GOAL!!!!!! ..... FAILED!!!!!! ***Edited****

So today is month 6 out from surgery. I had a goal to have lost 60lbs by today.. notsomuch.. 
in grand Jen tradition, I'm holding strong at my last 3 months of around 5lbs a month.. not bad, but not ideal.. FOR ME!! So, I'm right around 55-57lbs down..

Oh well, it's a marathon, not a sprint right?

Hope all is well!  We are headed to San Diego tomorrow if I can ever get out of work.. of course they pick tomorrow (the day I'm supposed to be on vacation) to have us move workstations..  awesome....

**Edited:   I keep reading the comments from ya'll and I realize that it may appear that I'm not happy with 55 - 57 lb loss in 6 months.. I am TOTALLY happy!!!  I love that I have had such great results!!  I just wanted to reach that goal and didn't! YET!  I will do it and I will bust through it and keep on chugging away!! Thanks for all your great comments!! ***

My first (and possibly last) VLOG!!!

Note to self:

1. limit the use of the word UM..
2. When your eye itches, might be a good idea to stop the video and start over.
3. Figure out what the eff is wrong with the lighting.. everything is so beige..
4. wear less lipstick!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

I've been to my friend's Clay and Nicole's backyard before many many times.. I've seen the trampoline before but never had the nerve to get on it.. you know the drill.. "I'm too heavy, I'll break it.. "... I used to love the trampoline when I was a kid. I was the one who was doing back tucks and handsprings and trying to bounce people off (we didn't have nets on the ones we used to jump on back in the day..) 

In a Coors Light induced Haze last night.. I got back on the favorite toy of my youth.. I haven't been on a trampoline since circa 1993 back in Detroit with my friend Melissa in which I'm sure multiple cocktails were involved..

So, there I was..  jumping up and down and up and down not worrying about the fact that I could STILL be too overweight to be on this thing and I could go down any minute. I was doing toe-touches and even thinking about doing a back handspring ( they have a net that would have caught me) and I even got Nicole to jump on there (after she told me that she's not the fun mom her kids would love to have since she's never gotten on the tramp)  I was giving her lessons on perfecting her toe touch and all was well with the world (sidenote - it appears that jumping on the trampoline is a great cardiovascular exercise... I was WINDED)..  and then it happened...

I had just jumped up higher than any previous time, my toes were pointed in the most perfect alignment with my legs and my form was beautiful..  until I landed and heard the "Pop heard round Las Sendas (the hood where they live)"....  I was a man down.. I think I even uttered the words "Call 911".. I was in pain. No one seemed to notice that I was lying on the trampoline rolling around in pain.. well, that's kind of an exaggeration.. Clay noticed and said "bucky, that looked like it hurt"...  Nicole kept saying that I couldn't sue her and Timmy just kept chatting away..... 

The pain subsided somewhat and I was able to get off the trampoline, get some Ibuprofen and hobble up to bed. There is lots of pain this morning but there's no swelling.. my knee hurts but the rest of my legs hurt quite a bit as well.. didn't help that I did the leg routine from hell at the gym with Kath yesterday either.. 

Another lesson learned here kids..  38 might be a little too old for trampolining..  but oh was it fun while it lasted!!

Here are a couple of pics that we took before the trampoline incident ( how I wish I would have gotten one of me in my toe-touch) and at the School event we went for..  sorry they are a little blurry..  we were having some photo issues!

Oh, lastly.. if Southern Jen is reading this - I couldn't comment on your blog today but I totally get it!!! I wish you the BEST of luck on your 5K!!!  You will be great!!!!! 

Jump Rope Anyone???

Remember back in the day when as kids we would jump rope for fun? Then as we got older, we realized what a good workout (cardiovascular) jumping rope was even though we (most of us) didn't do it??  Well, when I was at the gym the other day, I noticed this very large, very thick rope sitting in the corner. Curiously, I asked Kathi what it was for and she replied, it's for working out.. and I thought that was the end of the discussion.  Then, on Tuesday night whilst watching the Biggest Loser, I noticed that they were using this rope thing and swinging it back and forth and I even said to Timmy, "we have one of those ropes at the gym.. how ironic that thay are doing it on BL".. 

WELL...  today, guess what I did at the gym? I swung that rope like a maniac. I thought I hated kettlebells, but they have nothing on this stupid rope!!! Talk about getting your heart rate up in about t minus 2 seconds..  I was sweating balls and near hyperventilating..  swear words were free-flowing out of my mouth.  That damn rope must have weighed 300lbs..  (kathi swears it weighs only 75 lbs..whatever) I gotta tell you the exercise does not look hard when you watch it on a video or look at a picture. I dare you to try to go for more than a minute and not get winded..

