to dream the KIMpossible dream

RECOVERY!!

2013-09-26T12:35:00.000-05:00

I was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday (9/17) evening and sent home with four prescriptions: hydrocodone/tylenol liquid for pain; cafarte to help heal my stomach; pill to reduce acid reflux; shots to help with blood clotting. Yeah...I so did not know I was going to be expected to give myself injections. =/

So, my mom and I dropped off the scripts to the pharmacy and then headed home for....dinner.

I did tons of research prior to being sleeved. I became a very active member of a forum, specifically gastricsleeve.com. This is where I discovered pretty much all the possible scenarios I faced with regard to pain, "eating", energy, etc.

Meals for the first 3 days post-op consisted of sugar free popsicles and chicken broth. Very exciting, eh?! I found myself not hungry, yet craving things like cream of wheat, cottage cheese, tomato soup - all things I can have in due time. I knew that my job for these 3 days was just to focus on getting in a minimum of 64 oz in whatever sugar free, low to no calorie, caffeine free method I saw fit. I know for a fact I fell short all 3 days, but I also know I did my best. My mom made me some homemade chicken broth that she cooked up with carrots, celery, onion, seasonings, and chicken. It was the best chicken broth EVER and it went down so very nicely. Actually, I found myself enjoying my mom's chicken broth and those sugar free popsicles most as they were the only things that were easy to consume.

Sleep was a weird thing. To be fair, sleep is always kind of a weird thing for me, but this was different. I would take one hour cat naps here and there and then find myself unable to sleep through the night....like at all...as in I didn't sleep from the hours of 11pm to 6am. Weird.

Oh, I did receive some flowers from some extremely thoughtful people! Thank you so much to : Auntie, Uncle David, Nicole, and Danielle; Linda, Craig, Ethan, and Coco; Kim and Robert! =)

On Friday, I sent an email to my nutritionist to clarify what I would be allowed to start "eating" on Saturday which would be my 5th day post-op. All the documents I received contradicted one another - from my NUT, from the bariatric coordinator, from the hospital's dietitian. Oy! She actually called me in response and asked a few questions and then told me I could actually add in protein shakes and soups starting immediately. It probably sounds ridiculous, but I totally could have jumped for joy.

I went to get out an EAS Carb AdvantEDGE ready to drink chocolate shake from the fridge. I drank less than half of it and put the rest back in the fridge. It really didn't sit that well with me. For dinner, my mom made me some Campbell's tomato soup. This was lovely. This was perfect. I would have sworn it was the best meal EVER, lol (you know...just after my mom's chicken broth).

On Saturday I changed it up to make my own protein shakes using 1% lactose free milk and whatever sample packet of protein powder that suited my fancy. This kind of protein shake went down much better, so I decided to put a hold on the ready to drink ones.

By Sunday I had started somewhat of a routine...breakfast was half of my protein shake (4 oz) and then about 3-4 hours later I would drink the second half. Lunch would be 3-4 hours after that and typically consisted of half a cup of soup (tomato...mmmmm...yummy) and then dinner would another half a cup of soup or broth. Basically I was consuming under 400 calories. Shocking how much energy you can have with so little food.

I went back to work on Monday and actually felt pretty great. I purchased this really cool inflatable chair thingy that converts into a twin bed from amazon so I can take a nap during my lunch break. It has come in handy because Tuesday I had NO energy at all.

Chair

Bed

On Wed (9/25), I went to my first post-op doctor's appointment. I discovered that I had lost a total of 20 lbs from my pre-op appointment on 9/4 to 9/25. Nine of that came off post-op. Needless to say, I am a happy girl. No "buyer's remorse" here with my sleeve! I also learned I could advance my foods to the next stage which is "Soft Food". This means I can eat cottage cheese, yogurt, sugar free pudding, mashed potatoes, softly scrambled eggs, cream of wheat, etc. This also made me happy! In anticipation that's what I would be released to, I had a pack of grits in my purse for lunch.

So...yeah....grits may not have been the best thing to start with because they did not go down very well, in fact, they got clumped up and clogged up in my stomach and it took a good two hours for them to mosey their way down. It didn't hurt, but it was extremely uncomfortable. Oh...and all this was from 3 small spoonfuls of WATERY grits.

For dinner, I came up with my best idea/recipe yet. I made a ricotta bake. I took 1 cup of ricotta cheese and mixed it with 1 large egg, 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, two scoops of unflavored protein powder, and all kinds of seasoning. I baked it in a ramekin for 30 minutes on 350 degrees and it came out all bubbly and smelling delicious. I then heated up 1/4 cup of pizza sauce in a small bowl and scooped out 1/4 of the ricotta bake to put on top of it. It tasted like I was eating stuffed shells minus the shell. It was heavenly PLUS I calculated it to be 20 grams of protein per serving (I'm supposed to get 60-80 grams of protein per day). This was all fine and dandy, but I only managed to get in 5 baby spoonfuls and then I was stuffed. So....um...maybe 4 grams of protein if I'm lucky.

So, for the next month I will be experimenting with all kinds of cool recipes I create under the label of "soft foods" and I will share them on my blog! =)

SURGERY!!

2013-09-23T13:46:00.001-05:00

I come to you today, a sleeved woman! No, no sillies...I did not get all tatted up. I had my vertical sleeve gastrectomy surgery one week ago today, Monday 9/16.

I was supposed to be at the hospital at 6:00am, but my mother insisted that was ridiculous for my 9:00am surgery, so she told me we would "aim" for 6:30, lol. Who am I to fight with my driver?!

We arrived around 6:40ish as we had to take my official BEFORE pics before we left, of course! I will, by the way, update pics every month.

I had to register which meant I had to pay. I refused to pay at my pre-op because they had the wrong dollar amount saying I owed about $950 more than I did. After I paid, I had to go to ambulatory care to provide a urine sample so I could prove I wasn't preggers. I was actually sent home with a kit to bring the sample with me, but wouldn't you know I left the pee in my fridge. Ooops. After that, I was whisked away pretty quickly into the prep area where I had to change into my gown, my party hat, and they hooked me up to the I.V. Several different doctors and nurses came by...they had to verify I knew who I was and what procedure I was getting several hundred times and they needed to look down my throat to see if my airway was clear and all that jazz. My doctor came by, the bariatric coordinator came by, and then a little while later I was given happiness in my I.V. and I don't remember anything after them wheeling me down into the surgical room.

When I came to, I remember feeling pain. They drugged me up. I spent way more time in recovery than my mom thought because they don't let you out until you are awake and whenever I would wake up, I was in pain, so the pain meds would knock me out again. Finally I was awake enough for them to take me to my room, where my mom was waiting. My friend LaShaune's mom works at the same hospital I was at, so she actually showed my mom to my room.

I remember sweating profusely...a cold sweat. It was gross. Once settled, I was told that my blood pressue went sky high in surgery and they had to give me meds for that. Also, my doctor did go ahead and repair my medium sized hiatal hernia. I was given a pain pump with morphine and for the first several hours, I blew that thing up. I looked back at the text messages I sent last Monday and everything was bragging about how awesome morphine is.

As soon as I was able, I began walking laps around my floor. I started off with one lap, returned to my room and used the bathroom and then brushed my teeth. A while later I did two laps, returned to my room, used the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. Still later yet, I did three laps, returned to my room, used the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. You are probably wondering why I brushed my teeth so freaking much. It was the only relief I could get for my awful cotton mouth as I was not allowed to drink anything until my leak test which was to be around 9am on Tuesday.

My mom stayed with me until around 5pm. Pretty sure I bored her to death cuz I kept going in and out of unconsciousness courtesy of morphine. LaShaune's mom came to visit me later in the evening which was very sweet. So basically, I answered texts when I felt up to it, posted on FB that I survived, and walked the halls all while getting my blood pressure and temperature checked every 4 hours, getting breathing treatments every 4 hours, having countless meds added to my I.V., and having my legs gently massaged by these sock like things to help prevent blood clots.

On Tuesday morning, they came to get me for the leak test. I had to drink a sugary clear substance first...this was a "safe" liquid so that if I did have a leak, I would not be harmed by this being released into my abdominal cavity. The second drink they gave me was barium which was basically like a chalky pepto bismol tasting liquid. They told me I passed and I was taken back up to my room. Silly me thought they would bring me the one ounce beverage of my choice following that, but NOOOOO. They needed to wait to hear the "official" results of the test which took 2+ hours. LaShaune's mom came by for another visit - such a sweet lady! =)

Once they got the official results, I was brought a tray with chicken broth, jello, and a water bottle with one ounce medicine cups. I was told to sip, sip, sip. I headed straight for the broth and it was soooo good. It felt a little tight in my chest. After I felt like I conquered that, I went onto the jello. I didn't really care for it as it did not go down as nice as the broth, so I switched back to the broth.

A few seconds later, I found myself heading straight for the bathroom to throw up. I felt extremely nauseous. Wouldn't you know that at that exact same moment my doctor and the bariatric coordinator would come in. They told me I couldn't throw up...it would hurt my new stomach and they helped me breathe through the nausea until I felt better. They warned me about "eating" too fast and I went back to bed and sipped on my broth a bit more until I was ridiculously full.

I then lounged around for way too many hours while my mom and I were waiting for me to be discharged. Finally around 5:30pm, we got my instructions and my prescriptions and we were sent on our way.

