non-obese spam

non-obese spam, originally uploaded by Linzie Hunter.

The Very Grouchy Ladybug.

The Very Grouchy Ladybug., originally uploaded by Melting Mama.

Tristan is getting sick.  She's lost her little voice, and I think it hurts to cry.  She did not like Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen tonight.  We tricked, err, treated for one hour and that's IT.

Bob went as a pumpkin head, to work, even.  :x

Step away from the Reese's Penis Cups!

It's national eat your weight in Reese's Peanut Buttah Cups Day.  (Regarding the title of the post, I've always called the Reese's Penis Cups.  Sorry.)   The photo above?  Is what I gave out two years ago, when I had decided - Kids Need Playdoh and Pencils, Not Candy!  Yeah, well.

Any excuse to run to Wal*Mart, and buy the giant bags of mixed chocolate and nougatey lovelies - and gorge until you feel like you might nevah have another piece of candy.  You might not even like Halloween - you might not even share that candy with the trick-or-treaters, you may only buy it to hide it and eat it all yourself.  I know.  I won't tell you that after I said,  "We are not buying any candy this year, we are going to shut all the lights off and go out, and not give any candy out..." that he came home with about eight bags of the individually wrapped fat cells last night.  He actually e-mailed me yesterday, "I got candy, it was on sale." 

Well, Of Course It Was On Sale! 

But, that doesn't mean you have to buy it!  Does it?  He shrugs.

I took the bags of candy, and "hid" them in the cabinet with the baby food.  I told the kids were weren't giving any out.

Wouldn't it figure that in a moment of I don't feel so good last night - I shredded a hole in a bag of Kit-Kat snack size bars and ate one - and left the wrapper on the counter?  It could have been worse, I could have figured out that my sugar limit was in fact, Three Snack Size bars - and have eaten three - but I stopped at one and put them away.  I considered, for a moment - bringing them to work and giving them away, but then I'd be having them in face all day.  So, the candy sits, at home in the cabinet.  I will probably give it to trick or treaters - or a few very lucky trick or treaters.  But, then, there's still the problem of my kids going out and bringing home bagfuls of candy that nobody needs.  I hate this night.  Either, they're allowed full reign over a giant bag of sugar- allowed to go at it as they please, or I allow them to nickel and dime the bag over weeks, or I throw most of it right out.  Or - as in past years - Bob and I scavenge our favorites (him, Reeses'! Me Special Darks, Junior Mints!) throw away any rejects, and put the rest up in a high cabinet for the slow death.

But, don't listen to the rant of a formerly obese girl with her formerly fat husband who has chubby kids.  Listen to someone who says it's probably okay for this night of reckless candy abandon.  I guess the thing is --- this whole night triggers binge-like qualities in everyone in my household.  Perhaps in a "normal" family (We Aren't!!) it isn't as big of a deal.  But with us - it does things - that I am not comfortable with.  It causes the kids to get all hoarder-like and possessive - and I can't stand that.  I wish I could just put a big ole bowl of individually wrapped fat cells on the table and hope that I didn't find my kids lying under the table in a coma. 

So, anyways - that's later.  Ugh.  For now I give you this.  Look, us at Halloween two years ago (there are no pix from last year, we were what, one week?!  postpartum?)

 

Weight

• 164 lbs

Ate

• ISS Oh Yeah Protein Wafers (180 calories)
• 4 oz soymilk

Tuesday.

Weight

• 164.

Ate

• 6am - ISS Oh Yeah Protein Wafers (180)
• 9am - 4 oz skim milk in latte (50)
• 11am - 1 scoop Matrix 5.0 Orange + ice (110)
• 1pm-  16 oz Miso Broth (60)
• 4pm-  1 cup broth + 1/2 cup rice noodles and fresh steamed vegetables (200?)
• 5pm-  ISS Oh Yeah Protein Wafers (180)
• 7pm-  2 oz Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf (150)
• 8pm-  1 pumpkin muffin, homemade (200)
• 10pm - ISS Oh Yeah Protein Wafers (180)

About 1400 calories.  Good.  Now, 'slong as I get to bed - it's a winner day.  Although doesn't it make you realize how little you can eat and how quickly it adds up?!  This is a day of "no meals" - just snacks.

