Lap Band Surgery

On Wednesday my darling husband is going into the hospital for a life changing event called Lap Band Surgery.


The very capable doctor will slice into my poor husband with a laser and slip this simple looking tube around his stomach and create an access port on his side.
They will then inflate the tube with with saline and tighten or loosen the band as needed. He will have to have it adjusted a few times a year. Apparently this adjustment is something that is done int he doctors office. They insert a needle into the port and either remove or add saline as needed.

It is his goal to lose 150 pounds in one years time.

He is currently 6'3" and weighs 350 pounds. I have all the faith in the world that this surgery will be successful and will help him finally win the battle he's fought his whole life.

I'm excited and can't WAIT to see the weight loss and to track it in photos and blogs.
He has no idea I'm going to be doing this but I AM. He told me last night he doesn't want to blog about it or share it with anyone but I know that in a year from now he's going to wish he had. So I'll do it for him.

But back to the surgery...he goes in on Wednesday and then he will be home, home as in off of work, as in sitting next to me on the couch in our very teeny tiny apartment where there is no room to escape from each other unless you count the bathroom for four to six weeks.

Let me type that out again. I'm going to have a man, a large cranky, frustrated, angry, HUNGRY man home with me for 4 to 6 weeks.

Did I tell you his diet goes from shoving over 2,000 calories a day into his mouth down to about 700 a day? Did I mention that his first day home the menu he gave me shows for breakfast he can have a tablespoon. ONE TABLESPOON of cream of wheat?

My fridge and my cabinets are stocked to the brim with sugar free jello and pudding. My freezer overflowith with sugar free ice pops.

I have to wonder how this is all going to affect the kids and I. We won't be eating family dinners together again till August and even then PT can't ever eat a full meal again. Half a hard boiled egg will leave him feeling like he ate a 7 course meal.

I'm not a massive food person to start with but I DO have to eat. To eat in front of him seems mean and like a school yard taunt.

What I think I will be doing is making my lunch my dinner or having a very early dinner with the kids before he gets home from work. That way he doesn't have to see us eating things he can't.

Since he was the one that did all the cooking for us, that's going to have to change and quick. I'm going to have to learn some basic meals to keep us fed.

I'm stuck though on this 4 to 6 weeks of him being home. I know I'm just going to have to roll on and do my own thing like he's not here but I LOVE my alone time. I love the peace and quiet of being here by myself while the kids are in school. I love being able to crank up the music and I love being able to take naps if I want to.

Thank God it's getting warmer outside. This week is supposed to be in the 40's. I'll get my bike and be able to go for longer rides and HE can scoot over and pick up the kids from school!

I'll keep you updated as we go on but starting tomorrow he goes on a liquid diet.

Random Disney World Videos

Small World is Lion's favorite ride. We go on a minimum of 10 times each trip. PJ and PT are game for maybe two after that it's all me and the Lion. This is my favorite scene in the ride. LOVE the hippo. I think she's either drunk or stoned...


God help me I love this song and this parade. The first time we saw it the song was stuck in my head all day long. I loved it! Bubblegum pop all the way. Imagine my absolute horror and dismay when I discovered that the song is a reworded Hanna Montana song. Oh the shame! Damn it all though when we go to the parks I still make the fam stand and watch the parade and it's at the point now where I can do the cast member dance...



I LOVE LOVE LOVE Spectromagic. Everyone else in my family hates it. I never get to see it. The only reason I got to see this much is because our train pulled into Main Street Station at just the right time


This is our home resort. Patrick can recite this spiel by heart..



Mommy HATES the arcade...everyone else loves it


This speaks for itself


This is called "Pin Trading" you buy a lanyard and then you buy pins for it. Cast members have lanyards of their own with pins of their own. If you see one you like, you ask them to trade with you. They must trade and cannot refuse. PJ is all into it.


This guy HATES his life and hates his job. We eat here all the time because it's one of the least busy places and it has characters. This guy is literally singing to us and one other family...


This is at the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Play Area. You come up on it at the top of a set of stairs and if you don't know what it is, it can be quite disturbing.

Horsey Days

I miss the horse and I miss the hair...


This was a horse show that wound up being a total disaster for me. My trainer had me in all the wrong classes and my horse knew better. He couldn't take big fences because the bones in his hock were fusing and he wasn't going to injure himself for me or anyone else. As a result he kept refusing and refusing the fences. I just wanted one clean round and so I moved him up as fast as we could go.
The whole point of this video is at the 1:27 mark.
It's just a tiny blip in time, less than 30 seconds but she's there, alive and happy...

Another Heavy Sigh

Issued by The National Weather Service
New York City, NY
4:52 pm EST, Thu., Feb. 25, 2010

... WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST SATURDAY...

THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST SATURDAY.

SNOW WILL CONTINUE... HEAVY AT TIMES... INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THE SNOW WILL THEN GRADUALLY BECOME LESS STEADY AND LIGHTER INTO FRIDAY NIGHT... BEFORE TAPERING OFF TO LIGHT SNOW OR SNOW SHOWERS ON SATURDAY.

FOR NOW EXPECT ACCUMULATIONS TO RANGE FROM 15 TO 20 INCHES... WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE... ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF ORANGE... PASSAIC... AND BERGEN COUNTIES THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.

THE HEAVY WET SNOW WILL LIKELY BE SUFFICIENT TO BRING DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW... SLEET... AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

Tri-State Area Gets Another Pow from Mother Nature


TRENTON, N.J. (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- Intensifying snow is making for difficult travel conditions in the Tri-State area late Thursday night, with more roads becoming snow covered and slippery.

