It's Almost Christmas

I love that Christmas is almost here. You can feel the excitement and anticipation in the air everywhere you go. I love the extra time off work. I love the extra time I get to spend with my family & friends playing games & relaxing. I love watching other people take time out of their day to do something for someone who has fallen on hard times. I love reminiscing about the memories of Christmas past.

I love when I go to decorate my Christmas tree that almost every ornanment has a special meaning behind it to me or my family. A lot of the ornaments I have were handed down to me after my mother passed away and my father remarried. Some of my ornaments remind me of our family vacations to Bar Harbor Maine, Biltmore Estates in North Carolina and childhood memories of time spent with my family. Everytime I look at my Christmas tree I enjoy going down memory lane and reliving those memories.

I remember when I was little my moms family would have traditions that we would do every Christmas. On Christmas Eve night we would drive into downtown Salt Lake to have Christmas dinner at Grandma & Grandpa Wilder's house with all of our Aunts, Uncles & Cousins. Grandma would make her homemade rolls that were so delicious. We always found a way to fit 25-30 people around a few tables to eat Christmas Dinner. After dinner we would gather around the piano to sing Christmas carols and read the Christmas story. Aunt Jean would read the story of Twas the Night Before Christmas. My mom's family draws names for swapping presents. We would make sure presents were passed out and then all hop into our cars to go looking at the beautiful Christmas lights around town. I remember Jason and I would look out the car window up to the sky in hopes that we would see Santa and his 8 tiny reindeer.

I love the memories that come to me this time of year. I love reliving all of the pleasant memories of the past. I look forward to making many more new memories. I hope to just take time to enjoy the simple things that Christmas has to offer to me, my family and everyone.

Exactly today marks 5 months to the date since I had weight loss surgery. I haven't weighed myself over the last 2 weeks but the last amount I was at was 110 pounds. I am excited to get on the scale tomorrow to see how much more I have lost. I am so glad I decided to have the surgery done. I can't wait to see what my future holds for me in 2010.

YAHOO! I REACHED MY GOAL!

The first goal I set after having my weight loss surgery was to loose 100pounds. Guess what? I have lost 108 pounds. I lost this weight in 4 months and 15 days which seems crazy. I am not sure what my next goal will be but I will figure it out soon. As long as I keep loosing the weight that is what is really important to me. I love seeing all of the changes that occur within myself. I am enjoying the ride.

My house is all decked out for the holidays. It took me forever to finish my tree this year because I am such a perfectionist when it comes to decorating. Maybe one day I will learn to not be such a perfectionist. I got to enjoy my tree with all of its beautiful lights for 3 days, on the 4th day I had them on I left the room for a minute came back and none of them are working. I'm not sure what's wrong but I miss not having my lights on. I don't want to take the tree apart to fix it either because the tree is so beautiful. Oh well, I guess I enjoy the tree without lights this year.

Wonderful Thanksgiving & Down 96 Pounds

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday yesterday with my family & close friends. I made the mistake last year telling my step mom that I wanted to cook my first Thanksgiving dinner last year and now I have been nominated to host Thanksgiving every year. So this year I hosted my 2nd annual Thanksgiving. I love hosting, I just wish I didn't get stressed out with all that needs to be done. My turkey turned out golden brown and was delicious. I wish I had taken a picture of it. I made a lovely Roasted Vegetable Medley which had (butter nut squash, zuccini, sweet red pepper, red onion & sweet potatoe coated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary and thyme. You roast it in the oven for 30 minutes. It is so yummy!

I was so exhausted after everyone left last night. It was nice to sit and relax for the rest of the evening. I was so exhausted I fell asleep on the couch watching TV and didn't wake up until 1am in the morning.

Today I went to see the New Moon movie with a close friend. The movie was great. It moved faster than the first one and I liked it much better than the first. Seeing the movie makes me want to go home and read the books all over again.

Tomorrow I will be decorating my house for Christmas. Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the spirit of love, peace & joy it brings every year. I love decorating! I just wish I was so picky about things then it wouldn't take me so long to decorate.

So as of November 20th I am four months out from my surgery date and I have lost a total of 96 pounds. I am very close to my 100 pound goal mark. I am so excited. I feel terrific and love all of the new clothes options that I have to choose from. I love the extra energy that I have. I am excited to see where I am in 1 year.

Here is a recent picture of me:

What Happened to Thanksgiving?

What has happened to Thanksgiving? I thought it was the next holiday after Halloween. According to the department & grocery stores that I have visited lately, it looks like it is officially Christmas time. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas it is my favorite holiday to celebrate. The thing that drives me crazy is how commercial Christmas has become and the fact that we start seeing Christmas items before Halloween has even approached us.