Dinner Tonight - Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf

Go read this.  It's a super-healthy main dish for dinner tonight.  I'll letcha know how it turns out.

It's good! 

Everybody but one specific meatloaf-in general ("Mom, I'm going to be a vegetarian") hater ate it without complaint, finishing all of it.  Super-healthy.  I made a few adjustments, I added two eggs for binding, because I used a ton of cooked quinoa.  I added ground flax seed, half a block of shredded 75% fat free cheddar + a dollop of mild salsa into the mix.  It was tasty - no fat to speak of - no dumping!

How Not To Get Fatter? Don't marry young.

A recent study shows that young folks tend to pack on the pounds when they get hitched young.  I'll call it the honeymoon diet.  The study, discussed at The Obesity Society's Annual Meeting**:

"Many married and single people in their late teens and early 20s gain a significant amount of weight — an average of 15 to 30 pounds — over five years. But newly married men and women in that age group gain 6 to 9 pounds more than their peers who are single and dating."

As a girl who got engaged at age 18, to a 19 year old - and whom married at 20 + 22 years of age, we totally kicked these study statistics!  He and I gained a hell of a lot more than the 15-39ish lbs that most young married couples add together.  I find that in just casually watching other people - that in some relationships - both partners gain to obesity or morbid obesity together.  It's so catchy!  It really is!  I gained a new love of foods that I would have NEVER EVEN TRIED nor tried to cook had I not been living with a man who had undying affection for boxed individually wrapped baked goods and canned peas!  That's not to say I wasn't already fat, but... living with him definitely triggered ten thousand other ways to overeat and gain weight.  The combination of the two of us?  Dangerous!  Other couples, do it to a lesser degree, like the study shows:

"These are among the findings of a study released Monday at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, a group of weight-loss scientists and professionals.

The study confirms other research that shows young adults are especially vulnerable to putting on pounds, and gaining weight is socially contagious."

So, what did we learn?  Stay single!  Stay thin!  :x

Source:  USA Today via this article.

**Funny note:  At The Obesity Societies Annual Meeting this October?  They had:  "Taste of New Orleans" included with  registration - Sample           the fabulous and distinct tastes of New Orleans.  Join your colleagues           on Monday evening, from 7:30 - midnight, to sample all that is           New Orleans.  This event takes the place of the traditional Gala,           and is included in the cost of your registration.

Monday, four sticks of butter.

Weight

• 164 lbs.  (Immediate loss, see?  I ate like a good girl, exercised, and what happened?  An immediate loss of 1+ lbs.  I was over 165 the day before yesterday.  Figures, doing it "right" works.  Boo.)

Ate

• 1 oz mozzarella cheese + 1/2 Power Crunch Cinnamon Bun Flavor (Do. Not. Like.  Horrible greasy mouth feel!  Why?!  But, did not make me sick in one half serving.  Why did I eat it?  Well, I had no ISS Oh Yeah Protein Wafers ready to eat - and this was by my bed, I woke up hungry.)
• 4 oz skim milk in cappuccino
• 1 scoop Matrix 5.0 Orange + ice/water and SF Vanilla syrup (YUM-O!)
• Crashed here (While sipping the end of protein shake - didn't test - drank Apple Cider.  Cured.)
• 1 scoop Matrix 5.0 Orange + ice/water and SF Vanilla syrup (YUM-O!)
• Dinnertime, 6pmish:  A few teeny-tiny bits of cut potato, baked with olive oil spray/salt, 1 slice 2% swiss cheese, two big bites of turkey BLT made on focaccia bread, two bites tomato/gorgonzola that was on top of the kids chicken (made me gag, quit it and moved on to Bob's dinner, which was the BLT)

We're ending at about 1,000 calories.  It's 9pm - and if I eat anything before bed/middle of the night, it's a protein bar, so let's call this day 1,200 calories.  Score!

