sunflowery's Diaryland Diary

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I'm Back

Hey All!

Just wanted to let you know that I am home from the hospital. I had my bariatric/gastric bypass surgery at 7:30am Monday morning. It went a little bit longer than first thought as there were tiny complications. My surgeon could not see far enough into my abdomen as I was supposed to lose 15 pounds and had only lost 10. So my liver wasn't as small as it should have been. So he had to make a larger incision and open me up a lot wider than usual.

I felt so crappy on Monday, my first thought was "What have I done????" But things are much better now.

Monday was a wash for me. I don't remember much. I slept most of the day and night. Tuesday was better, but still sore. They took me to radiology so I could drink some vial liquids and they could watch my insides on an X-ray to see if the liquids were draining and if there were leaks.

The liquids were not draining very well as there was a lot of swelling...but there was NO draining. They took me back there 2 more times just to see the progress. I also got to take a shower and that felt really good.

They made sure I walked at least 8 times a day. Since the bariatric floor was undergoing remodeling, they had us on the newborns unit. It was motivating to me to walk past the nursery and see the lovely little new-borns. It was hard though, as I so wanted one of those tiny little babies to belong to me and Bob. But they sure were fun to see on my walks.

Wednesday was my best day. I should have been discharged, but due to the swelling and problems the previous 2 days, they thought they would keep me one or 2 days extra.

Yesterday was a good day. I felt good and only took my pain meds at night at bedtime.

Bedtime was the worst as the bed was uncomfortable and lumpy. Also, there was some remodleling going on and at 6:30 bright and early this morning, I was awakened by the lovely sounds of pounding and sawing. Yay.

Anyway, my surgeon came to see me this morning and saw how quickly I've been healing and how well I've been doing, so he discharged me. My parents were there to see me home safely and soundly and after we said goodbye, I promptly went to sleep.

I have plenty of books to read and a couple of DVDs to watch and cable TV! Woo! Now I just have to work on healing and getting better day by day. My next day back at work is June 21st, so I have some time to get well.

Thanks to everyone for your support and love and the cards and flowers. It is so much appreciated. It feels good to feel loved when not much else feels good. Hee.

Much love to all! Keep in touch!

*************************************** A Year Ago Today and Tomorrow: May 27, Memorial Weekend Run Down and Back to Reality

I'm back! Had a fabulous weekend in Madison, though I still didn't get everything done that I had planned on doing. I think It's due to the saga of the grill.

I loaded up Sweet Baboo's truck Friday morning and getting our gril into it was quite the task. But I did it!

Once at work, I realized it was a slow, slow day. My bosses came in for a while and told me I could take off at 2:30. Whoopee! So, I packed everything up and headed out.

I was all prepared to take a detour around Portage, but the traffic was so light, I just plowed through and found that even though the lanes were diverted, they still had 4 full lanes!

Got to my folk's house around 7pm and called SB right away to let him know I had arrived.

Friday night was just a relaxing time with the 'rents. We talked and watched TV and just caught up. I was sooo tired though and ended up going to bed kind of early.

Saturday morning, I got up early because my newphews had flag football and wanted me to come see their game. I am so glad I did because I got to see Pete catch a long pass and run it for the only touchdown for his team! He was as surprised as anyone that he caught the ball. It was great. They ended up being tied, but it was a good game for K-3rd graders. My nephew Repeat punted and did a great job getting it to the other team.

After the game, Dad and I went back to their house. We unloaded the grill and the lift from the truck. Dad hooked up a tank to the grill and lit it and it worked! So we agreed all it needed was a new grate, some lava rocks and some cleaning. Yippee! A $150.00 grill for free, less the cost of replacement parts.

As we were looking it over, the phone rang and it was my friend J calling to see if I was free for lunch. As it happend I was, so we agreed to meet up. We had a great time. It was good to catch up with her. She was on her way to her folk's house in Milwaukee and had her cat with her. Her cat resembles mine...It's uncanny! I miss her so much.

After lunch I went and got my hair cut. I got it layered with long bangs. It's really cute. The stylist made it soooo curly and of course I haven't been able to duplicate it at all. But I think It's cute and a great style for summer.