Moral of the story, never bitch about the kettlebells or the TRX system outloud (or in a blog) b/c you might find yourself doing something worse..  now I can't go back!!!

**kind of funny, but as soon as I was done bitching about the ropes, Kathi said "this will end up in the blog for sure!" - she knows me too well!!***

Who needs self-sabotage when I've got the Hubs doing a great job at the Sabotage..

I love my husband, I love my husband..  really, I do. 

But, for the LOVE!!!  Everytime that man goes to the grocery store alone, we end up with these in the freezer.. 

I have tried every tactic known to man to not just have a little square now and then.. 

• Don't open it
• Don't open the freezer (kind of hard when I need ice)
• Pretend it's not there (again, see above) - yeah right
• Hide it (what good does that do? I'm not real good at hiding.. )

I have tried to get him to get candybars that I DON'T like, like for instance.. ummmm..  well, I can't really think of anything at the moment..   

HELP!!!! 

Nothing Tastes as good as..

I know you've all heard the saying " Nothing tastes as good as skinny/being thin/looking good feels" right??   Well, I'm reading "Such a Pretty Fat" these days and she says the funniest thing in there.."those people who say nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, have obviously not ever had Korean BBQ"!!!!

There are no truer words than that!!! I am a long way from skinny but I can guarantee when I get there that I can list about two-hundred-eleven things that taste a whole hell of a lot better than skinny will feel!!!

I am in officially in love with Jen Lancaster, the writer of this book!!!   She even has a website that I am now stalking:  http://www.jennsylvania.com/ ..  she's hilarious!  And she could be any one of us who have ever had a weight problem!!  I'm sending my copy of the book to Amy and she said she'd pass along as well once she's done!!! It'll be like a little bandster book club! :)

Anyhoo..  back on to some really random things today.

* thanks for your concern about my puking situation this past weekend. I appear to be over the hump and able to keep food down today.  I ate some grits for breakfast, some cottage cheese and cucumbers for lunch and just now, for a snack, had 1/2 granola bar and some goldfish (that I stole from our cafe downstairs.. stolen food tastes better yo)  while I was lifting the cup my stolen goldfish were in to my mouth, I caught a glimpse of a smiley face on a goldfish.. UM, hello??  How did I not know that goldfish had smiley faces on them?  I have polled a few of my co-workers and gotten some pretty "are you an idiot?" looks and apparently, most goldfish have faces.. hmmm..   clearly I have been missing out! (UPDATED to add:  I should really say that I didn't really "steal" the goldfish from downstairs.. I did take them but they are out for putting in soup, so technically, they are free!! Just needed to add this so my mother can sleep tonight and not think that I might be headed to the slammer for goldfish theft!)

*as Rod Roddy would say ..   we got "A NEW CAR" this weekend. Although, Rod would be wrong b/c it's not a "new" car but a "new" USED car..  either way, I love it!!!   Here is a pic, not of my exact car but of the one we got..  I think mine is a little darker blue but it's an Infiniti FX 35 and it's a beaut..  

So all is right in the world and we are again a two car family again..  thankyousweetbabyjesus!!!!

*So, today I was emailing/bitching to my co-workers about a girl who works in our building who never ceases to point out EVERY.LITTLE.THING.YOU.DO.WRONG...  yet by no means is a perfect little princess..   basically I was just emailing my buddies the way I would have handled a situation that occurred. Well, my boss walked into my "workstation" (still cracks me up that we call them that.. they are CUBES!) and I didn't realize my email was up that I was writing and of course he looks at it and says, "wow, who are you talking about??" so the truth is out, I'm not the all happy happy sunshine type he thought I was..! Oops!!

**Finally, I went to Old Navy yesterday to get some t-shirts to kick around in and decided to try on some jeans. Now, I normally only can fit into tops there and usually have to order pants/jeans from online plus sizes.. but I decided to try on some jeans and shocker of all shocker, the largest size they had FIT ME!!!! I almost squealed right there in the fitting room!!  So, of course I purchased them!  AND to top it off, they were on clearance already and they took off another 50% so they were, get ready for this..  $5.00.. now that is a DEALIO!!!!

I'm out to get some more work done!

xo,js

Bugged with the Band...