Crashing here, hard... this will get bad if I don't go find sugar! (after dinner - 9:20ish pm, not hungry, will find something, damn it!!) Tested blood sugar, 48 mg.  Started with  "hands numb," then,brain dysfunction, then sweating (while cold), hands shaking, then I went to the bathroom, realized I was losing it - and came out here and tested.  Tested/pacing/searching for food, for some reason decided against the glucose tabs and ate a ****ing cookie.

Updatey things:

The boy's team, lost yesterday.  The parents who were at the game are all up in arms regarding some sort of bad call by a ref.  I say, "Deal with it."  Then again, I wasn't there - I was working - had I been there, I probably woulda bitched too.  The season = over.   He's slightly sad, which is a good thing, because he really DID enjoy himself.  :)

Today - it was frigid out at the bus stop, gloves and winter coats are now a necessary item.  I need a coat, too, apparently - I found myself defrosting the truck this morning, shivering my saggy ass off, because I Don't Have A Winter Coat, Anywhere In This House?!  What in the hell did I wear last year?  (I was fatter - and I know the coat I had the year prior was a black down jacket - which is long gone and woulda been four sizes too small last year...)  So, on my list with this weeks' paycheck:  A winter jacket for me and probably two/three of the kids.  The baby is all set, she's got like, three.  We have a couple leftover coats from years past that I can try everyone in also, and if they're no good - I'll drop them off at the thrift shop.  Although it's difficult - because I work directly next to a Macy's - and a nice silky poufy black down jacket would love to come home with me and the four thousand dollar credit card they gave me.  Doh.  No.  I won't.  I might, but only on sale/clearance.

(Oh my gawd, a pad commercial, a big huge Always Maxi-Pad, on a saddle, bucking?!  Distracted, I am, yeah.)

Um.  That's all for right now - I am not at home.  Later, I might have a review!  So, what's up with you?  I see you all readin' - how are ya?!

Met-Rx R-T-D Amplified Shooter Fruit Punch

Another in the line of high-quality proteins in test-tubey concoctions.  I wonder if it tastes as Wrong!! as the last one I tried?  As your lab-rat, I may just try it.

 

From this week's Postsecret: Purge.

If this is motivation for someone//anyone out there, I don't know what is. 

Sunday.

(Was On the treadmill.  Currently at 3.4 mph as to type.)

Exercise

• 1 hour on treadmill, at 3.3-4.0ish

Weight

• 165 lbs.  Um, *throws confetti* musta been the calzone.  :x

Ate

• Met RX Protein Plus 51 protein grams RTD (240 calories of which I did not finish, review to come)

Met-Rx Rtd 51 Vanilla - 12 Drink(S) FREE SHIPPING on orders $99 or more. Super Selection. Super Low Prices. Super Specials. We carry 25 products from Met-Rx. More than 20,000 products. More than 400 brands at The Vitamin Shoppe. Sku# MQ-1204 UPC# KW: vitaminshoppe Sports Nutr & Weight Mgt Nutritional Drinks Nutritional Drinks High Protein RTD



 

• Miso-Cup Instant Broth 16 oz (60 calories, review to come)
• 1 slice Ezekiel Bread (80 calories, review to come, good find, again, another new try!) + 1 slice cheese (50 calories)
• 4 oz skim milk in latte (50 calories)
• 1 scoop Matrix 5.0 Orange + 3 oz skim milk + ice (150ish calories)
• 1 Kashi Lemon Rosemary Chicken Meal (300 calories)

Okay girls.  It's 7pm, and I think I am going to end this day RIGHT.  :D  And, to let you know - with this 700-800 calories so far day - I did not crash.  Not once.

Thinking out loud, because thinking out loud seems to be the only way to think?

I am wondering something, as I sit here, waiting to crash.  (I feel it coming.  I ate a meal.)

I wonder, if I have been compensating for my blood sugar issues (no, I have been, I know this) by eating like I have for so long.  The picking, "grazing," 100-200 calories here and there, all of the "I never eat a real meal" behaviors, because, any time I eat more than a couple hundred calories of mixed foods, I crash?