Next post will detail my recovery week! =)

Pre-Op and Two Week Count Down

2013-09-03T23:42:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Labor Day, made exactly 2 weeks before surgery. I don't know how to verbalize how excited I am about this. One of my sisters tried explaining to me that I wasn't excited about the surgery itself, but rather where I expect to be weight-wise 6 months down the line. She's wrong. I am excited to physically feel the effects of having 85% of my stomach removed. I'm excited at whatever comes my way as a result of having this surgery. Will there be pain? Yes. Will there be frustration? Yes. Will it be difficult and challenging? Yes. BUT...you know what? It's painful, frustrating, and challenging to be 190 lbs overweight. The difference is that the pain, frustration, and challenge associated with having this surgery will cut down on the pain, frustration, and challenges I face as a morbidly obese woman.

I haven't been as diligent as I have wanted to be in trying to get some weight off pre-op. Part of the problem is that my surgeon only requires a 3-day diet. Since I am a good rule follower, I keep hanging onto that and I will no doubt be the best 3-day dieter he has ever seen. BUT, alas...that's not good enough. Almost everybody on the forum I've joined has at least a 2 week pre-op diet, so starting today I'm pretending my surgeon does, too. It will only benefit me in the long run. What does this mean? Well, I will be drinking a protein shake for breakfast and another one for lunch or dinner. The lunch or dinner I don't consume a shake, I will be eating soup. I will allow myself snackage, though. I can have sugar free pudding, jello, and popsicles. I'm even thinking about going cRaZy and exercising a bit up to surgery day. I will have an extra protein shake or a low fat/low sugar Greek yogurt to compensate. I'm also going to religiously track on Myfitnesspal. Oh and let's not forget about maintaining my hydration.

I had my pre-op appointment today at the hospital. It took FOREVER. Basically I had to go over all the paperwork acknowledging this, that, and the other thing. While reviewing the first document, I noted they had me down for the wrong operation. That was a little troublesome, but it got squared away before I left. I did have to have an EKG, a chest xray, blood drawn for metabolic, glucose, and iron testing, along with the usual vitals. Then I got to meet with the bariatric coordinator for the hospital. She is super awesome and I liked her right off the bat. She gave me a notebook with all the info I will need from my pre-op doctor mandated diet through my surgery and on into recovery and the various stages of eating.

The good news is that I have done so much research that I knew everything she told me with exception to some of the details relating to my hospital stay. The bad news is that I will literally not be allowed one morsel of food or one sip of water from 12 midnight before my surgery until the next morning AFTER my surgery. They will provide me with a flavored sponge to provide moisture to my dry mouth and they will allow me to gurgle and spit out water. That next morning following my surgery, my first sleeved drink will be (insert drum roll)....barium. yay. not. Yes, I shall have to do a barium swallow to show that I don't have any leaks. It is my understanding that barium is mcnasty, but eh....all part of the process. I will have to go my first walk 4 hours post op and then they will come around to take me for a walk every 1.5 to 2 hours after that for two reasons. Number one it is to avoid blood clots and secondly it is to help move the gas around and out since they fill the stomach full of gas for the procedure.

Following the pre-op at the hospital, I headed over to my surgeon's office. While waiting to speak with him for the last time pre-op, I was able to talk to three recently sleeved ladies in the waiting room. That was a pretty awesome experience! Once I was pulled into the back, the pre and post op vitamin regimen was discussed and then I was asked what additional questions I have.

I had only consumed a 110 calorie protein shake for breakfast and didn't get to leave my 1:00pm pre-op business until 5:00pm. Needless to say I WAS STARVED. I headed to Pei Wei to get hot & sour soup to go and headed home. I am slightly embarrassed to admit I did eat the 2 fortune cookies in the bag....not trying to make excuses, but I was operating off of fumes and was starting to get a pretty bad headache. I'm proud to say, however, that I did log those two cookies into my food journal. All in all, after my 2nd protein shake for the day, I only ended up 100 calories higher than what I was aiming for (1000), so I'm okay with that. Tomorrow is a new day!

Hospital, Hiatal Hernia, and Happiness

2013-08-15T13:24:00.001-05:00

I started my own self-imposed pre-op diet on Monday. This means I'm trying to eat less and incorporate a protein shake as at least one meal replacement. I'm attempting to lay low on the carbs and sugar, also.

So far so good, though I have had some rotten headaches. According to my calculations, I've lost 9 lbs since I started "caring" again and 6 of these pounds have been since my last doctor appointment 2 weeks ago.

On Tuesday, I had to have a gall bladder ultrasound in preparation for my upcoming surgery. Good news is that I did not have a gall bladder baby, Phew! lol. It was a fairly quick and totally painless procedure, but the really cool thing is that I met a woman in the waiting room (her daughter was having an ultra sound) who had the gastric bypass done 7 years ago by my surgeon and she sang his praises (and looked like she had never been overweight a day in her life). The ultra sound tech had the lap band done 3 years ago by my surgeon and also sung his praises. Even though I am quite confident in my decision to have this surgery and with the surgeon I selected, it still made me even feel better about that decision having met these two women.

Today, I had my EGD (upper GI endoscopy) which is the second procedure required pre-op. There is so much hoopla over a 10 minute procedure, sheesh!

I had to fast from 10pm last night until it was all said and done. My mom came and picked me up at 5:45 am as we had to be at the hospital by 6:15. I filled out some paperwork and then they took my mom and I back into a different waiting room. I had to pee in a cup to prove I wasn't pregnant and then they took me back.

They took my vitals and then had me change into a gown and lay down. Next came the IV and then my mom was brought back to hang out with me until I got whisked away into the operating room. I remember them helping me turn onto my side and then the next minute (it seemed) I was waking up in the recovery room. I had a pretty bad cough waking up from the anesthesia, so the nurse gave me ice chips and then raised the back of my bed and got me some water. That helped.

I had to chill out for 15 minutes or so and then they brought my mom back. The nurse gave my mom some instructions and then I found out I had a hiatal hernia. I actually suspected I did after reading so many posts on the forum I belong to. I also found out my stomach was a little inflamed, thought not sure why. The nurse explained neither one of these things would prevent me from getting my surgery and so all is well for moving forward.

I believe the hiatal hernia will be fixed during surgery as I've read that the surgeons usually do this during the VSG surgery. I will have to ask my doctor when I see him on 9/3.

I was discharged and then my mom and I went for breakfast. I am so happy my parents having finally accepted I'm doing this. It's a huge relief off my back! =)

I just woke up from a 2 1/2 hour nap a few minutes ago and I don't even feel guilty for taking the day off of work (well maybe a little bit).

Next step: Pre-op appointment at the hospital on 9/3 followed by my last appointment with my surgeon. Time is flying by and keep getting more and more excited with each passing day! =)

I'm back....

2013-08-08T22:02:00.003-05:00

Oh my, I sure have been gone a long time. Over a year, it appears, since my last post.

I've been thinking about returning to the blogging world. It's interesting, though. Last time I started blogging I was in the process of losing tons of weight and embarking upon a running adventure. This time, I shall return to blogging to hopefully capture another attempt at the same.

Let me explain.

By the end of May 2010, I had officially weighed in less than ever before as an adult....well to be fair...even as a teenager. Then I started putting it back on. At first it was just a little bit, but then it became a lot. It's easy for me to go back and see how and when and why it all happened. Hindsight is always 20/20, after all. I also have an extreme talent of self analyzing, for the record.

Injury launched my downhill spiral. For those of you who have read my blog before, you know I ended up with a pelvic stress fracture during a half marathon.

Reentering the dating world after a long, long, long hiatus continued the tumbling. Triggers, triggers everywhere I guess you could say.

Work stress became the icing on the cake. Literally, I guess. I mean what better way to solve problems than to stuff one's face with cake, right?! The sad thing is that I knew better. I know better. Why did I never have a shut-off valve?

I just let my weight become a reflection of my misery. I've let it define me.

Well...not any longer. I've decided after much thought and research to embark upon a new adventure. Some of you will cheer for me. Others will disapprove. The bottom line is that for the first time in a very long time, I've never been so sure about something in my life.

I am scheduled to have a vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) on Monday, September 19, 2013. This means that 85% of my stomach will be removed endoscopically through 5-6 incisions during an approximate one hour surgery. I will have to spend one night in the hospital and take one week off of work to recover. My new stomach will allow me to eat no more than 4 oz at a time and I will have to learn how to listen to my body to know when I am full.

I began the process of seeking out a surgeon in March. By early April, I had my first appointment. At that time I was opting for gastric bypass. I received approval from my insurance company (BCBS) in late May, but too late for me to go ahead and follow-through with the surgery until the end of the summer. Summer, as many of you know, is my busy season at work and it just wouldn't be right to remove myself from the game for a week or more essentially for elective surgery.

My parents are very leery of this whole thing. They feel surgery is too extreme a measure. I understand their thoughts. I get that I have proven I am capable of losing 100 lbs on my own. I have not been able to keep it off, however. I feel like this surgery will give me the tool to lose the weight and manage the maintenance process. If I could, I would have the surgery tomorrow.

In these next 5 weeks, I will continue my research as to the best protein shakes and vitamins for post-op, as well as seeking out helpful hints to deal with all the curve balls that may be thrown my way. I will pursue camaraderie and fellowship from the different on-line forums for my specific surgery and I will make an effort to lose as much weight as possible pre-surgery.

I shall keep you posted!!!

I'm still ticking!

2012-03-19T08:24:00.000-05:00

Apparently I've just turned into a bad blogger. I can't say for sure I will get back to my regular blogging self anytime in the next century, but what I can do is blog when it's feasible and not blog when it isn't. Sounds fair to me!