The snowfall from this sloppy storm is expected to become steadier and heavier overnight before eventually tapering
to snow showers later Friday.

Police confirm what is thought to be this storm's first weather related death.


Central Park tree branch that struck and killed man.
(Photo:Carol D'Auria)
A 56-year-old man died when he was struck by a falling tree
branch as he was walking in Central Park at E. 67th Street and
Fifth Ave before 3:30 p.m. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The New York City Parks Dept. is advising people to avoid public parks this evening and use caution near street trees.

The region's airports are currently experiencing major delays, so customers are being advised to call their carrier for
specific flight information.

The MTA says all subways, buses, railroads and bridges & tunnels will be operating normally throughout the evening. A near-normal morning rush hour is anticipated for Friday, according to the MTA.

Metro-North says Thursday's evening commute went smoothly because many customers left work early. However, with the snow continuing overnight, Metro-North expects fewer customers Friday and will reduce trains by about two dozen. Riders should anticipate delays up to 15 minutes for Friday morning's commute.

Many locations in the Tri-State will endure gusts topping 50 mph at some point Thursday to Friday.


Wet snow weighing down trees would make it more likely for strong winds to knock them down. And power will probably be hardest to restore in areas where heavy snow keeps repair crews at bay.

New Jersey is battling outages as nearly 4,500 utility customers are without electric power. That number is expected to rise during the overnight hours as the storm intensifies.

A number of outages have been reported by Con Edison in the five boroughs, with over 400 customers being affected in Brooklyn. Over 11,000 customers are without power in Westchester, according to Con Edison.

A winter storm warning is in effect until 6 p.m. Friday.

AccuWeather says as much as a foot or two of snow may be possible, especially north and west of New York City.

Total snow accumulations for New York City are expected to be in the range of 6-12 inches. One to two feet will fall north and west of 287. Some areas, including Eastern Long Island, could see less accumulation, according to AccuWeather.


New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says officials expect the snowfall will be manageable enough to keep public schools open Friday.

The mayor said if conditions are worse than predicted and schools must be closed, parents will be notified as soon as the decision is made.

Despite the blizzards that pounded the eastern seaboard earlier this year, this storm may be the worst one to take aim at the region this winter, according to AccuWeather.

High winds, heavy snow and torrential rains may lead to extensive damage and impact on travel.

New Jersey's Transportation Department spokesman Joe Dee says about 550 plows and spreaders have been deployed and will be monitoring road conditions. Well over 1,000 are in reserve.

Snow

Heavy Sigh

Winter Storm Warning for Hudson, NJ

from 6 am EST, Thu., Feb. 25, 2010 until 6 pm EST, Fri., Feb. 26, 2010

Issued by The National Weather Service
New York City, NY
3:08 pm EST, Wed., Feb. 24, 2010

... WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM THURSDAY TO 6 PM EST FRIDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SNOW... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM THURSDAY TO 6 PM EST FRIDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AROUND THE START OF RUSH HOUR THURSDAY MORNING THEN CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY. CURRENTLY EXPECT THE STEADIEST AND HEAVIEST SNOW TO FALL FROM MID MORNING THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. THE SNOW WILL THEN GRADUALLY BECOME LESS STEADY AND LIGHTER INTO FRIDAY... BEFORE TAPERING OFF TO LIGHT SNOW OR SNOW SHOWERS BY FRIDAY EVENING.

FOR NOW EXPECT ACCUMULATIONS TO RANGE FROM 12 TO 18 INCHES... WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE... ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF ORANGE... PASSAIC... AND BERGEN COUNTIES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW... SLEET... AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.
More Information

... A MAJOR STORM TO IMPACT THE NORTHEAST THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...

.A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TO PORTIONS OF THE TRI STATE AREA FROM THE RUSH HOUR THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY. THIS STORM WILL INTENSIFY AS IT TRACKS NORTHEAST FROM NEAR CAPE HATTERAS THURSDAY MORNING TO SOUTH OF CAPE COD BY THURSDAY EVENING. THE STORM WILL THEN PERFORM A LOOP OVER THE TRI- STATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY... ENDING UP SOUTH OF CAPE COD AGAIN BY SATURDAY MORNING.

I need to get a hobby

Tomorrow is the big fundraising bake sale that I'm once again in charge of.
Because I have no life outside of my home and I'm an antisocial hermit baking is my thing. It's what I love to do and I think I do a rather kick ass job at it...

Having said that I always feel the need to shoulder the bulk of the items for the sales. It's a point of personal pride that we make this sale a success and that means we need a table full of nummy goodies.

I woke up not feeling quite right today after not sleeping much last night.
At boot camp I got lightheaded and a little dizzy but pushed through it. After class I walked to the post office and felt like a lead balloon. It took me forever to get there and back.

I shrugged it off and came home and baked. Three different kinds of mini cupcakes, pancake batter cupcakes, Lemon Squares, I dipped Twinkies in chocolate, I dunked Oreos in chocolate and sprinkles, I made S'Mores on sticks, I made mini apple pies and Easter Peeps went for a swim in melted milk chocolate and through it all I've had a massive raging headache.

I can't get rid of it. I've tried Motrin, Asprin, Caffeine, cold packs, a nap, dinner, and I can't shake it.

I'm going to bed now and will set my alarm early to get up and frost all the cupcakes. Hopefully without a headache...