Before I realized what was happening to me - I would blame my reactions on dumping or just food "not agreeing with me," or any number of excuses.  I'm trying to remember how long this has been going on - because it's been blatantly obvious what the problem is since pregnancy, which was what, (doing the math in my head, this is bad, 12 + 9 months ago) 21 months?  And, then, before that - I reacted - but I don't remember it as clearly or as intensely.

I wonder if it truly ISN'T like I have this compulsion to just eat because I'm "starving" all the time - it's my body telling me that if I don't eat all the freaking time, I will end up in a sweaty shaking glob in a coma somewhere?  Also, if I do eat, that I never eat more than a few hundred calories, or I try to keep things simple, because I don't know what foods/combinations of foods will make me drop?

Do You Hate It When I Write Like This?

From my comments today: Regarding The Hyperinsulimic Hypo

This comment was just posted, and I haven't read it through - but I'm leaving it as-is, and I promise I will email you, Kim. 

Thank you!

A new comment from “Kim ” was received on the post “Is it Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia following gastric bypass surgery for obesity. )” of the weblog “melting mama”.

"Comment:

Hello, my name is Kim and I am 30 years old and four years post op RNY.

I was just recently released from Stanford Hospital with the diagnosis Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia .

It took three and a half years to get here. I have been suffering from low blood sugar but couldn't get a doctor to take me seriously until I went to the hospital with a sugar level of 35.

I was involved in a study at Stanford for this and I was the worst case of low blood sugars. I was sent home with injections of oxicide and hope it works.

For all these years I was told I had panic disorder, depression and so many other psychological problems and finally I found a hospital that saw my panic, anxiety and depression as a symptom and they did the proper tests.

I want everyone to know that I was told from doctors at Stanford that removal of any part of your pancreas is not something we should enter into lightly and that it is being found that the people that are going through this surgery are having there symptoms return. I am so glad that I went to Stanford and was given the facts and that they are not planning on jumping to remove any of my pancreas. This is all very new to the medical industry and this is extremly serious.

If you are experiening any symptom of low blood sugar such as sweating, dizziness, anxiety, excessive hunger and much more don't think that you are alone and do not go for a doctor telling you that you have dumping syndrome or that it is all in your head. You have to be on top of your health. Make them do the proper tests.

If you are unsure that you have this condition then buy a inexpensive glucose monitor (once you are diagnosed your insurance will pay for a good one) and when ever you are having symptoms take your blood sugar and if you are low the n you need to get the proper tests.

It is very hard to get a proper diagnoses as the glucose test is not conclusive as you normally don't get as low as you would after eating a regular meal. I did show that I was hypoglycemic on the glucose test but not nearly as low as I am with my regular routine. The best thing to do is have your doctor order a test that has everything they need to see on it such as insulin and glucose and take the order to the lab and tell the lab that you need to be drawn as soon as you get low and that they need to be ready for you as you want to get to your lowest low and then have them draw you but at the same time you don't want to go unconscious so make sure it is right before you know you are going way to low. I brought my meter with me and when I hit 42 I told them okay I am ready "please draw me before I pass out."

This was the best test I ever got as my meter said I was 42 I was actually 35. Please take this seriously as it is life threatining. DO NOT DRIVE. Many people with this condition have been in serious car accidents. Good luck."

Good luck to you, Kim.  Wow.

Poke them with a stick.

The boy, is on a winning football team.  (Who knew?) 

They're like, in the playoffs.  If keep winning, there is a trip to Florida potentially for championships.  Whoa.  I think this is enough to make the kid really enjoy the football itself.  (Remember, I made him cry a year ago when I made me consider playing a sport?  Now, he's like three games away from the champs?)

 

It's just funny, to me (maybe not the other parents who've been doing this for years) because he has never touched a football before, and he's just there floating along with these kids.  On blog-topic?  He's thinned out.  I do not weigh him, but they do weigh in for games, he's still obviously in the weight-range, but he's fitting into old pants that did not fit him last year, size eight huskies.

I just clicked on my Flickr account, to find old photos of him - and I saw this one from April 2005.  He was five years old (it's a terrible photo anyway - but it truly does show how different he is NOW)  This photo make me cringe just now, I said, "OH MY GAWD."   The kid had cankles. 