Since we last parted ways...

I've suffered the loss of a friend. My friend was Friday Night Lights. I watched all 5 seasons on Netflix and then...felt empty. For 5 seasons I lived in Dillon,TX. For 5 seasons I "cared" about football and the lives of my many "friends". For 5 seasons, I got all caught up in the drama and then....nothing. Empty. I'm trying to replace my friend, but so far nothing has hooked me yet. I will let you know if/when that changes.

Since we last parted ways...

I've traveled to Huntington Beach, CA to visit my brother and sister-in-law. I arrived on Friday, 2/3. Eddie took me to our Surf City Marathon Expo where I stocked up on all sorts of goodies. Have you ever tried the Halo brand sweat bands? OMG! I have never in my life worn a sweat band that truly did not allow sweat to drip in my eyes. Best. Sweat Band. Ever. I also purchased a visor with a built in sweat band, but I've yet to try it out. I then purchased a pair of Experia Cool Max PINK socks which are awesome! We all know how much I enjoy NUUN, so I bought a few cylinders of various flavors to tide me over. Wouldn't you know I would forget my SPIbelt? No worries...I bought a bigger one at this Expo which totally holds everything I need - including my cell phone! =) Yes, I totally dropped a small fortune, but it was well worth it!

After the Expo, we headed to Slater's 50/50 - Burgers by Design. Eddie had been telling me about this place for quite some time. He wanted us to be bold and daring and try the Peanut Butter and Jellousy. We had amazing service and we were even encouraged to each pick out a burger and then they would split both burgers for us so we could each have half of the other's burger. We decided on the PB&J burger (pb, strawberry jelly, bacon, burger on a honey wheat bun) and the special of the month, the Pizza Burger (1/2 beef 1/2 Italian sausage burger, fried cheese sticks, red pepper pizza sauce, and pepperoni on a Ciabatta roll). Though we both enjoyed the pizza burger, we agreed the PB&J burger was the MOST AMAZING BURGER EVER! I might have convinced him we needed to go again to experience it in all of it's glory once more before I left.

Saturday was more or less a chill day with plenty o' carbo-loading.

Sunday was race day. Eddie and April had never done a half before. This was my 8th. I was, of course, walking the race since I have not been running for almost a year now. I have to say that it was probably the most boring course I've ever been on. You may recall that I did the OC Half back last May and the course, though VERY hilly, was fantastic taking us along the beach, cliffside, and through some beautiful neighborhoods. The Surf Side City Half was a different ballgame all together. We started on the Pacific Coast Highway (or the PCH as the cool kids call it) and with the exception of a 2 mile detour off a side road which looped back to the highway, we remained on the PCH through the finish line. Although I did appreciate the beach scene, it wore out its welcome at the 8 mile turn around. I will say that the runners and walkers in the race were incredibly friendly and supportive. The staff members working the race were helpful and sweet dispositioned.

A few cool / mentionable moments. Around mile 3, I met an older couple. We were chatting as we walked and they told me the best experience they have ever had was walking the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer two years in a row and that they looked forward to walking it again this year. What you don't know is that I've been listening to the advertisements for the Houston Walk on 96.5 thinking that this may be something I want to participate in. More on this subject in another post, but needless to say, I took this as a sign I needed to walk the walk! Near mile 4, I hit up a hydration station and disappointingly noticed they didn't have any Vitalyte available. I knew I needed electrolytes to help stave off the calf cramps, so I asked oned of the volunteers and he said he would look for some. I told him thanks, but not to worry about it and kept marching along. He apparently found some and ran it over to me. What a great guy! Then, around mile 6, I was traipsing along and some really awesome girl who was on the other side of the highway about 4 miles ahead of me came running across the median to give me a bracelet and some words of encouragement.

Overall, I was okay with my performance. I maintained a decent consistent pace through mile 8 and then it went completely downhill when the calf cramps blasted me around mile 9. I had a hydration plan of only drinking the Vitalyte at all stations, but the first one didn't have any and then I was only able to find it at the second and third. By the time I hit the 4th station, they were out. I hit up a medic tent around mile 10.5 and got a cup of Gatorade that took me to the finish line, cramps and all. I didn't end my race listening to music, so there is no finishing song on this one.

I think it's time I buy some salt pills to take with me on my journies. =/ Any suggestions of brands?

We pigged out on pizza Sunday evening. I think I was trying to replenish the 2260 calories I burned during the race.

April and I got foot massages on Monday. Then I headed back to Houston on Tuesday.

Wednesday was a pamper-me day. I got a MUCH needed haircut in the morning followed by a 70 minute hot stone massage that I purchased via Living Social a long time ago. Although the massage was relaxing, I have to say that I still prefer my deep tissue torture sessions. ;)

Thursday, I had eye surgery...AGAIN. 6 years ago, I jumped on the lasik bandwagon. Right before I was to have standard lasik surgery, the doctor decided he would prefer to do a procedure on me called Epilasik. This was as a result of my astygmatism and it meant a longer recovery period. I remember being totally miserable for about 5 days or so. Well several months ago I noticed that my vision had changed and since I had paid for a "warrantly" of sorts on my surgery, I was entitled to free touch-ups as necessary. I went through the whole process with Lasik Plus before they determined the procedure would be beneficial to me. This time they decided to do PRK surgery - slightly different than Epilasik and a longer recovery period. I wasn't able to return to work until the next Tuesday and even then...my eyes were not as they should be. My left eye was slightly over-corrected and my right eye was lagging behind. It made for a very unbalanced vision causing me eyestrain and glaring issues. It has since improved, but is still not perfect. My doctor basically told me to have patience.

I'm sorry for the lack of pictures in this post. Not only am I bad blogger, but I'm a terrible picture taker, as well. =/

I have so much more to catch you up on, so hopefully I will get to writing another post ASAP so you can share in my family's excitement!

Whirlwind Recap

2012-01-25T08:34:00.001-06:00

What would Christmas be without a decorated goose?

I know I keep disappearing. Don't take it too personally. It seems when I first started blogging I looked at any and all opportunities to find some great "story" to share and now it's about finding the time/energy to share whatever few great "stories" happen my way. The longer I go without blogging, the more annoyed I get with the prospect of trying to catch up on my blog. Does that make sense?

So, with that I do a quick recap of events.

Christmas
As some of you know, for 33 years, I have spent Christmas in Chicago. With the upcoming arrival of the first grandchild to my parents, our family opted out this year because we couldn't stomach the idea of younger sister Linda having the baby without us being around and we also couldn't stomach the idea of spending Christmas sans Linda and Craig.

We all gathered to my parent's house on Christmas Eve and ate too much food and watched Christmas movies. Older sister Cathy, brother-in-law Jay, and I all decided to stay at my parent's house for the long weekend.

We all gathered again at my parent's house on Christmas Day and ate too much food, watched Christmas movies, and opened up presents from my parents. Normally we would have exchanged our sibling "Secret Santa" presents, but we decided to wait until New Year's Eve so that brother Eddie and sister-in-law April would be able to join us.

I lost our competition because my door knob was disproportionate to the door and house. But I'm not bitter...oh no.

The whole line-up - Jay's, mine, my mom's, and Cathy's. Cathy won. Whatever.

Linda, Craig, and Coco just a few days before Ethan's arrival.

My cute mom and dad.

Nephew time
My nephew, Ethan Edward, was born on December 28th. He was a whopping 10 lbs, 4 oz and measured 21" in length. Linda and Ethan remained in the hospital until New Year's Eve day. Linda started her own blog, so for more info go here.

Sweet Ethan on his birth day.

too cute for words

It's hard work being this adorable.

New Year's
What a great way to bring in the New Year! We got to enjoy our little Ethan and we had Eddie, April, my aunt, my uncle, and my two double cousins - Nicole and Danielle all in from out of town to share in the excitement and anticipation of a brand new year filled with wonderful opportunities! We also had our sibling "Secret Santa" gift exchange, ate too much, watched my dad play Bejeweled, and brought in the New Year in the Spa sipping on champagne.

Freebirding
While my two double cousins, Nicole and Danielle, were in town, I made sure they experienced a burrito the right way - a la Freebirds (vs. the wrong way - a la Chipotle's which they do have at home back in Chicago). Danielle opted for the daintier "Hybird" while Nicole and I want all hungry-hungry hippos and ordered "Monsters". The verdict: those cRaZy girls prefer Chipotle. Whatever.

Nicole with her spinach Monster

Danielle with her wheat Hybird

A toast to the New Year - Freebirds style!

Wedding
What does a year look like without a family wedding? I don't remember. We have had one every 1 to 1.5 years in our family for the past 5 years. This year, we all gathered in Springfield, IL for my cousin Anna's wedding to her new bride, Nicol, on Jan. 14th. I have two words for you: Photo Booth! Have you ever been to an event with one of these things? OMG - soooo fun! My cousin Rachel and I kept going in there - sometimes by ourselves and sometimes with a group and laughed the night away.

Chicago
I was supposed to drive back with my family to St. Louis to grab our flight back to Houston, but work duties called me to Chicago instead, so I caught a ride with double cousin Nicole and her boyfriend Justin back to Chicago. I spent the next 3 days in meetings designed to improve the operations of our company. Have you ever spent 3 full days in meetings? Wow - it was really hard for this girl with A.D.D. who is used to multi-tasking the days away.