After the haircut, I took off for Farm & Fleet. I got a grill grate, a lighter, some "lake" shoes, a float for the lake and some degreaser for the grill. They were out of lava rocks so I headed over to Home Depot where I not only found the rocks, I found the exact grill grate for my grill...for 3 dollars cheaper! Still, I thought the one I bought will probably fit.

I got everything back to my parents and my nephews were there! They played outside while I cleaned the grill. The grill grate I bought was too big. Figures. But I did manage to get the grill all cleaned off with some help from Dad, a scraper, and a wire brush. It looks great! Dad gave us a tank, so we got by for the cost of the cleaner, grate, and rocks. Not bad.

After the grill was clean, it was time for dinner. My brother Huff and his boys stayed and we had a nice time. After dinner we all went outside and sat in the sunshine. It was such a beautiful day. The boys enjoyed playing outside and I sure enjoyed spending time with them. Repeat can ride his bike on 2 wheels and just zips down the sidewalk. Peat is getting really good with his football skills and both boys skateboard really well.

Sunday was church. It was a really nice service. The message was part 6 of a study on Finding Your Purpose. During the message, I kept hearing the phrase "mother of nations" in my head. I wondered what it meant. Then the pastor quote a verse that talked about feeding the hungry, quenching the thirst of the thirsty, clothing the naked, etc and how when you do that, you are blessing Christ. It was then that the surity of our adopting came to me. I know that we are to adopt. I don't know when, who or where...but I know for sure that we will. And we may adopt many different nationality of kids which leads to the mother of nations thing. Nothing is impossible for Him.

After church I headed over to my brother and his wife's house. It was nice to talk to Belle for a bit. I gave her her birthday card and sat in the sun with her and the boys.

Then we all went to Culvers to meet Huff and my mom and dad for lunch. My nephews sat next to me and both leaned on me throughout the meal. They are so loving and sweet sometimes, it just melts my heart.

I drove my nephew Peat back to his house and he said, "Tell me again why you can't move here?" I just explained that It's not that we can't, but that we have jobs and a church home and obligations in MN right now but that if he prayed, maybe he could ask God to move us to WI. He thought that was OK. I dropped him off and went to pick up Mom so we could exchange the grill grate.

We went to Farm and Fleet and got my money back for the wrong grate and then went to Home Depot and got the right grate. Then back home for a nap. Afterwards I went to my friend J's house in Cambridge. I haven't seen her for a while...maybe as long as a year? Is that right? Doesn't seem like it should be, but I can't remember for sure. Her house is so cute! She has a very green thumb and has landscaped her yard and gardens beautifully. I envy her a little bit. Her house is so her...cozy and friendly with ecclectic bits and peices here and there. I love her jadeware and art pottery collections.

Anyway, we had a nice visit. It was good catching up with her. I miss her too. I need to get better about writing and keeping in touch.

I didn't leave there until almost 11 or after. Got home and went to bed.

Monday brought more sun. I woke up, packed up and headed out. I was on the road by 10:30. I had to stop twice for potty breaks. On one of my breaks I found a gift shop that featured wine from the Wollershiem (sp) winery. J had told me about the wine she got there and I was excited to see 2 of the brands there she had talked about. I only got one though. I thought it would be nice to have for our vacation. I could imagine myself sitting on the deck of the cabin, overlooking the lake and sipping a nice glass of local wine. Mmmmmmm. Thanks for the tip J! I want to go back and get the other brand too!

I got home around 3 and stopped at Byerly's for some food to cook on the grill. I got some prime rib steak, corn on the cob, mushrooms, scewers, red bell pepper, and marinade. Then it was home to my honey.

I unpacked, marinaded the meat, as well as some chicken we had on hand, and heated up our new (to us) grill. The food was soooo yummy!

SB and I had a great time catching up. I had been concerned about how much TV we had been watching and how it was taking a lot of valuable time from us. I did not bring it up to SB because whenever I had in the past, he would get kind of defensive. Instead, I had been praying about it. Last night, he brought his own concerns up to me and we decided to turn off our TV and cancel our cable. We are turning off the TV until July 5th for sure and after that will reevaluate. Sounds good to me. This way we can spend more time together reading, playing games, talking, walking, praying, whatever. Should be a good move.