I know he's wearing high-top sneakers, but, my five year old had cankles. 

This was right before we moved out of the *n-laws home (Wherein we shared a kitchen, and half of that household has also had gastric bypass, so do you understand what I am referring to?  More blog topics coming soon on that issue.  They've been waiting a long time.)

And, one year ago.

The week after football started?:

He's been in those size eight huskies for years (size age five, actually) but - now they fit the waist real snugly, and they are wayyy too short - so he's thinning out and growing taller.  In fact, those shorts in the first photo - definitely still in his closet - he wore them camping.  I thought they were new this year - they're that old, and they fit him now.

THANKGOODNESSOHMYGAWDYOUHAVETOUNDERSTANDWHATARELIEFITISTOSEEHIMINNORMALSIZES.

It's helpful to see that exercise really does make that difference - and we need to get the girls moving.  A lot more, somehow.  It's such a tricky issue.  It is.  My kids eat "well."  I do as much as I can - foodwise - but the exercise hasn't really happened.  I can't force children onto the playing field, but I can poke 'em till they do it. 

They've got to.  It does work. 

c r a s h *ed

I got super hypoglycemic in the grocery store today.  My daughter said - "You're really shaking, you need sugar."  I felt it coming as we got to the parking lot - I was starting to feel stupid while parking the car.  That's always a good measure of my low blood sugar, I start to feel extra stupid. 

(Like this, stupid, "drunk"...

 

What did I eat prior to this?  I had a piece of homemade pumpkin nut bread, and a Ryvita cracker with a slice of cheese.  It was the first "meal" of the day since a really early breakfast.

I tried to get my bizness done and the bank - and I couldn't function.  "Mama, look at your hands."  We went to the diabetic aisle, and I totally "shoplifted, MOM!" cracked open a travel pack of Glucose Tablets and ate four, in rapid succession.  We paced the store for a while and I was fine, "starving," but, fine.  On the way out - I might have bought a cup of grease popcorn chicken and ate half.  So much for a good day, right?

Pinned.

Say a little...

...something for Jen, a prayer a chant... something.  I'm not the praying or hugging type, but I got the urge to squeeze her just now and tell her it's going to be okay.  She's a brave, brave girl.  Please be well, Jen.

Geneva in her local paper. :)

A blogger friend, Geneva, was in her local UK paper today.  Here is part of the article:

By Catherine Scott

 

Less than a year ago, Geneva Fox was a size 28 and weighed more than 22 stone.

Now the 32-year-old mother-of-one from Hessle, near Hull, is a size 16 and weighs just over 13 stone. Her dramatic weight loss is down to gastric bypass surgery she had done on the NHS and the subsequent changes she has made in her lifestyle.

But not everyone's story is as successful as Geneva's.

This month an inquest in Hull heard how a mother-of-six, desperate to lose weight, died just days after having surgery to help her slim.

Annette High, 42, had a previously undetected heart problem. A pathologist said the operation to reduce the size of her stomach could have had an effect on her heart, although he could not be 100 per cent certain.

And in May last year, Lynda Taylor, 33, died after suffering complications following a gastric bypass. Both operations were carried out at the private Hull and East Riding Hospital, part of the Classic Hospitals group, but paid for by the NHS.

After an inquest into her death, her husband, Peter Taylor, called for the surgery to be banned, except in life-threatening cases.

Geneva Fox believes that in many cases surgery is the only answer, but she says that people considering surgery should be made more aware of the potential dangers and also what to do after surgery.

She and a group of friends and colleagues have set up OWLLS, Obesity Weight Loss Surgery Support, which has its inaugural meeting at Castle Hill Hospital in Hull tonight. "We wanted to start a group offering information and advice for people and their families who have had, or are considering having, weight loss surgery," says Geneva, who trained as a doctor in the United States.

"In America, weight loss surgery is more common than it is here because they have a bigger obesity problem, but Britain is fast catching up. In America, patients are given more information and support both before and after surgery, especially on diet."