Now what?
Those of you who "listen" to me FB or Twitter, know that I like My Fit Foods. I'm just sooo not in a cooking mode right now. I haven't been for quite a while, actually. My Fit Foods has fresh prepared meals you can just pick-up, warm-up, and eat. I've gained back a lot of the weight I had lost. I'm not happy about this, but not being happy about it doesn't change the situation. I've tried to restart South Beach time and time again and I keep failing. My mom thinks this is because I enjoy life's challenges and I already conquered South Beach (um...before the weight gain) so now I need a new challenge. Younger sister Linda and her hubby, Craig, have started Weight Watchers Online. I've decided to follow in their footsteps - so basically I'm food tracking and I'm eating most of my meals via My Fit Foods. I'm kinda squashing most of my racing for now because I've not been training and it's becoming a bit of a joke (that isn't funny). I have plans to get back into the groove, one mile at a time.

So...please forgive me for getting behind in my blogging and blog reading. I will make a concerted effort to stay on top of such things moving forward!

Cheers to a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Three Things (x 2) Thursday

2011-12-08T22:49:00.001-06:00

Totally random. No pictures. So sorry....

#1 - If a medication warns "may cause drowsiness" or *insert side-effect here*, my body is all up on it. In other words, I'm the worst kind of mcwimpy.

#2 - I have never ever never in my entire life pressed the infamous "snooze" button on any alarm. I just flat out reset it for another time if it is inconvenient for me to wake up at the time of the unwelcomed interruption of my sleep.

#3 - I REFUSE to eat clam chowder. No, I've never tried it...or even clams all by their lonesome...but the very idea grosses me out.

#4 - With the exception of Target, Z-Gallerie, and Hobby Lobby, I prefer to avoid stores and shop on-line.

#5 - I appear to be a Groupon junkie. In under 2 weeks, I have purchased 6 Groupons. Um...all purchases were made with the intention of pampering myself or providing me with entertainment. I'm selfish like that...

#6 - I have an obsession with the show Gossip Girl. I feel like a cougar for being ridiculously intrigued by one of the actors who is *only* 10 years my junior. In 3 weeks time, I have watched all 4 1/2 seasons. Don't judge...

Okay, that's all I can come up with.

M.I.A.

2011-11-28T18:55:00.001-06:00

Apparently I went missing again. Not from the real world, but I've been relatively quiet on the social media front. I think, as a whole, I'm not very happy with this year. That makes me sound like a spoiled brat when you read what I've been up to in my absence, but doing things and feeling things are sometimes two VERY different things. Does that make sense?

October 18th was the last time I blogged. 6 weeks ago. Bad Blogger. Here are the highlights of things that happened during my disappearing act...

Painting Class
I bought a Groupon for one of those painting classes at Merlot to Masterpiece a while ago. It took a bit of coordination to get some friends and fellow bloggers (Kim, Amanda, Marg, and Britt) together, but we finally managed to swing it. Here is what the "goal" was supposed to look like:

Here was my finished (and framed) product:

The group shot:

Top Row - Amanda, Me, Kim
Bottom Row - Marg, Britt

Vacation
I headed to Chicago at the end of October to hang with family and participate in The Monster Dash. My cousin Courtney and I walked 13.1 decked out in Angry Birds gear. It was Courtney's first (and I'm told last) half and I promised her we would stay together. I never left her side and we finished it.

While in Chicago, I made sure to eat all my favorite foods. I hit up Portillo's twice - the first time for Italian beef and the second time for hot dogs. We may or may not have managed to get the car towed while on our hot dog run during rush hour traffic downtown. =/

I managed to pick-up some of my favorite candies from Fannie May - most notably Trinidads.

The beauty of a Trinidad lies in its decadent layers of rich, creamy real dark chocolate,
covered in a golden toasted coconut shell.

Of course, the best breakfast in the world can be found at Walker Bros. Pancake House. Carbo-loading at its finest.

Post race, Courtney and I indulged on the BEST Chicago-style pizza EVER - Lou Malnati's.

Although it's hard to beat the BBQ of the South, Famous Dave's is quite delicious especially when hanging out with some wonderful cousins!

While downtown, I got to experience Chicago from the tourist perspective instead of my usual in and out of our designated commitments routine. It was a nice change of pace. I saw the famous Forever Marilyn statue (26 feet tall) and the Cloud Gate.

Management Meetings
Not even 2 weeks after my Chicago vacation, I set-off for Chicago again for my company's annual Management Meetings and Award Banquet. Every year a book serves as the theme for the meetings and the upcoming year. This year, Ubuntu! was the chosen one. The basic concept is that "I am because we are" and that "we are all in this together". In short...teamwork. I have to say that some of my disgruntlement regarding work this past year has been as a result of a lack of teamwork, so this book and theme were much needed and appreciated (and will hopefully pay off).

After arriving in Chicago on Thursday, 11/10, all the managers (traveling from 12 Service Centers located nationwide) were whisked away to check into our hotel and then managed a caravan downtown to meet up with all the management of our headquarters to the Signature Lounge at the 96th Floor of the John Hancock building for a marvelous dinner (and an open bar).

Friday was filled with various meetings and followed-up with our Award Banquet. Upper management has been really great about giving us monthly and quarterly statistics so most of us had a basic idea of our rankings in each category, but there is always one award whose recipient is always a mystery - the Service Center (SC) of the year award. This award originated 8 years ago. My SC won it for the first time in 2008. We won it for the second time in 2009 becoming the 2nd SC to manage a repeat. Then came 2010...we had dreamed of a 3-peat just to end up in 6th place (boo!). I had a plan to win it back. I can honestly say I worked the hardest I ever have in all my 12 1/2 years with this same company. It paid off! Now the only problem with being #1 is that there is a large target on your back! =)

On Saturday we spent half a day finishing up our meetings and then it was off to my aunt and uncle's house to hang with family for the evening. Wouldn't you know we managed to get our happy Lou Malnati's pizza for dinner!

Thanksgiving
Apparently I like to fly every 2 weeks. =/ I only get sick EVERY time, but no big deal. So we decided to resume our annual Thanksgiving trip to Vegas despite the fact that younger sister Linda and brother-in-law Craig were not going to be able to join us because of the upcoming arrival of their first child. Older sister Cathy figured out that this was our 15th Thanksgiving in Vegas. We spent 14 of them in a row, but detoured to Orlando last year for a fun-filled week in Disney and Universal Studios.

My parents stayed at the Venetian while the "kids" resided in my grandmother's condo located a couple of miles from The Strip. This year was a bit different, though. Normally we manage a movie or two walking from The Venetian all the way down to the Showcase movie theater by the MGM. This year, we didn't see a single flick. I also normally hang out at Casino Royale, but...not this time. I mostly gambled away at The Venetian, the Palazzo, and the Las Vegas Hilton (because it was located across the street from our condo).

We did swing a show - taking in Sting at Caesar's Palace. It was in the Celine Dion theater, so a more intimate setting. I loved listening to the background story of how his songs were conceived and I have mad appreciation for his violinist who made amazing music!

The ladies swung a spa day! My mom treated older sister Cathy, sister-in-law April, and me to a spa treatment at the Canyon Ranch Spa located in The Venetian. I chose a European facial and experienced rejuvenation in my skin! I literally felt my skin glowing the rest of the day. Upon completion of our respective services, we spent over 2 hours in the wonderment that is the spa-experience...the Hot Tub, Steam Room, Sauna, Herbal Laconium, the Igloo (yes, as cold as it sounds) Salt Grotto, and Wave Room while sipping on orange-infused water and delicious herbal teas.

Though I pretty much came home a big loser, I had some really nice hits throughout my gaming that kept the days fun and entertaining. My favorite slot machines this year were Quick Hits and Hot Shots. I will definitely be revisiting them next year!

And that's about it in a nutshell. Hopefully I will be posting more frequently since it is now "the most wonderful time of the year!" I leave you with this pretty dress displayed at The Venetian:

display dress made entirely of paper and ribbons

Losing someone...

2011-10-18T21:21:00.001-05:00

Someone near and dear to me passed away today. Had I known death was on the table, I would have done things differently. I would have called him. I would have visited him. I would have made sure he knew how much I cared.

Death really puts things in perspective. It's sad that it comes down to that, though. It really is.

I woke up this morning and thought I better call this person.

I grew more and more frustrated as the day progressed and I kept coming up empty-eared as I tried to contact him. At first, I called his hospital room directly just for another man to answer the phone telling me he must have been moved. Then I called the hospital to reach him, growing more anxious as the seconds ticked by before my call was transferred. I was then told his line was busy and asked if I wanted to speak to the nurse's station or if I wanted to call back. I opted to call back. This was the routine for 3 additional calls placed today. I finally gave up at the end of my work day, vowing to reach him tomorrow.

Only problem is that there is no tomorrow. As soon as I drove into my garage this evening, I received a phone call that he had passed away this afternoon.

Had I known? Maybe, in the back of my mind. Was it still shocking to me? Yes, yes it was.

Who was this man? He was one of my employees, a team member. He always managed to put a smile on my face. I knew him long before I became his "boss lady" (as he liked to call me) because my father hired him about 8 years before I joined that very same team. He helped move me into my dorm room in college. Then he helped move me out. He always asked me how my monsters were doing and how my training and races were going. He came to me when I was doing well with my weight loss so that I could help him do the same. He called me while on the road just to check in and see how everything was going. Many a tall tales this man spun, much to my delight. He had a booming voice that would announce his presence long before he was seen. He had a way with words that was both funny and endearing. He had great respect for my family and a genuine love for our company, always taking pride in his work.