Oy, let me tell you something..  a stomach bug is the last thing you want with a lap-band!!! Believe me, I know this to be true b/c I have been having a rough go of it the last couple of days!!
All started yesterday morning when I woke up feeling kind of meh..  I had gone out the night before to a new place in Scottsdale for my friend Jordana's last day at work shin-dig..  I wasn't hungry so I didn't order any food but kind of "picked" off everyone's plates a little.. nothing major. I had two beers, nothing too earth-shattering.. passed up on the Patron shots that everyone was doing, drank lots of water etc..  so yesterday when I woke up, I couldn't figure out what was wrong with mah bellly..   so I grabbed a little string cheese and as soon as I swallowed, up it came..  as did everything from that point on. Michelle and I went to get gifts for our friend Joy's 4 year old (her birthday party was last night and I ultimately had to end up missing it) and then we thought we'd grab a bite to eat at the mall.  I wasn't seated more than 5 minutes and I had to run to the bathroom after taking one bite of my food.  I probably threw up 4 times during that time, then we went into a store and I felt the puke coming on hardcore again. Had to ask the salesperson to borrow their bathroom and she was a little hesitant until I said "I'm seriously going to throw up NOW' and then she showed me the way!!!   I puked again in the parking lot (yes, in the parking lot - TWICE!) and then again in a another store and it's parking lot.  Poor Michelle for having to see all of this!!! :) 

Finally got home and got sick once more and then just decided to not drink or eat anything for the remainder of the day!  We went car shopping and luckily no major issues there (bought a  car BTW!!!  Will post pics soon!! ) but then we went to grab a bite to eat and once again, as soon as I put something into my mouth, off I ran to the restroom.. 
It's one thing to be sick and have a stomach bug but as you all know, it's another to have it when you have the band and you have to think and hope that you aren't doing any major damage to your band or causing it to slip. 
I woke up feeling a little better today. So far, I have just had an egg and haven't had any issues. And drinking water seems to be ok as well.   I at least can contribute my 3lb loss to something today right?? 

Hope you are all doing well and having a great weekend!!   xo,js

Oh, to answer Gen about Yoga - I take my yoga class from a studio here in Scottsdale that actually comes to my work multiple times a week (we have a yoga studio in house at work) and I think it's just basic Flow or something like that. I love it!  Oh, and Kristin, GREAT idea about taking the class and that combatting my loneliness!! I think I'm going to sign up at the actual studio!! 

Namaste....

I love yoga....

I used to love it before I had the surgery but then hadn't gone since I had the surgery... not sure why.. I just didn't make the time for it..  but I went back last night and now I know why I loved it.  My hips had been hurting me all week from something I must have done with Kathi at one of our sessions.. not anymore.. yoga made them all better!!  Plus, yoga is a lot easier 50+ lbs down.. I can't wait to see how it is in another 50 lbs..

That's all.. 
hope you all have a good weekend!
xo,js

Home Alone..

Sigh, I need to prepare myself for my impending loneliness.. 

Ok, that's a little dramatic, but for the past little over a year, my hubs, Timmy has been working from our home office.  Which has been good and bad..  good in that I see him a lot, bad in that he works a lot.  He's always worked a ton, but at least he was home and I could see him, even if it was just to say hello here and there and have dinner together every night. (most nights.. )

So, anyways, business has been really really good for him and he and his biz partner finally bit the bullet and got an office space.  They move in today. I'm super happy for them, but at the same time, I know what this means. I know that it means that he will be coming home every night around 8 (he swears he'll be coming home at 6, but I've been to this rodeo before.. I know the deal)  and I'll be at home, hanging out by myself.  I guess this will give me more time to work-out (yay) and do other stuff like happy hours (YAHOO!) so we'll see..

Pity Party over..  I'm excited about the upcoming weekend. We have a happy hour tomorrow for my girlfriend Jordana's last day :(.. super sad about that but her house is conveniently located literally across the street from hub's new office, so I have a feeling I'll be seeing her a lot!  Saturday, we are going shopping for a new car.  I'm super excited about this!  We've had 1 car forever.. b/c he worked from home and we went through the Great Depression of 2007, we just decided to have one car b/c it was most cost-effective and really not that inconvenient. But now, since we'll be both having to go to an office, a new car is needed and it's going to be mine! I'll let you know what we get!

This morning, I was looking for something to wear and got really irritated. None of my shirts from last year fit and looked even halfway decent. I know this is a good thing but was super irritating at 7:00 and I was trying to rush to get to work. Seems like a little shopping trip for clothes is in order this weekend as well!

Hope you are all well. Been having a hard time commenting from my laptop (wonky thing) but have been reading your blogs!

xo,js

Super Hot, Super Cold and everything in between..