It drives me crazy that Thanksgiving is overlooked until the day off when we all sit down to eat. It would be nice if we could start a movement where we all write a letter of thanks or gratitude to someone in our lives. We could all write one letter a day starting 12 days before Thanksgiving. The only requirement is that you have to write to a different person each day. I think I might start this as a tradition in my own family. I will let you know how it goes.

Does anyone ever feel like there is so much stress & pressure we are under when it comes to preparing for Christmas? What happened to the days when it was nice just to spend time with family & friends. It is my goal this year to simplify my Christmas Season and truly feel the true meaning of why we celebrate in the first place.

I would love to hear what my readers think. Do you feel the same way I do? What are your thoughts? Please share!

Weight Loss Update:
As of last Monday November 2nd I have lost 88 pounds. I will weigh myself again tomorrow. I am almost 4 months out from my surgery. I feel fantastic! I can't wait until I reach my goal of 100 pounds lost. One thing that scares me the most is how easy it is for my mind to justify why it would be okay to go back to my old ways. I haven't gone back to my old ways but the temptation to eat a cookie or candy or anything that isn't good is still very much alive. I guess I will never get rid of the temptation just find a way to work through the temptation.

First Snow Fall

I'm not ready for winter!!!! I don't like the cold! I don't mind driving in the snow, its the other drivers that I worry about. I can't believe we had our first snow fall in the Salt Lake Valley. I am excited for our 60 degree weather next week. It shouldn't surprise me that it's snowing as Utah is known for having the craziest weather around.

If only I could find a way to stay warm & figure out a way to walk on ice without falling down. I have a fear of walking on ice. I look like a little old granny when I hit a ice patch walking into work, I will walk very slowly and hold my arms out for balance. I'm sure it's a pretty sight to see.

Fall is Here!

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love all of the beautiful leaves with their many splendid colors. I love that we can pull out our sweaters. I love being able to decorate for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

When my grandparents lived on 9th east, I loved to go visit them when all the leaves started falling because you could walk up and down the sidewalks and they would be covered with leaves at least 3 inches thick. I loved the crunchy, swooshing noise the leaves would make as I walked on them.

I'm sure all of us at one point in time we all had the opportunity to rake up a huge pile of leaves so that we could run, jump and play in the pile for a very long time.

Last Saturday my family took a car ride up through Heber, UT & down through Provo Canyon to look at all the pretty leaves. Saturday night my friend Deedre' called me & suggested that we and one other friend take a drive up American Fork Canyon's Alpine Loop to look at the fall leaves and go for a hike around Crystal Lake. So Sunday afternoon after going to church we packed up the car and headed for the canyon. It was breathtaking! The weather was wonderful, you didn't even need a jacket to wear. We came out of American Fork Canyon into Provo Canyon and stopped at a park where we could build a fire and roast hot dogs. It was so nice to get out of the house, spend time with friends & enjoy the scenery nature has to offer.

Here are some pictures from both Saturday & Sunday car adventures to the canyons:

On Mon. Oct 20th was my 3 month mark from when I had gastric bypass surgery. I have lost a total of 81 pounds. I am only 19 pounds away from loosing 100 pounds. I feel terrific and have been truly blessed to have no complications after the surgery. When I do loose my 100 pounds I will be celelbrating in a big way. I am up for any ideas from anyone on how I should celebrate this big monumental occasion. I thought about purchasing a ring, bracelet or necklace to commemorate my achievement.

Down 62 Pounds

I am 2 months and 7 days out from when I had my gastric bypass surgery. I have lost a total of 62 pounds. Words cannot describe how fabulous I feel. I wish I would have done this surgery a long time ago, but I truly believe that things happen at the right time and for the right reasons. I used to hate walking past mirrors and seeing the person I let myself become, but now I love the reflection I see.

A lot of people think that doing gastric bypass surgery is an easy route. There is nothing easy about weight loss surgery. Its a tool to help you be successfull, but you still have to monitor what you eat, drink plenty of water and exercise 30 minutes everyday. Its not a miracle cure. It requires a lot of hard work, which I am willing to do. I look at it as a fresh start, one that I want to take full advantage of. I am working right now on increasing my exercise from 3 days a week to 5 days a week for 30 minutes. Working out is easier for me now that I have gotten rid of 62 pounds. Before the surgery, I would go workout but every part of my body would hurt. My knees, back & legs would ache. I love not feeling that way anymore. I love the extra energy that I have. I can't wait to see where I am at in 1 year.

I decided with the holidays coming up that I wasn't going to bake like I normally do. I don't trust myself being around cookie dough. I figure why tempted myself. I find that a lot of my family, neighbors & friends provide enough baked goodies during the holidays that I don't need to bake. It used to be tradition that my mom and I would bake every year. I figure its time to start new traditions.

I thought it would be fun to show the timeline of pictures that I have from where I am at today to where I started.

2 MONTH Picture (Current picture):

1 MONTH Picture:

2 WEEKS Picture:

3 Days Before Surgery