We may not like all of our employees or co-workers, in fact we probably just tolerate the vast majority of them. That was not the case for me with this guy. I loved him and will miss him terribly. He may no longer be on this earth, but he will never be forgotten. RIP Big Papa.

Baby Shower!!!

2011-10-17T09:33:00.001-05:00

Saturday evening was the baby shower for Linda and Craig! Isn't Linda a cute preggo?

Linda at almost 30 weeks

Our mom put a lot of thought into the decorations. Here are just some of them:

front view of the "diaper cake" motorcyle my mom made

side view

rear view

other side view

Linda and Craig's "baby" board

Baby Craig - couldn't get the pic to rotate. =/

Baby Linda

pouting Linda? nah...it's a pouting Kimpossible that was put up on the board in error. no worries, it was later removed.

Games were played, but not your typical baby shower fare. Ever seen the show Minute to Win it? 5 games were chosen from the tv show, but instead of having 1 minute to complete the task, the guests were competing against each other.

We played "Hanky Panky" which had the players empting Kleenex boxes one tissue at a time as fast as they could go.

We played "Baby Blockin'" which had the players stacking 5 baby blocks on top of each other upon a paper plate placed on their respective heads.

We played "Baby Bottles" which had the players drinking 4 oz. of beer or soda (their choice) out of a baby bottle.

Hey lookie there...it's Melissa from beerrunner - she represented the girls!

We played "Separation Anxiety" which had the players sorting M&Ms by color in a specific order one by one.

And...last, but not least, we played "Jingle in the Trunk" which had the players wiggling their bodies to displace 5 jingle bells from inside a Kleenex box tied to their wastes.

It was fun to see so much participation - from both the guys and the girls!!!

We had appetizers of jalapeno poppers, taquitos, fruit salsa with pita chips, chips & queso, and of course a fruit salad.

carved with love by Kimpossible!

My parents ordered fajitas and all the fixins' from Rico's Grill for dinner.

Of course it wouldn't be a party without cake. We had a caramel tres leches cake and a chocolate tres leches cake courtesy of Rao's Bakery.

And...let us not forget the party favors:

candy "bar" party favors

Oh and Linda told me she had it all figured out what presents our other siblings and I bought for them for the shower because of my anti-BabiesRUs post a few days ago. Turns out she was wrong! That will show her that there is only one true Nancy Drew in this family (yours truly)!

Here is what they received courtesy of me, Cathy, Jay, Eddie and April:

Beaba Babycook

Graco Lovin' Hug Swing

All and all, it was a wonderful baby shower! Congrats to Linda and Craig on the upcoming arrival of their baby boy!

Seven Random Things

2011-10-13T21:21:00.001-05:00

I received a nomination for a blogger award! This makes me happy! =)

Heidi from The Sweet Life was so thoughtful to include me in her post. Thanks, Heidi!!!

Here's how it works...in order to "claim" the award, I have to handle some business.

The rules of this nomination are:

I get to tell you seven random things about myself as well as pass on the award to seven other great bloggers (see below).

Nominees, in order to accept this award you must:

-Thank and link back to the person who awarded you

-Write seven random things about yourself.

-Award seven other awesome and inspiring bloggers.

My Random Facts:

1. More often than not, while watching a television program I recorded on my DVR I don't actually forward through the commercials. I use that time to do "other things".

2. I use the NeilMed Sinus Rinse twice a day, every day. The neti pot scares me.

3. While at a movie with younger sister Linda, I constantly turn to look at her reaction to whatever is going on. I know this seems weird, but weirder still is her lack of reaction to things. She doesn't laugh at hilarious happenings. She doesn't jump at the sight of spooky stuff. She doesn't cry during catastrophic events. She has forbidden me from sitting next to her, but sometimes I plot to make it happen anyway.

4. I get really annoyed when anyone ~~interrupts~~ calls me while I'm driving in my car listening to an audio book.

5. I am a "crack" addict. Not in the way you are thinking. I just like to crack things on my body - my knuckles, my back, my neck, my feet, my toes, etc. Yes, I am aware this is not a good thing.

6. I never reapply my make-up during the day UNLESS I have some specific event I'm going to that evening - a date (haha...rarely that happens), a celebration of sorts, a business thingy, etc...

7. Who rides on her exercise bike without wearing shoes? This girl.

And the Nominees are (In no particular order):

1. That Pink Girl
2. Click. The Good News
3. (Just) Trying is for Little Girls
4. Everyday Ramblings from an Everyday Girl
5. Ginger's Junket
6. See Anna Run
7. Tales From the Back of the Pack

Venting...

2011-10-11T15:20:00.001-05:00

My sister's baby shower is this weekend. It's gonna be so fun (even though it's a couples shower and I'm not part of a couple). I had to throw that in there - ha!

My siblings and I like to group our money together to buy presents for whatever gift bearing occassion is coming our way - it's just how we roll. The baby shower is no different. We decided how much we were wanting to spend so that I could pick out the gifts accordingly.

Strategically I stalked the registry to determine the best use of our combined money. I settled on 3 things, but I can't tell you which 3 things in the off-chance younger sister Linda is reading this (sometimes she gets bored, you see).

I headed on over to BabiesRUs during my lunch break to purchase the items. Well, wouldn't you know that first and foremost the store didn't even have one of the items despite the registry claiming it did. Second hit was that if they did have it, they were selling it for $23 (plus tax) more in-store than on-line. WHAT?! WHY?! Obnoxious. I then went to the second item I planned on purchasing and discovered it, too, was more expensive in-store than on-line - by $14 (plus tax) this time. I asked an employee what the deal was and she said that sometimes there are sales on-line. Oh, okay. Obnoxious.

My strategerie was for the purchase of those three items because of their combined cost. I like to maximize the funds. So, I felt compelled to stick with those items in lieu of switching up the gifts to meet the money-goal, if that makes sense. I have no doubt I would have encountered similar issues with other products anyway.

I then went back to my office...and purchased those 2 items on-line for a savings of $40 (this time including tax). One of them I can even pick up at the very same store I visited during lunch. What's the point of any of this other than just to annoy your customers?

Oh and in case you are so very worried about the 3rd item, I bought that through other means altogether. Don't ask. Just trust me...it was the right way to go. And...no, there is no danger of someone buying it off the registry, so we are cool. Promise.

UGH...and now they sent me an automatic email with the shipping address for the one item directly to my sister. I don't want it sent to her house - I specified my work address for shipping. I've had it with BabiesRUs!!!

I will post pics and all that jazz from the baby shower on Monday!

Kim versus The Race That Wasn't

2011-10-10T08:45:00.001-05:00

A long time ago I signed up for See Jane Run. It would be my first all women's half and it would be in Austin. I honestly can't recall the last time I was in Austin. It was quite possibly my freshman year in college...uh...a long long time ago.

I decided to make a whole weekend of it, though probably I should have dropped the race all together given my ridiculous lack of training. Someone asked me why I was even going through with it. I said that dropping from it gave me a license to continue along on the bad path I've been traveling. Facing what would no doubt be yet another humbling/painful experience (see Kim versus The Half Marathon - Hottest Half) would hopefully be just what I need to once and for all get back on the right track.

I booked myself a room on Hotwire conveniently located a half a mile away from the "recommended hotel" (for significantly cheaper) and planned to leave after work on Friday. I was really looking forward to the escape.

As I drove into Austin on the same street as my hotel, dread began building in my very being for the road leading to my hotel was extremely hilly. I'm not dumb...I know Austin and the surrounding cities are called "the hill country", but seeing it was another story. My only race with true hills to date was the Orange County half I did back in May and those hills were brutal. Something told me this was going to be even worse!
I valet parked my car, lugged all my belongings to the lobby, and checked in. My room was lovely, really. A very comfy bed, a nice tv, and a strong cold blowing A/C. I didn't have any real set-in-stone plans other than hitting up the Expo the next morning and visiting with a friend from college who I had not seen since those good ol' days.

I woke up on Saturday morning and read a bit, played my FB games, showered, dressed, went down to the lame continental breakfast, back up to my room to do my hair, and headed out to the hotel the Expo was being held at - just a half mile away.

sCaRy pic of me - hahaha!

I got there early, so stopped at Starbucks for my non-fat lite salted caramel mocha frappacino (no whip) and played around on my phone until it was time.

I always find it awkward to do a race alone...especially out of town. I felt...lonely. I got my bib (no pins - rar), my t-shirt, and my goodie bag. I perused the vendors and got myself a free sample of Pinot Grigio courtesy of Barefoot and my free Luna bar sample, and then headed back to my hotel to examine my swag.

I read some more of my book and decided I should go find food. The night before, That Pink Girl recommended I go to Kirbey Lane for a meal. They are several around town, so I decided upon the original.

What a lovely atmosphere, a delicious menu, a nice waitstaff, and next to me sat a friendly woman who chatted with me throughout our respective meals. I ordered the Kirbey chicken which was a marinated grilled chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese mixed with kalamata olives and mushrooms. It was served with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. I also had a mimosa and loads of iced tea. Seriously delicious meal! Seriously.