It is officially HOT here in AZ!!!!  I sat outside and fried  tried to get my tan on today.  With the heat comes an overwhelming desire to cool off and get in the pool.. however, the pool is not quite warm enough since we haven't had enough warm days yet..  that did not seem to phase my husband.. crazy man.. he came outside and kept saying, 'I'm getting in the pool" to which I replied "I dare you.. it's FREEZING".. he put two feet in and cried like a girl and decided to forget it.  I went inside to take a shower and as soon as I stepped out, I hear "Hey Miss Magoo.. come outside and see where I am.. " and sure enough, there he was, right in the pool like an idiot..

He's currently inside trying to find his dinner rolls ifyouknowwhatImean.. 

While laying outside today, I rested my legs

 which are killing me due to a killer leg workout yesterday that involved kettlebells and something called the TRX system..  I thought I hated kettlebells but they got nothing on the TRX..  I'll try to post pictures next

time.. I also started reading this book.. it is HEELARIOUS!!!!  Anyone who's ever had a weight issue can totally relate. I found myself laughing out loud a lot this afternoon!!

Yesterday, Michelle and I took Kennedy to the World Wildlife Zoo, which was pretty cool. It's different than a normal zoo in that you can get up close and personal with animals.  A little too close in my opinion in one instance. I thought I had the nerve to feed a giraffe...they are pretty harmless right? Well, I put a little food in my hand and as soon as that giraffe opened it's mouth and stuck out it's tongue to grab the food, I WIGGED and jumped back.  Have you ever seen a giraffe's tongue?? OHMYWORD.. large and in charge...

Otherwise, we saw lots of fun animals and it was a great day. I'll leave you with some pics. Oh and thanks to those who responded on my blog from Friday. YOu are all great and a little crazy to say that you sometimes don't have the right things to say either, b/c I see the exact opposite in you!!  Thank You!! xo, js

Doesn't that look like the face of a little munchkin  that is so excited to be at the zoo??

Check out the baby in the belly.....

KD LOVES her mommy!

This big ass cat was seriously RIGHT.ABOVE.US... it could have put it's paw thru the fence and swatted us if it would have wanted to..

Hey Mr. Monkey, have you thought about the LapBand to take care of that weight problem??  I can relate to that belly...

KD's first carousel ride!

She loved it even though it was going like 60mph!

Hell yeah, you got that right!!! I rode on the carousel too!! On a big ole'horse.. it was fun!!!

Sweet happy baby!!!

Suck it up Hot Stuff...

Those were my exact words to my good buddy Jordana's post on Facebook this morning.. the one in which she bitched that it was yet another beautiful day here in Arizona and yet she had to be inside working in a cold office with bad lighting..  she forgot to mention that she only has a week left b/c she quit her job (same company), thus leaving me with just a handful of fun, cool people to hang out with at work..

My quick reaction to her post got me to thinking.. am I missing a sensitivity chip??  I mean, I"m very sensitive when the subject is me but for others, I'm not usually the "sage advice, sympathetic, have some great words of wisdom to give" kind of person. I hate this about myself.  I never have the correct thing to say when someone says something deep or needs advice.  I never have been like this. I wish I could be.  So far in life, this hasn't really had too much of an effect on me. The people who know and love me know that I will move mountains to help them, be there for them, laugh with them, cry with them but they also know that I won't always speak my feelings or give life-changing advice, but I WILL be there for them. I guess I'm more of an actions speak louder than words kind of girl. When my friend's mom passed away, I left work, drove to Tuscon and just was WITH her, no words, nothing, just there for her if she wanted to cry. When a friend says she's lonely or frustrated  b/c her hubs travels alot and she has a one year old and is raising her somewhat alone due to said work travel, I make plans for us to do something.  ASAP.  I am your biggest cheerleader, but when you break up with your boyfriend, my advice is usually "get over it and move on.. "  B/C, that's what I do. I've had a lot of shitty things either happen to me or to my husband in just the last few years alone, but I have an amazingly strong ability to just "move on".  I don't dwell on things, I take accountability for the things that are my responsibility, and I just move on.. plain and simple, that's me. 

Why am I bringing this up?  B/c this past week, a lot of my blog friends have put some really deep stuff out there in blogland, some blogs that literally touched me to the core, however, I can't find the words to respond.  I read everyone else's comments and I just think to myself that whatever I would have to say would sound so ridiculous.  And instead, I don't comment and then I hope that it doesn't make me seem insensitive or uncaring.  I'd hate that people would think that of me. 

So, I apologize if I don't always comment but know that I'm always reading and I really take to heart all that you are going through, where you've been and I applaud you all for being so brave to put your stories, your histories and your feelings out there. 

Not sure why I even wrote this blog but it's been on my mind for a couple of days.

Hope you all have a great weekend.
xo,js

NEWSFLASH: Losing Weight does not cure clumsiness...

