! No really, I won't! In case you haven't figured it out, I am slightly on the fence about said bangs and I go back and forth on whether I like them or not. Appreciate your opinions, as always!

Another thing, I have been a naughty little biah, eating whatever Satan throws at me like....Taco bell, giant stuffed baked potatos, macaroni, chips, basically all food of the devil! I figure foods that make us fat must be from hell, don't you agree? That's why they are so tempting! Yeah, I am trying to decide if I want to get another fill soon or if I wanna wait it out. I have stuck pain daily, even when I am eating good and I PB'ed for the first time the other day. So I am not sure. It's like half the time I need a fill and the other half I don't. What to do...?

Also, I wanted to touch base and see if anyone else has experienced the following since being banded:

*Extreme fatigue upon waking in the morning

*Fatigue throughout the day

*Fatigue after eating meals

*Inability to stay awake at work

*Cat nap has become a dinosaur nap (3 hours or more)

Why do I ask? Well because I am experiencing all of the above and it is freaking me the hell out. I feel that something is just "off". The last couple of weeks I have been extremely tired. Tired all of the time. When I wake up in the morning I feel like I've been hit by a truck. It takes a good 30 minutes to feel "awake". Also after lunch, I feel fatigue hit me like lightning and there has been a couple instances that I fell asleep at my desk for a millisecond (this is unusual). Then whether it's a workout day or not I will eat dinner and flop down on the couch to watch my shows and within 30 minutes I feel exhausted!!! I can't keep my eyes open and I pass out and don't wake up for hours. Then I wake up just long enough to take a shower, feed my pets, and I am back to bed for the rest of the night. It's like I am sleeping the majority of the night away. Usually I have plenty of energy at home and I will do chores, watch tv until about 11pm sometimes midnight and then head to bed and now I can't get through one movie/episode of anything before I pass out!

Anyone else dealt with this? I don't wanna go to the doctor for this. The last time I had fatigue issues a few years ago the doctor did a blood panel and everything was fine and he suggested that I diet and exercise!!!! Got that covered now so what's the problem?

My Bday, Bikini photos, and very FIRST PB!!!!

What a weekend! So I have much to tell, hopefully the shorter version for your sake! hehe Ok so Sunday was my 24th birthday (yuk) I hate aging. Anyhoo I had a great birthday weekend for the most part. Friday night I hung out with a bunch of friends at Mary's brother's house. We drank some and I had my fair share of Crown Royal, yup bad idea! haha I was sick as a dog that night and the next day! So we woke up on Saturday and went and had lunch at Cracker Barrel (I love it there). I had the meatloaf with mac and cheese, green beans, and fried apples! No I couldn't eat it all but I wanted to! :) Then we left there and went out on Mary's brother's pontoon boat. We swam for hours and finally left there and went back to her brother's house again to hang out and have some drinks (again!). I didn't drink much though just a little moscato. Then Sunday Mary and I met my Mom and stepdad and some of my sisters at a seafood restaurant in town.

I got lots of nice presents from them and from Mary. Some friends from work pitched in and got me a $90 gift card to Ross. I am going to save that until I lose some more weight though. The hubby bought me a wii and I bought The Biggest Loser game and Super Mario Bros. yesterday for it! Lots of fun! And let me tell you, that wii kicked my ass on Saturday. It came with wii Sports and wii Resort Sports and I played one round of each game and oh my gosh! am I so sore all over. Great workout and sooo much fun!

Next on the agenda...I bet ya'll are chomping at the bits to see my so-called bikini pics that I mentioned in the title. Well I bought a bikini on Friday night to possibly wear to go swimming on Saturday. And then Mary bought me a bikini for my bday. So I am taking a deep breath....here we go:

This is the one I bought on Friday. It's lime green and brown.

This is the green bikini Mary bought me. It's really pretty material

And here's a funny, it's the green version of Drazil's hot pink bikini!

Now for the hardest part....the butt!!!

I zoomed in as much as possible...ugh I was really worried about

how my ass looked in this thing.

Now....for my first PBstory! It happened today! Yesterday when I ate lunch I had a chicken salad sandwich and it was the worst stuck pain ever!!! I thought I might get sick so I rushed to the bathroom and the pain went away. I guess moving around dislodged it. But then today at lunch I had about 3 bites of my food and I felt that damn pain again and I sat around for like 5 minutes turning and beating my chest and back and stretching hoping it would stop. It was the worst so far. And I decided to walk to the bathroom again like I did yesterday in hopes that it would fix it and I was halfway to the bathroom and my mouth started watering like crazy and I knew I was gonna be sick. I barely got the bathroom door shut and turned around over the potty and bam! I opened my mouth and up it came! (TMI?) I was relieved that Mary was right about it not being like normally throwing up or vomiting. There was instant relief and I felt just fine. I ate most of the rest of my food with no problem! CRAZY! I dreaded this and it wasn't too bad. It's the stuck pain that sucks soooo very badly.

Anyhoo...well that's it for today. Amazingly I didn't gain a bunch of weight over the weekend, I actually lost 2lbs. Woo hoo! I just wish I would get to the 170's already!