After lunch, I left out to go find my friend who lives in Round Rock. She hadn't changed a bit in appearance and we chatted and caught up while her nearly 2 year old napped. Right before he woke up, her parents arrived in town - visiting from Houston, as well. We had the most wonderful visit and they even took me to dinner at Fuddruckers that evening. After dinner, Monica took me to Academy so I could buy a hand-held for my race. I didn't want to bring my Camelbak - thinking it wasn't as hot as The Hottest Half and therefore a bit overkill for the race, but I also didn't want to only rely on the hydration stations as that as lead me to dehydration (cramping) in the past.

We said our goodbyes and I headed back to my hotel - hoping for a good night's rest. I never really sleep well before a race, by the way. Before I went to bed, I discovered an email from See Jane Run letting us know the medals had been lost by Fed-Ex, so that we would not be receiving one upon completion of the race, but once they were found they would mail them to us. This saddened me. It's nice to have that medal once you cross the finish line. Ah well...

I knew the forecast screamed rain, but that was the way the cookie crumbled, I supposed. I worried a bit about that and went to sleep waking up twice in the night. I never really sleep well before a race.

I woke up on Sunday morning, hopped in the shower, got dressed, geared up, threw back breakfast, and headed out in the rain. I was very confused while trying to park. There were no signs...just a bunch of fellow confused participants. I ended up riding around in circles for a half hour and then rolled down my window and asked someone once I noticed cars leaving. Turns out the race was canceled - no reschedule, no refunds. I felt somewhat relieved - again...wasn't prepared...wasn't happy about walking in the rain, but then I felt somewhat sad. I mean wasn't this the reason why I left town - spent money?! Didn't I want that pain and suffering to get me on task?! Wouldn't it have been awesome to start off my week with a 2,000 calorie burn?! What about my chocolate and champagne?!

These were posters at the Expo - there were more, but here are my faves:

I returned back to my hotel, crawled back into bed and read for a bit before dozing back to sleep for a bit. I then collected all my belongings and checked out - riding back home to Houston in a whole bunch of much needed rain.

It was a nice get-away in that I was able to visit with an old friend, but really...the whole trip just left me feeling lonely. It could be that it's "that time of year" or the rain. It could be many things. Maybe I was just missing the camaraderie I would have felt on that race course.

So, I have no race to report, no finishing song...BUT, I do have a next stop! It's the Monster Dash in Chicago on October 29th. Costumes are encouraged and I'm working on mine. Right now I feel motivated to battle the bulge and train for the race, so cheers to a fresh start and 3 weeks to get ready!

Spoiled

2011-10-06T08:38:00.000-05:00

I am spoiled rotten. The good news is that I'm the one doing the spoiling. The bad news is that 2 out of 3 people agree I don't deserve it (and I'm one of the peeps).

I decided I needed a pedicure...and a manicure BADLY. I really can't even say for sure when my last pedi was. All I know is that my toes (pre-pedi) look like this:

UGH!

My nails...well that's another horror story. I decided to stop getting refills a long time ago...I took the acrylic off myself. Awful! They went through their ridiculously flimsy/splitting cycle...and now they are stronger, but still ugly. I knew that I should totally get a mani so that other people wouldn't have to suffer at the sight of them, BUT...that would mean one of two things. Either I would have to let one ladybug work on my toes while another worked on my nails leaving me no hands to read a book OR I would have to be at the salon twice as long. No thanks to either...or um that was my thought process when I walked into the establishment. Upon completion of my pedi, I just knew I couldn't leave the premises until my nails looked presentable.

Onto the massage. I just develop such tension in my body - primarily my upper back, shoulders, and neck. I have a membership at Massage Envy - one that provides me with a massage a month for a very reasonable cost. More often than not, I go twice a month. I wonder how people go without...are they secretly suffering and don't know it? Do they have someone to provide this service free of charge (husband, boyfriend, etc)? Are they stress/tension free? Do tell! I decided I should get one before I go embarrass myself at yet another race ... you know ... to relaxi taxi my body before it goes through (deserved) hell.

I also stalk Groupon and Living Social deals for spa-type services in the Houston area on a daily basis. So far, I've purchased a hot stone massage (haven't used YET) and a facial.

So, yes...I'm spoiled and yes, I don't deserve it, but that's how my cookie crumbles.

Oh and here are my toes post-pedi:

MUCH better, eh?! =)

sigh ... another "Kim"

2011-10-05T14:46:00.001-05:00

I pulled another "Kim" today. What is a "Kim"? Well...usually it's when I do dumb things seemingly for other people's amusement, an Aggie moment kinda thing. In this case, my "Kim" made my dudes at work sad. I feel a little guilty about that, I really do.

Work decided this year that they wanted all of our service centers to provide a breakfast or lunch or ice-cream kinda shindig once a month or so in appreciation of our employees. This is relatively easy for most of our service centers as their head counts are significantly lower than mine. So, I am faced with the challenge of coming up with a shindig that will benefit as many of my dudes as possible without being too pricey.

My father and I decided to do a lunch this go-around. At first I thought about ordering a honey baked ham and then making baked beans, buying some potato salad, bread, and condiments. Then I saw the cost of a 1 1/2 hams and freaked out! For the same amount of money, I could go to Rudy's BBQ and get 15 lbs of meat, potato salad, beans, bread, pickles, onions, jalapenos, and iced tea. Oh...and the best part - no work on my behalf.

I ordered up the goods on Monday for pick-up today. My father and one of my dudes went to get the grub. I decided to serve it since the dudes have little to no control when it comes to food and I needed to make sure there were enough leftovers for those out on jobs today. They asked about the onions and jalapenos and I looked at everything we had and surmised Rudy's forgot to send it. Silly Rudy's. The guys were sooo disappointed. Poor dudes!

After everyone ate, I went to put away the leftovers and couldn't believe I had a whole pan left of potato salad. Those on jobs will be so excited. I decided to put the little bit of remnants from the other pan of potato salad into the full one to consolidate and imagine my shock when this:

turned out to be this:

Instead of more of this:

My "Kim" was that I assumed POJ was really POT and meant "potato salad" instead of "pickles, onions, jalapenos".

Poor dudes indeed.

The ones out on jobs will have a plethora of POJ, but hardly any POT. =/

*sigh* I need to keep my "Kims" in check.

Where in the World is KIMpossible?

2011-10-03T13:10:00.001-05:00

I know, I know...I've pulled a disappearing act. I'm back, though. So that's what matters, right?

This is gonna be a hodgepodge of stuff. Bear with me.

I know I owe y'all (and me) a checkpoint, but well...big shocker here...I haven't been quite as dedicated and diligent as I planned. Back on the wagon, though, so I guess it can be said that at least I don't give up. =/

My brother and sister-in-law planned a vacation to Jamaica. A flight from Los Angeles (where they live) means a necessary lay-over. They were able to manage an overnight one on Friday, 9/30, which allowed for my entire family to celebrate older sister Cathy's birthday. We went to Perry's Steakhouse and had a most wonderful meal followed by this:

and maybe a little bit of:

Afterwards, Cathy opened up her presents. My siblings went in on the gift thing with me, so we were able to get her some Brighton jewelry that she wanted and perfume. Here is my cute packaging:

Oh and in other news, I chopped off all my hair.

I decided this hairstyle looks better straight than curly, so I've been straightening it daily. There is the fast way - round brush - and then there is the slow way - Chi. Nine times out of 10, I do it the fast way.

Oh...and I'm embarrassed to say I blew off my first race. I did not end up doing the Beach Palooza 5K obstacle course on 9/24. I woke up that morning and was just not feeling it....the drive all the way to Galveston by myself...the fact that the only friend I knew who was racing it had a time slot a couple of hours before mine...and finally that I want to be able to run a 5K outright again before I sign up for another.

I have my See Jane Run half coming up on Sunday. My training has, of course, not been as I had hoped for, but I am still excited. I will be leaving on Friday after work to enjoy a nice leisurely Saturday meeting up with friends from days gone by (college) and perhaps even a blogger meet-up later that day. My father's birthday is also on Sunday, so I will high tail it home after my race to celebrate with my family.

I had some Chinese food at family lunch and this was my fortune:

Can I substitute "dogs" in place of "children" since I don't have kiddos yet? No? That's okay cuz I don't think I would ever call my dogs the most wonderful - haha! I do love them dearly, though.

This past Saturday, we all ended up hanging out at my parent's house - swimming, eating, and watching the dogs play. On Sunday, my dogs were both dead to the world. Besides breakfast at 6am and a prompt return to bed, Penelope didn't join the world of the living until 3:30pm. Yikes!

I have a slight obessesion with Tai Pei's wonton soup. I eat it almost every day for lunch and I buy it in the frozen section at Walmart. Don't judge me.

Another slight obsession I have is with dystopian and/or post-apocalyptic novels. I just can't get enough!

We are planning young sister Linda's baby shower. It's going to be so fun. My mom has made a motorcycle "diaper cake". Wait until you see it! I've been commissioned to make a watermelon carriage like I did for Melissa's baby shower and I'm also making fruit salsa to be eaten with cinnamon & sugar pita chips. I love party planning/preparation! So fun!

I've been watching Medium on my Netflix. Oh my goodness, it's so very good. I'm half way thru with season 6 (out of 7 seasons). I've picked out my next show once I finish. It's gonna be Friday Night Lights cuz my parent's swear by it. Have you seen it?

Okay, that's all I have for you for now. I better start catching up on reading all the blogs I've been neglecting!

Good golly, Ollie

2011-09-07T11:53:00.001-05:00

(good thing my parents don't read my blog...)

My parentals are quite convinced they have the perfect "child" in Oliver. He can do no wrong in their eyes. He is the child they always wanted.