So, It's good to be back. But mostly I am just excited for our vacation. We leave Sunday and I am hoping we have the same beautiful weather we've been having. I can't wait! A whole week at a cabin on a lake with a pontoon at our disposal and nature all around. Yay!

Today is work as usual. Tomorrow, more of the same. Thursday and Friday are temp training days. Short week and then vacation. Don't know what the heck we will do after that. We've been looking forward to this for so long...hopefully it won't be a let down. We are both bringing a journal and a Bible and hope to get some more direction during our personal devotional time. Should be interesting to see where it leads.

This morning was classic CM & SM. A gentleman called to say he was meeting with them at 10 and wanted to verify the directions to our place. As it was close to 9:30 and I hadn't seen hide nor hair of CM and SM, I decided to call them on their cell phones. I got a hold of CM on his and mentioned the phone call. He said they were supposed to meet this gentleman at his house. I told him I think the gentleman is confused because he's on his way in here. It didn't sound like CM was in his car, so I knew they hadn't left home yet. Sure enough, the gentleman gets in our office around 10:10 and CM and SM don't show until 10:35. Classic. I explained to the man what happened and he waited very patiently. But hello! Not a great way to run business.

Well, It's back to the grind. Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend.

Thanks for reading!

A Year Ago Yesterday: May 28, 2003; It's a Beautiful Day and Vacation Countdown

Mmmmmm. What a beautiful day it is today! It's be kind of day that is warm, sunny, breezy. It's a top down on your convertible kind of day. It's a roll all your windows down kind of day. It's a sunglasses and SPF chapstick kind of day. There is fragrance on the breeze and warmth in the air, and It's sooooo nice! The clouds are cumulous cotton poofs, high in the sky.

It's just as nice as it was yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. We are hoping that we get just as nice of weather when we go on vacation this weekend. Mmmmm.

Today, MN's new conceal and carry gun law goes into effect. A state of rude people may just get ruder and back it up with firepower, or maybe it will turn our attitudes inside out and make us behave a little kinder towards our fellow Minnesotian.

Last night Sweet Baboo and I went to the store to get our vacation food. Yippee! We got lots of bottled water, cheese and crackers, raw veggies, fruit, and of course, the makings for S'mores. We got other stuff, but that's the gist of it. We are hoping to get to Kmart to get some simple stuff for our trip...a large plastic bin, a floatie for SB, a portable radio (because we don't have one for some reaon) and of course, our fishing licenses.

We also have stuff to do before we go. SB has to visit his physician tomorrow, we have to take Maisey in for her 2 year check-up, I have to clean and pick up our apartment because friends are coming in to watch Maisey and I hate coming home to a messy place, and we have to do laundry. It's a lot of work getting ready for vacation. I know it will be a pain unpacking too, but I can put that off until the ride home. We are breaking my vacation rule. I always like to come home on Saturday so we can use Sunday to clean up, pick up, do laundry and put stuff away and relax before work on Monday. By coming home on Sunday, I may end up starting my work week on a down note, but too bad. I am going on vacation!

Oh! My mom loaned me a great book that is answering some of the questions I've been struggling with about my weight. It's called "The Amazing Connection Between Food and Love" by Dr. Gary Smalley. He is writing about a lot of things I have suspected but couldn't prove and gives tips on how to live, love and eat better. Check it out!

SB went to a place called Courage Center today and came home pretty hopefull. They went through his range of motions and his muscles to see what he can't do. They were surprised at his actual physical strength and are going to work with him to show him how to do things he is no longer physically able to do with the muscles he is missing. So, That's good.

On his way back from there, he stopped by an industrial park and got some free wood for our trip. There's a place that dumps all its scraps and offers it to the public for free. SB said he got a lot and is excited about what he got. So, That's good. We are all about the bargains.

Tonight It's brats on the grill for dinner! Mmmmmmm...brats!

Thanks for reading.

8:17 p.m. - Thursday, May. 27, 2004
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