After a gastric bypass, patients should eat puréed food for six weeks and avoid acidy food. But with NHS resources under pressure, Ms Fox believes this is sometimes insufficient and can lead to problems.

"We are leading by example," says Geneva. "I have completely changed the way I live my life since having surgery. I eat healthily and exercise. As a result I am healthy and the weight is still dropping off."

Geneva's 11-year-old daughter, Ariel is delighted with her mum's new look.

"She thinks it's wonderful. She now has a mum who can play with her in the garden and can take part in the things she enjoys doing, like riding horses."

However, Geneva says as a result of her weight loss her marriage has broken down.

"I used to come home from work and slob out, now I like to go out with friends, do exercise and I feel really great about myself. That just didn't go down well with my ex."

She has also been left with a lot of excess skin, which she will need private plastic surgery to remove at a cost
of more than £4,000. Because it is seen as cosmetic, it is not available on the NHS.

"Weight loss surgery is a last resort," says Geneva. "But when your BMI (Body Mass Index) hits a certain level, it is impossible to lose weight any other way."

Click here to read the rest of the article, or here to visit Geneva's blog.

Kashi Lemongrass Coconut Chicken Review

It's hard to find decent nutrition in the frozen food section of the grocery store.  But, shopping in the local health food stores can be so expensive, I end up with half the quantity of food for the same money. 

Last time I went to the Big Grocery Store - I went down the frozen food aisle for the sole purpose of finding a particular brand of frozen pizza, nothing else, but - I saw frozen entrees/meals, from Kashi! 

I am a geek, and I was super-excited to see them.  The store was apparently sold out of each variety OR was no longer carrying them - except for the Lemongrass Coconut Chicken variety.

Kids, hush, it's not grass.  It's:

Chicken with broccoli florets, carrots, and sugar snap peas are all served over our Kashi Seven Whole Grains and Sesame® with red quinoa pilaf.  It’s then topped with a lemongrass coconut sauce and coconut flakes.

That sounds so healthy AND fancy!  I must try it!  Now, the words coconut + sauce scared me, so I had to read the ingredient list, just to be sure it didn't have a bag of sugar involved or something.  So, what's in the Kashi Lemongrass Coconut Chicken meal?

Ingredients: Cooked Kashi™ Pilaf (water, whole: oats, long grain brown rice, rye, hard red winter wheat, triticale, buckwheat, de hulled barley, sesame seeds), cooked chicken (chicken breast, water, chicken flavor [dehydrated chicken broth, chicken powder, natural flavor], rice starch, carrageenan, salt), water, broccoli, lemon grass puree (lemon grass, water), carrots, cooked quinoa (water, quinoa), sugar snap peas, coconut cream (coconut cream, xanathan gum, carrageenan, guar gum), coconut, evaporated cane juice, rice starch, canola oil, garlic (garlic, water), evaporated salt, ginger puree (ginger, water), jalapeno pepper, lime juice concentrate, soy flour, whole milk powder.

All natural ingredients, NO junk whatsoever.  I was very impressed.  Yes, there is sugar, in the forms of the cane juice, but for six grams of sugar for the entire dish, it's not a big deal.  Now, this is a 283 gram serving - I Could Not Finish It.  I am overfull, after eating about 3/4's of it.  I will, in fact, finish the last few bites in a few moments if I can.  Yes, I have a very small stomach - before weight loss surgery, this meal would have looked puny to me - today it looks like - dinner!

So, how's it taste?  Well, first off, you must know - it smelled luscious while cooking in the microwave.  I'm such a smell freak - I sniff everything prior to tasting it.

After opening and stirring, I noted that the veggies looked of a much better quality than I'm used to seeing in a frozen dinner.  The chicken, typical, small bits of breast. 