In my father's office, there is a picture of the 4 of us kids hanging on the wall. Beside this picture is a picture of just Oliver. There appears to be an imbalance in the world...

OLD picture...we all look much better now!

We all know that whenever the parentals go out of town, I stay at their house. We like to keep Oliver in his environment, after all (and he is way too much dog to reside in my home with me and my own two monsters).

This past weekend, Oliver demonstrated just how far he would take his only-child mentality/status.
Older sister Cathy and brother-in-law Jay brought home two cutie patootie puppies about 6 weeks ago. Oliver was the first dog to meet the new additions and my mother thought he was so great with them. She said he was gentle. She said when they were sparring he would get in there and break it up. All this changed when toys were introduced into the picture. Oliver is a toy-hoarder. He has many, many toys and they are all his. Even when my precious blind Penelope is over and goes to retrieve the one toy she fondly remembers and still loves - a little blue football (she doesn't too much care for the red one and how she tells them apart is beyond me considering her...um...blindness), he will steal it from her. Even when all the dogs are given brand new bones to chew, Oliver will want one that someone else is chewing on. When we are outside with the dogs, he will want only the toy being tossed for another dog.

My mom is in the process of making some decorative items for younger sister Linda's baby shower. She bought a cute baby toy - a stuffed giraffe that sings his A-B-Cs. Somehow, one afternoon, when my mom left Oliver free to roam the house while she went for a walk, Oliver ended up discovering this toy up on the table and stole it (she claims it must have fallen on the floor and that he was confused). She had to buy a second toy to hide for later. Um...me thinks later Ollie will discover this hidden treasure and once again claim it as his own.

Cathy came up with a brilliant idea of buying a puppy mini monkey toy and then a grown-up matching monkey guy for Ollie. She thought this would break him of the habit of having to have what anyone else had so that her puppies could enjoy their toys and so that baby-to-be Ethan (Linda's little bun in the oven) would be able to enjoy his toys in the future. This plan didn't work. Ollie only wanted the mini monkey toy.

Jay captured Ollie hoarding mini monkey.

Later, Ollie would put toys and/or bones into one of the puppy's beds to tempt them...and then, when they got curious as to what new and exciting item awaited them, he would attack (by way of growling/barking at them meanly and lunging forward).

Ollie tauning a sweet innocent puppy.

About the only time Ollie was sweet was when he was sleeping. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but Oliver likes to rest his chin high up on some body part of mine (or my mom's when she is home with him). Usually he chooses my hip or my leg. Well, on Sunday during our scheduled nap (yes, it was me and 3 dogs in a bed - yikes), Ollie rested his chin upon Penelope. I couldn't resist taking this picture.

that's a pretty hefty head to have on top of you!

And just for good measure, here's another cute picture...this one of how my Penelli and Delilah sometime sleep - side by side - so sweet!

of course this is at the foot of the side of the bed where I sleep...

So yeah...Oliver was a bad boy this weekend. We texted my parents pictures of him being a bully (no pun intended) and they accused us of posing him and/or setting him up (or even being jealous of him). *Sigh* how come I didn't get this whole "benefit of the doubt" thing when I was growing up???

One Week Check Point

2011-09-05T20:53:00.001-05:00

As I stated previously in my Goals - Short Term/Long Term post, I'm going to maintain accountability by posting my goals and then following up on my progress on the ol' blog.

1 week = 8 lbs lost; work-out 6 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes/day; track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise

Let's evaluate the week, shall we?

Diet
By "diet", I mean counting my calories. For the most part, I'm still following South Beach principles as far as food choices go, but I'm upping the ante by paying attention to specifically how much I'm putting in my body. The biggest struggle I encountered was recognizing I needed to establish a "NET" calorie goal because the more I work out, the more I'm going to need to fuel. I set a 1200 NET calories per day target and with the exception of eating too few calories the first two days, I did well. I also became VERY lax over the weekend which is something I don't want to make a habit.

Exercise
I set a target of working out 6 days of the week for a minimum of 30 minutes per day. That didn't quite happen, BUT considering I went from VERY minimal exercise to a 4-day workout, I feel pretty good about the week. I spent 2 days walking (with incorporating a bit of running at the end of each walk) and I spent 2 days riding my exercise bike. I managed to burn a total of 1366 calories with an average of over 40 minutes per workout.

Hydration
This is an on-going struggle. I hit over 100 oz of water each day, BUT my target is 144 oz, so I have a lot to work out in this category.

Sleep
My goal is to hit 7 hours of sleep per night. Out of 7 days, I hit this goal 5 nights. Still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.

Weight loss goal = 8 pounds
Actual weight loss = 7 pounds

Thoughts: I am pleased with the results, but I do see where improvement can be made. As I mentioned above, I became a bit too lax over the weekend. Even though I went to restaurants with a plan, it was easy to stick to the ordering plan, but difficult to pass up table freebies - bread, etc.

Next check point (1 month) will be on September 26th!

Off to a great start!

(Chocolate) PB2 Review

2011-09-02T11:39:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of PB2? I hadn't until recently and when I did, well you bet your bottom dollar I had to get me some.

We all know how amazing peanut butter tastes (or any nut butter, for that matter). We love it, but we don't love the calories and fat that comes with it.

I typically eat Simply Jif. It has 190 calories and 16 grams of fat per every 2 TBSPs. Yikes!

Now let's look at PB2:

Yes, that's only 45 calories and 1 gram of fat per 2 TBSPs. Wowsers!!! Now a warning, though...it only has about 1/2 of the protein. My Simply Jif has 8 grams and as you can see PB2 has only 4 grams.

How do they make this happen?

Bell Plantation removes 85% of the fat calories by a special process without the use of chemicals. There are also no preservatives/additives in this baby! PB2 comes in a jar and is powdered in appearance. You mix 2 TBSPs of the powder with 1 TBSP of water and VOILA! Instant PB!

I tried the chocolate PB2 on a Sara Lee 90 calorie English muffin and combined it with Sugar Free Polaner Blackberry Preserves (yes, raspberry or strawberry would have been better, but I didn't either of these with me).

I purchased my PB2 via Amazon.com because I only wanted to try it - as opposed to committing to a 4-jar pack on the Bell Plantation website without knowing whether or not I would like it. The price does come out to be cheaper per jar (even with shipping charges) if you want to buy it in bulk through Bell Plantation. It comes in chocolate and regular.

I thought it tasted delicious and I, for one, am thankful to have a less caloric PB on hand since I'm counting my calories and every one is precious to me.

Has anyone else tried this? Thoughts?

It's all starting to come together!

2011-09-01T09:23:00.000-05:00

I know I've had the RunGirl 13.1 half mary on my sidebar for quite some time now, but I officially registered for it this morning.

I remember being super excited last year when I found out about this race. It would have been my 3rd half and it was especially exciting because it was a female-only run AND in December. This practicially guaranteed decent (read: coolish) weather.

I was so bummed when my pelvic stress fracture kept me from racing. I vowed to register for the race again this year...AND...to actually participate in it.

I let life conquer me for a bit...hence the weight gain and the lack of training as evident in my Hottest Half race, BUT it's not going to conquer me any longer.

As discussed in my GOALS - SHORT TERM/LONG TERM post, I'm back on the wagon and feeling fierce!

I can already see the fruits of my labor. I have decided to ease back into running by incorporating small (increasing) runs at the end of my walks. I tested this out on Monday night...walked 2 miles and then ran 0.23. My average pace was 16:27. This was not great, BUT I was out there doing it and that is what matters. Tuesday was a cross-training day, so I hit up my stationary bike for 50 minutes. Wednesday was another walk/run. I managed 3 miles in total and I ran the last 0.4 mile. I lowered my average pace to 15:43. What does that tell me? With dedication and determination...I'm gonna hit my goals!

I would love to run my last three half marathons for the year, but realistically I'm just not going to be able to accomplish that. What I can do, however, is establish goals for each one based on my current (at the time of the race) fitness level.

For now, I will focus on See Jane Run (another all female half). This half is in Austin on October 9th. I have no way of knowing what to expect temperature wise (please God let it be cooler outside). The elevation chart hasn't been posted yet either, so I don't know what to expect regarding hills. We all know Austin has them. =/ So, I'm just going to focus on hitting all my training walks/runs and lowering my average pace to allow me to finish my race with a 15:45 pace. This means 3:26:19 will be my goal.

On a side note...I just booked my hotel for See Jane Run using Hotwire.com. My dad swears by this website as he uses it for all of his business travel (and even some personal trips). I went "pot luck" instead of choosing the specific hotel and I got the La Quinta Inn hotel downtown for $78.00 per night (which includes breakfast each morning). I looked up the published price per night and it's $99.00. Yay for saving $42.00 in total! =)

Ahhhh....it's all starting to come together and that makes me happy!

Tagged: 7 Links

2011-08-31T18:38:00.000-05:00

I was recently tagged in Rachael's (from Happy Healthy Runner) 7 Links post. Because I'm a special kind of girl (read: Aggie), it took me a few minutes to figure out how to play. Yeah, it's like that.

It looks like I'm supposed to pick out a specific blog to go with each "category"...and yes, there are 7 of them.

Most Beautiful
I don't think I have a blog that screams...or even whispers..."beautiful". Is that sad? I guess (since I'm required to pick one) the closest thing would be High tAcKy Texas Tea. Just kidding...it's not beautiful at all, but it was special and fun, so I thought I'd share.

