The Date is Set

Time to add a blog update.  It's been on my mind lately but the past two weeks have been nuts at work.   I've had extra meetings, a wrap-up for student teacher placements, and midterm grades were due this week.  I procrastinated a bit with some classes but got the grading taken care of so I could send out the handful of midterms.   I've been sleeping a lot better this semester so it did feel draining to stay up later the last couple nights.   I had to take a nap today which is something I really haven't been doing much lately.

The big news is that my surgery is officially scheduled for November 22nd.   I do not know the time until the day before but I'm supposedly the first on the list.  I have to go to an appointment on November 10 to get a scope of my esophagus and stomach to make sure there aren't anomalies with my anatomy.   On November 8 I have a pre-op meeting/class that reinforces what I have to do the weeks before the surgery.   I start a liquid based diet on that day too and can only eat certain foods prior to the surgery.   My usual protein shakes are on the list, soups, yogurt, etc.   Thankfully oatmeal and hot cereals are on the list.   It basically clears out my system and should make me lose more weight prior to the surgery.   They want a person's liver to shrink too so the stomach can easily be reached.   So I guess this is my way of saying that I am going through with surgery and taking that route.    I also need to schedule an appointment with my usual physician for approval to be under anesthesia.

On a related note, I'm sticking to my 1000-1400 calorie a day fairly well.   I've been surprised by how dedicated I've been to it.   I have a meeting with a dietician on October 19 and I really wanted to prove that I could stick to her recommendations since the previous visit was disappointing.   I am currently the lightest I've been since 2012 if not earlier.   I do have some days where it is super tempting to grab food from past places like Culver's or Taco John's.   I stop and think about how one meal at those places could be all my calories for one day if not more.    I will admit there has been some self-talk in regards to my current success with weight loss.   I do ask myself "why not just keep doing what I'm doing with activity and calorie intake and lose weight this way?"   I then come back to reality and remember that most of my attempts do start this way with mondo success but then something in life kicks in again whether it's my stress level, complacency, laziness, or cravings just overtaking my willpower.  I need to do something that helps my changes become permanent so I do the best I can with health in the remaining years of my 30s.  

The name for my new vehicle is Elvira.  I was motivated by the black color of the SUV.    It's been a nice change with the new vehicle.   No scary loud noises being emitted from under the hood.   No leaking oil.   Temperature controls that work well.  The gas mileage aspects are different which is a slight bummer.   It can actually take E-15 gas so that's supposed to help with efficiency.    Today was the first time I put that kind of gas into it because it's not the easiest to find but Kum & Go does have it.   It cannot take E-85 since it's a newer FlexFuel SUV.    They really promoted the fact that I get a free trial of Sirius Radio.   At first I wasn't super impressed but there is a Pearl Jam station that absolutely rocks.   If I'm not happy with my FM stations, I'm usually moving to that station.   I significantly doubt I'll keep the subscription when the free trial is over but for now it's a nice treat.

Last but not least...I'm super proud of my latest Halloween/fall decoration.  I'm a sucker for fall decorations.

In a Sunday Funk

Greetings on this October Day:

I am actually pretty happy it's October.   I recently put out my Halloween decorations.   The leaves ar changing.   And the temperatures have been fantastic lately.   It was great to shut off my AC and start sleeping with my patio door cracked open at night.

I've had a lot of solo time in the past days.   Gavin traveled with the football team to Council Bluffs on Friday for a football game.    I did not feel like traveling to Council Bluffs to watch it so I came home from work, took a little nap, and went to a movie.   I saw "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children".   I loved the book.   I need to read the other two books in the series.   It won't happen any time soon.    The movie was well made and had some scary parts.   They changed some parts of the story though, including the ending so that rubbed me the wrong way.

Gavin worked a lot yesterday and most of today.   I stayed home in the morning and did some work and cleaning.  I also made a huge grocery trip to stock up on the essentials.   We have a lot of protein in this apartment now.   I went over the Newton yesterday and played tennis with Dan.    We didn't play for as long as I wanted but at least we played.   We are up to playing about 1-2 times week now. I want to make good use of the time before the snow is flying.    I left Newton this morning in a pissy mood.   It relates to Dan's motivation plus a tinge of my PMS.   I am feeling like a broken record lately.   I always seem to be the motivator whether it be with him, at work, etc.   I wish it was more reciprocal in nature and God knows I'll need support and motivation in the future if I have the gastric sleeve surgery.   I'm also feeling like a nag and I don't like that role either.   I'm back in Ankeny now and did some prep work for DMACC.   I need to do some grading for ISU but am taking a break from work.    Figured I'd blog for a bit and go for a walk by the DMACC pond.   Sit in the sun.   Get some Vitamin D.   Hopefully fix my mood.

I did watch a movie while I was working on DMACC stuff.   It was called "Black or White".  It features Kevin Costner and is a somewhat true story about a grandfather fighting for custody of his granddaughter after a death in the family.   Racial aspects are brought up.   It's actually pretty good.

I finally saw the new "Mad Max" movie last week.    The DVD sat around for awhile so I figured I better get it watched.   I should have seen it in the theater but it was pretty decent for being a big car chase for most of the movie.    Charlize Theron was very good as a key actress.

I have a busy week coming up due to extra meetings.    I'm on a policy board for Story County (Monday) and on an appeal committee for ISU (Thursday).    I need to visit a student teacher on Tuesday morning and another on Wednesday morning too.    Sigh.   I guess I can't complain about having too much idle time.

The change with diet is going pretty well.   I even ate at Olive Garden and did OK with my calories (ate one too many breadsticks).    I'm usually at 1100-1400 by the end of the day.    Dan and I met with the surgeon last week and the appointment was more pleasant than I expected.   He was very blunt.   The first thing he said to me was "Say good-bye to the foods you love.    You cannot have them anymore."    I got a kick out of the list of food he provided because 95% of the things he listed, I don't like anyway.   But it was another wake-up call for portion-control.   I've done a good job of thinking and reflecting before I eat so I'm sure I'm physically hungry and not bored hungry, emotional hungry,  etc.   I've had a few moments of being upset or stressed and I've wanted pretty unhealthy foods.   If it's after work, I just keep driving home because I know I have better choices to cook.    Most mornings I'm making a toaster waffle and eating that (plain) as I get dressed and ready for work.   I do a protein shake in the morning too.   Lunch has been salad or a sandwich, usually with another protein shake.   Supper has been a variety of things.   Gavin and I have some fish to eat this week and I have frozen chicken breasts to work with too.

Ok, that's enough of an update.