So, 50+ lbs down and I'm still just as damn clumsy as ever..  if you don't know me well, you don't know that I may be the most clumsy/unlucky person EVER.  Anyone remember this post:

http://whatyoulookinatskinny.blogspot.com/2009/10/didnt-have-to-search-far-for-14.html

or this one:

http://whatyoulookinatskinny.blogspot.com/2009/09/just-my-luck-tale-of-see-thru-shirts.html

Well, my April luck has kicked in..

Last night, while over at Michelle's watching AI and enjoying some PJ and Fondue... I went to go sit down on a couch.  Seems like a very easy thing to do, right??  Well, that is until you have to make your way through the maze of kid-toys and barriers that currently keep a crawling and scooting little Miss Kennedy from high-tailing it throughout the house..  I stepped over the baby gate once, fine, no problem.  Next time, my foot caught on it and I almost tripped.. but didn't.  Third time must have been the charm..  BAM on the floor, right on my knee.  I have to admit, it was funny, but it hurt like a mo-fo.  And now my knee is all sorts of swollen...  Note to self, baby gates can be moved by just picking them up, you don't necessarily have to step over them..

Another note to self, don't read Amy's blogs in the morning and check out your boobs like she's doing on her blog.. your boss might just decide to come in early that day and walk right into your cube while you are doing said boob check-out...  People...  MORTIFIED is the word of the day for me.

xo,js

It's her party and she can cry if she wants to...

And that, my friends, is EXACTLY what a certain little 1 year old did today at her birthday/Easter party!!!  This sweet little girl got some cake on her hands and all hell broke loose!!  Apparently she is not a fan of dirty which I'm sure her mother is THRILLED about and will be happy to see in her upcoming years... 

Her screams were so loud that little Jake G even said "can we turn the volume down a little" to which, everyone took another gulp of their alcoholic beverage!!! 

It was hilarious and cute!!  KD cried for like a minute and then was totally fine.  She didn't seem to care much for her own birthday cake but word on the street was that she gobbled much of her Nonnie's (grandma) piece..  

We had a very nice lunch at the Hokenstad house, celebrating Easter for a 2nd year with them and our other friends, the Goldens.  The food looked amazing!! I only had a couple of bites before I got stuck and had to excuse myself to the restroom..  I did end up eating just a little of the green bean casserole I made and some delish potato casserole and corn casserole.. I seriously think I could live on casseroles alone!! They are VERY band friendly for me.  And of course, there was the CAKE!!!  Once I got unstuck, the cake was my BFF...  so yum!

Yesterday, we went over to our friends whom we haven't seen in about 5 months to watch the Michigan State/Butler game.  Sad for the Spartans, but happy they made it as far as they did.  Nicole and Clay are the type of friends I love.. super low maintenance.. we don't see each other for 5 months and we pick up just as if it was yesterday... 

Spa Friday was divine...  my massage was awesome and we spent the majority of the day laying out by the pool (heated!!) and I got FRIED!!! Kind of forgot to put on the SPF!! Thankfully, it's faded quite a bit..

I really don't want to go to work tomorrow!! Would love an extra week off, you know?  But, fortunatley, we start traveling soon so I'll be using up some vacay time soon!!!

I sent my weekly weight in for the Bathing Suit Challenge and I'm down 3.6 from last Sunday.. Woot!!! this fill MUST Be working!!! 

Hope you all had a great weekend, whether you celebrate Easter or not!!! 

Have a great week!
xo,js

8 is GREAT and Clothes, Clothes, Clothes..

Got a fill today.. I really can't remember which one it is. I think it's the 5th or 6th.  But, anyhooo... I'm up to 8ccs in a 14cc band. I'm really really tight today.  I haven't had anything at all to eat and I'm not even hungry. I even passed up happy hour today so something must not be right with me!! I plan to stop at Whole Foods to get some yummy soup to have for din-din..

Ok, was that not the most boring first paragraph of a blog you've ever read? I'm debbie downer today fo-sho...

My appointment with the PA went really well.  She was in and out with the needle like lickety split.. I love the PA. She was happy with my progress except she said that my waist measurement hadn't moved even though I had lost lbs.. I was like, "maybe it's cause the idiot who measured me did it over my jeans and with my sweater all bunched up in the middle".. yeah, I have an excuse for everything!!

I'm so ready for my spa day tomorrow! We are going early, working out, getting treatments and then chilling by the pool.. I seriously cannot wait!!

So, I have a LOT of clothes to give away if anyone wants them. Most are 24/26s so if that is your size or you know of anyone in that size, email me at jbucky28@yahoo.com and I'll be glad to send you pics!! 

xo,js