The quinoa grains - the first time I've seen quinoa in a frozen meal.  Have you seen it in any other meals, in mainstream grocery stores?  Quinoa is a super healthy grain.  In fact, check this out:  From Wikipedia: 

" In contemporary times this crop has come to be highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content (12%–18%) is very high. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete foodstuff. This means that unlike wheat protein, one does not need to supplement it with complementary foods such as legumes containing the other essential amino acids. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered as a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.^[5]"

The nutrition info:

Calories 300     Calories from Fat 70

Total Fat 8g   12%     Saturated Fat 4g   20%     Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 10mg   3%

Sodium 680mg   28%

Total Carbohydrate 38g   13%    

Dietary Fiber 7g   28%    

Sugars 6g

Protein 18g   36%

Vitamin A   40%

Vitamin C   20%

Calcium   6%

Iron   10%

Okay, with all this positive stuff, it has to taste awful, right? 

NO.  I like it.  MM likes it.  Really. 

I'm full - I'm satisfied - and I had a totally healthy meal.  It's a huge sensory experience, this Lemongrass Coconut Chicken - lots of flavors, it's citrus-y, slightly spicy thanks to a jalapeno kick - and great texture from the fresh frozen veggies and chewy quinoa pilaf.  This is totally pouch-worthy, thumbs up.  Try it.

This ain't your $1.00 Banquet Frozen Chicken Meal, this'll cost you about $3.50 more or less.  I can't find prices online, but I found it at the Super HellMart for about $3.00 each.  I bought three of this variety, and would have tried all choices if they were available, but Wal*Mart likes to stock more shelves with Banquet Chicken Pies and Blue Bunny Ice Cream instead.

Kashi's Lemongrass Coconut Chicken Meal - Pouchworthy!

 

Plastic Surgery Complications - Update (again, again, again.)

So, it's been what, nearly eight weeks or so since MIL's lower body lift and butt lift? 

Today - back up to the hospital. 

She got a fever, higher than it's been (she's been feverish on and off,) and developed a rash.  When I saw her this afternoon, her cheeks were still red and she was spotty.  I don't know what happened - but the doctors removed her PICC line and took her off whatever medication she was taking for the infections.  She also had more fluid drained from her butt-cheek where it had blown up like a hot-air balloon, if hot air balloons were filled with pus.  She didn't seem to know why the IV was removed - but it must be because the rash was a reaction to the IV meds. 

As for the vertigo, worse than before - I would say.  She walked straight into the wall while I was there this afternoon, and the movement of anything in her line of vision makes her dizzy.  This is beyond insane to me.  I would love to know WHAT if anything - is the connection between this problem and the series of surgeries that seemed to precipitate this vertigo issue.  If she wasn't dealing with the vertigo - I think she would be at least more mobile and able to function.  With the vertigo - she is entirely unable to participate in more than a few moments of any activity.  She's spending every few minutes in bed - or sitting straight - looking at one point to focus.  Can you even imagine? 

Tuesday Tantrum.

I will blog something later.  We have slight insanity in the house.

Eh, it's later.

We're working on getting my giant losing two teeth kindergartener to Sleep In Her God Damned Bed Damn It.  Without too much threat - she went to bed last night and slept right through.  Why doesn't she sleep in her dog damned bed?  Because. We. Let. Her. Co-Sleep. for years with us while she was nursing  - and it stuck.  Now she's a giant and taking over the king sized mattress, so OUT!  OUT WITH YOU!  Also, you need to know - in my little social experiment?  The child who got the most "attachment parenting" bullpoop at first - is the. most. bratty. kid we have.  But, whatever.  Yeah, I'm in a mood, and she's currently faking sleep next to me on the couch in total darkness.

My stomach wanted revolt today - for a few hours - and I thought I might have caught a bug - but... maybe it was just too much milk.  I drank two lattes today, that could have been too much.  What'd I eat?  Uhh, let's recall:

Weight

• 166 lbs.

Ate

• ISS Oh Yeah Protein Bar (Making me dump if eaten in one quick sitting lately.  Oh no. 180 calories)
• 1 small biscotti (100 calories)
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder in fruit smoothie (Drank one half and felt sick, threw it away 100 calories)
• 2 oz cheddar cheese (180 calories)
• 1 100 calorie English muffin with butter (150 calories)
• Toppings of 1/4 deep dish pizza (about 1/3 cup total cheese, pepperoni and tomatoes 200 cals)