Most Popular
Oddly enough, my most popular post is part of my 30-Day Challenge (which...yeah...I never finished). Day 18 - Believe it or not. A lot of peeps have done varying searches on phrases including the word "believe" which apparently graced them with my blog. Lucky ducky them.

Most Controversial
For the most part, I prefer to keep my posts on the down-low. I'm not out there to gain viewership by posting controversial matter...I'm just writing about me. My life is way too boring to cause controversy. The best I can come up with is this post: Day 04 - Religion. See...I was following a Challenge, so it really wasn't original thought provoking material on my behalf.

Most Helpful
Just cause I was curious on how to fix the issue I have been having with cramping in my calves, I did a bit of research and it actually had some significant viewership. Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium OH MY!

Surprise Successes
I guess everyone likes to read about my lame love life (or lack there of). These posts were apparently quite amusing to the masses (or...the few peeps who actually read my blog):
adventures? in speed dating
Oh eHarmony

Not Enough Attention
I sometimes have Kimisms happen and the result is amusing to me. I guess that's all that should matter, but....well sometimes it's nice for my Kimisms to be appreciated. Um...sorry Rue

There you have it. Tagged and Answered. I hate to cop out by not specifically tagging fellow bloggie buddies, BUT...well....if you wanna play please do so! =)

GOALS - SHORT TERM/LONG TERM

2011-08-30T11:09:00.002-05:00

A wise person I know suggested that I not overwhelm myself with how "lost" I've become in my weight loss journey. She thought it best to break my ultimate GOAL into smaller, more attainable check points.

With that in mind, I've come up with my 1 week, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 12 month check points. Seems a lot less daunting that way.

I figured to keep myself accountable, I would go ahead and publish these check points to my blog and then follow up on my progress when appropriate.

1 week = 8 lbs lost; work-out 6 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes/day; track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise

my fitness pal

1 month = 20 lbs lost, run/walk 4 days/week for a minimum of 45 minute; cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 45 minutes; be able to run 2 miles non-stop (@ 14 min/mile pace); track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target

Daily Mile

3 months = 40 lbs lost, run/walk 4 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; be able to run 6 miles non-stop (@ 13:30 min/mile pace); track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target

sleep bot

6 months = 70 lbs lost; run 4 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes;, cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; be able to run 10 miles non-stop (@ 13 min/mile pace); track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target

24 Hour Fitness

9 months = 100 lbs lost (GOAL); run 4 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; be able to run a half marathon non-stop (@ 12:30 min/mile pace); track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target

The Woodlands Marathon (half for me)

12 months = maintain weight loss; begin full marathon training; run 4 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target

Since I offiically got back on my wagon (for real this time) on Monday, 8/29, I will check back in on my first check point on Monday, 9/6.

Vacation Planning

2011-08-29T10:10:00.001-05:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I love vacations? Oh I do, it's quite true! It can even be said that I live for them. To me, vacations are the reward for...life.

I know I've spoken of my love for Playa del Carmen, but alas...Mexico can't be in the cards for me. You see, I have to plan my vacation with the thought process that I will be "all by myself" (sing it Celine). I don't know for a fact that I will have anyone to go with me and so I have to choose a vacation spot that would be safe for me to travel to alone.

One of the huge appeals of Playa for me...or any beach, for that matter...is that it's AWAY and it's peaceful. I can choose to do everything or nothing. This got me wondering what it is that I could do here in the states that would give me that same sense of utopia. Then it dawned on me. I can choose a hot springs resort and spa escape.

I then began my research. My requirements were - hot natural springs, adventurous activities nearby, and of course...a spa.

No matter how many different search options I Googled, I kept coming back to this place - Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa in N. Bonneville, WA. The only downside I can think of is that the high temp will be around 56 and the low 31 (ye gads!) while I'm there (early May 2012). Oh...and brother-in-law Jay wanted to point it out to me that I might not be safe in the Pacific Northwest because there are a lot of serial killers from around those parts. WHAT?! Well you know that lead me to serial killer research! I'm morbid like that.

source here

Within 30 minutes of the resort, I will have the opportunity to do a zipline course, white water rapids, hike waterfalls, see Mount St. Helens, and tour wineries (with wine tastings).

The resort also has a lovely restaurant with wonderful meal offerings, but if I wanted to eat off-campus, so to speak, Portland Oregon is only 35 minutes away with some great offerings like Veritable Quandary and Salvador Molly's.

The spa menu is superb. I've already picked out several services I want such as:

Ultimate Relaxation Bath, Wrap & Massage

Our Chamomile bath and wrap or our Lavender bath and wrap followed by a relaxing 80-minute massage is perfect for those days when you just want to relax. This ultimate treatment also includes a foot massage followed by a warm towel foot wrap and a warm towel face wrap.

140 minutes

Just for Women Bath, Wrap & Facial

Enjoy a bath in YonKa Phyto Bain bath oil followed by a warm wrap and an

80 minute European Facial.

140 minutes

Rock N’ Rain Signature Massage

Try our Bonneville Hot Springs Spa Signature Massage. Six therapeutic essential oils are delivered down the spine in the Raindrop Technique, and then massaged in with warm basalt rocks followed by a full body massage.

80 minutes

Having something relatively planned for the future gives me the motivation to commit (fully) to getting to my goals. Now, unfortunatley I have a bit more ground to cover than initially because I went wayward, but the point is I'm back on track.

Speaking of track...I decided this is going to be key in transforming me into the girl I want to be. Starting today, I am tracking EVERYTHING. I have Daily Mile to track my exercise. I have Myfitnesspal.com to track my calories and water consumption. I have Sleep Bot (an app on my phone) to track my sleep.

If only I could mentally get beyond this ridiculous weather. I'm sure you are sick and tired of hearing me (and every other Texan) complain about the heat this summer, but I can honestly say that in all my 24 years of living here, this is by far the hottest summer. Yesterday around 3:30pm, I took this picture (and no, my car had not been sitting in direct sunlight...this was after I had been driving for over 20 minutes).

So, what kind of vacation are you planning OR do you prefer?

Oh my...Tomato Pie!

2011-08-26T11:56:00.002-05:00

I couldn't wait to get home last night...to make Tomato Pie...again.

No, I'm not a gluttonous monster. Well...maybe I am, but THIS particular situation deems the title unnecessary.

You see, I received my daily recipes from Allrecipes.com the other day and what to my wandering eyes should appear, but a recipe for Tomato Pie. I wondered what in the world it is, so then I clicked on the happy link and found out. It's made of all things wonderful - tomatoes, green onion, fresh basil, bacon, and cheese. Truth be told, I wasn't too keen on the bacon part, but brother-in-law Jay told me I had to follow the recipe (I have a problem following directions, you see), so I did with the slight modification of using lean turkey bacon instead of the real deal.

I heated a pot of water to help strip my tomatoes of their skin. I preheated the oven for my pie crust. I got my skillet all hot and bothered ready for the bacon...and then I placed 6 strips of bacon in said skillet because I don't like to fry up too much at a time. I went out to my car to get something I forgot and when I returned, I found my once-upon-a-time sweet Delilah guiltily licking her chops over a tasty meal of 3/4 of a pound of RAW turkey bacon. That can't be good. I was soooo mad as my Tomato Pie would now be slightly naked with only 1/2 of the bacon I intended for it to have. =/ Needless to say, Delilah went outside until the storm came to get us.

don't trust this innocent face

I then proceeded to chop up my basil and slice my green onions. The crust went into the oven for a few minutes to avoid sogginess as I crumbled my bacon.

I then began to layer sliced tomatoes, basil, green onion, bacon, seasonings (garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and oregano). I did a second layer and then a third. Next, I topped my pie with a mixture of 1.5 cups of 2% shredded cheese mixed with 3 TBSP of light mayo.

In the oven it went - loosely covered with tin foil - for 45 minutes. After 45, I took off the tin foil for another 15. I ain't gonna lie, my house smelled heavenly.

I took my masterpiece out of the oven and pushed it far back on my island to cool. Now, I had no intentions of eating it for dinner that night. It was meant for dinner for the next several nights.

A little while later, I went to the bathroom just to come out and discover Delilah (remember her?) had tipped the pie off the counter and it was now laying face down on my kitchen floor. I could have killed her. BUT, I didn't. Instead...she was banished outside and my Tomato Pie went in the trash. sigh.

I do not give up easily, however. The next day I went back to the grocery store and bought more turkey bacon, cheese, and basil to do it all over again. Oye.

It was worth making twice...it's that good.

Recipe:
4 large tomatoes - peeled and sliced
1 pie crust
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 green onions sliced thinly
12 strips of cooked bacon - crumbled
3 TBSP light mayo
1/5 cups of 2% shredded cheddar

Directions:
Preheat over to 375 degrees. Boil a pot of water. Fry bacon. Chop basil. Slice onion. Put two tomatoes at a time in the boiling water. Stick pie crust in oven for a few minutes and then remove. Let tomatoes sit for a minute or two in the water, then carefully remove them and put them under cold water to remove the skin. Repeat for next two tomatoes. Slice tomatoes. Layer tomatoes, green onion, basil, bacon, and seasonings. Top with cheese/mayo mixture. Loosely cover pie with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove tin foil and bake for another 15. Let sit for 5 minutes or so before slicing pie.

If you make 6 servings out of your pie, it's around 313 calories per slice.

***Note: next time I make it, I would probably choose to chop the tomato***

Lesson learned: NEVER ever trust Delilah around food