It's been a while since I posted something that wasn't emotionally heavy or made people call me a baby killer (I apologize for not deleting those comments sooner on my most recent post - for those of you who subscribe to my blog comments via email.), and instead, threw some photos up here and called it good. So guess what? That's what I'm going to do. "Emotional Fat" is going to be a lot bigger than I originally ever thought it would be and there's also a follow up to the "Guilt" post from last week, in the works, as well. So don't get too comfy with cute-kid and fluffy cat photos! ;-)
Easter around here was pretty low-key, this year. We took Gaby to see the rare hare himself in order to let her sit on his lap and ask for more chocolate than any human should consume, and of course, before she posed for photos with the Easter Bunny, we took some cheesy shots at home. I'm not a huge fan of indoor photography, as you can tell. I'm not thrilled with the overall quality of the photographs, but I sure do love the subject!
Gaby refused to wear the hat outside of the house. Of course, I can't get her to take it off while we're inside the house. It figures.
Amidst all the ups and downs of the last week, we've also discovered that Gaby is now, officially, a full-fledged reader! We are wicked-proud of her!
Of course, now that she can read, everyone, and I do mean everyone in the house gets read to on a daily basis!
When she isn't reading or dancing, she's running around in her Hello Kitty bikini working on movements she's learning in gymnastics. She has leotards, so I'm not quite sure why she insists on putting on that silly bikini.
She has come such a long way since she started gymnastics (which is really basic tumbling and cartwheels, bridges and other beginner stuff), and I'm so grateful that she not only has a wonderful teacher, but that her teacher is one of my closest friends. Gaby has grown in both strength and confidence since starting the classes in September. We're so proud of her!
Here she is working on her bridge and hoping to turn that into a bridge walk-over (Andrea/Kim, is that what that's called?) in the next month or so. It might take her a little longer, but she'll get there!
And up next, she's heading into a cartwheel...
She doesn't quite complete the cartwheel but like with the bridge to the walk-over, she'll get there. The important thing is, she's having fun learning!
Lastly, I have been staying away from the keyboard intentionally because the Zombie Hands of Doom have dictated that I keep them away from the keyboard lest I end up covering it in ooze and blood. Yeah I know, it's gross. Gareth finally had enough of it and made me go into Urgent Care late Saturday afternoon and it's good that I did. Turns out that I have a massive infection in my right hand that if left untreated could have turned into sepsis because it was that bad.
These photos were taken after the nurses cleaned my hands up. They called it debriding the infection. One of the nurses is now sporting a broken jaw. I jest. Let's just say that having my hands taken care of like that was not a pleasant experience. I said a lot of naughty words that I've been working hard on not uttering, out-loud anyhow, while being debrided. I'm pretty sure at some point, I cried so hard that I asked for my mommy.
The nice doctor who treated me, loaded me up with my old buddy Prednisone (let the pig outs and bad moods commence!), a super-strong topical steroid, and heavy duty antibiotics to kill the infection. I'm hoping I can manage my stress levels because it's directly contributing to the eczema flares. However, we're not going to open up that can of worms because I don't feel like it. Happy thoughts people, happy thoughts!
Oh and when I said "heavy-duty antibiotics"? I should have also mentioned that these things are so big that even a horse would have trouble choking them down!
That's a quarter in my hand, next to my new little friend that I have to manage to try and swallow, three times a day. Oiy! There are times during the day, right before I take the pill, that I think it might be easier to attempt a cartwheel at my age and size, then it is to try and choke that thing down.
Last but certainly not least, but something that came as a complete shock to me, is the fact that I have lost an additional 47lbs since February 1st, 2011. I have been weighing myself with our wimpy scale at home, and it's only read that I've lost 2lbs since then, and before that, the one and only time I've gone into a medical office to be weighed since earlier this past winter, and it's reading wasn't any different.
However, on Thursday morning I had no choice but to be weighed. I didn't even know that I was being weighed until the nurse at the end of my bed told me he was going to get my weight. He then told me to lay still. Turns out that beds in the cardiac unit of Saratoga Hospital have built in scales. Sneaky sneaky! I understand why that sort of thing is necessary but it still sort of threw me for a loop.
Anyhow, the nurse that was weighing me read off my weight in kilograms and I said, (OMG I don't believe I'm doing this...FINALLY!),
"Oh I can tell you what it is without having to a look at a calculator! It's 407lbs."
The nurse looked at me and said, "I guess you must have flunked math in school, because you sure don't know how to multiply! You weigh 360lbs."
OK so I'll let you all get over the shock of me FINALLY announcing how much I actually weigh because believe me, it was nothing compared to the shock of what he told me. The last time I was in a doctor's office and was weighed, was in January. My total weight loss as of that point in time was 82lbs. Up until Thursday I thought I still had close to 250lb to lose. I still have a lot of weight to lose but I'm blown away that I've lost FORTY SEVEN POUNDS in a little over two months. I have no clue how I did it and I don't notice it when I look at myself and no one has commented on it. But I guess when one is as fat as I am, it takes more than 47lbs to be able to notice it.
Well, that's not completely true. None of my bras fit. The girls are literally swingin' on the vine. Gareth, loving soul that he is, when I took off my blouse and jeans in front of him and demanded to know where I'd lost the fat from, said, "Everywhere!" Bless his sweet British heart!
129lbs down and 203lbs to go. I'm horrified to even post those numbers, for you all to see. But it is what it is. Thankfully it isn't what it was!
With that, I'm going to bed. There's a wonderful thunderstorm raging outside and I want to drift off to sleep listening to the wind and thunder banter back and forth while the lightning jostles for a place in the conversation.
ETA- I'm moderating comments for a while. If it takes a while for your comment to appear, it's just because I haven't gotten around to publishing it. I'm trying to approve them as soon as they come in, but sometimes it takes me a little while.
