Tina’s Treasured Thoughts

I haven’t written for quite a while.   I’ve had quite a few days that I have felt weak and just didn’t feel like doing anything, but am better now, that I am getting a little solid protein.   I am at 40 lbs lost now and it is soooo wonderful to get into a lot of my clothes that I couldn’t wear before.   Someday, I will get some new clothes, but not for a while.  I have another afghan put together now to send to Shelley Tucker at http://thiseclecticlife.com/  She is the one who has the “share a square” afghans for the children victims of Cancer who are going to camp again in the summer of next year.   I love reading her blogs.  She seems like such an interesting person.   I’ve got to vote for her for best blogging I think by the 15th if I can figure out how to do it from her instructions.   I have a brother in Prison in Elmore, AL and I am going to see him on the 22nd of December.  I haven’t seen him for 3 years.   I am really looking forward to it.   He is one of those few who is in prison for something he did not do.   Believe it or not, there are a lot of people like that.    If I don’t get back here soon, I wish all of you a wonderful, blessed Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2008.   I hope to get back here soon.   God bless all of you.

Hello all,

I am doing so good after the Bariatric By-Pass surgery.   It has been 2 weeks ago on this past Tuesday.   My stiches are almost totally healed.   I had about a 2 1/2 inch incision and it is fantastic how I have healed.  I am diabetic and I was concerned about how I would heal.    But my sugar has also come down and maybe that is why I am healing well.

When the pre-op class instructor said I would not be hungry, I thought “sure”  but honestly I have not been hungry at all.  At this time, I am getting 2 oz. of liguid per meal which is 3 times a day and 2 snacks in between.  

I actually have to make myself eat because it is for my health and I must get the nutrients that my body needs.  I have lost 28 1/2 lbs in this short time and it feels great.

I drink protein shakes and calcium supplements, thiamine and B-12 to keep healthy.   As you can probably tell, I am very excited about this new lifestyle and new journey I am on.

I have spent a lot of time crocheting for the “Share A Square” program and am putting together another afghan kit together for Shelly Tucker.   This is such a great time to just relax and enjoy the time I have to do this.

Well, I pray that all of you will stay well and thanks for all the comments.

Just wanted to let all of know that my gastric bypass surgery went well on Tuesday and I am still in the hospital at St. Vincent’s Bariactric hospital and hope to go home tomorrow.  I will come back and post some more when I get home.

It seems as if I hardly cook anymore. My husband, Jack, says our stove is just a decoration. LOL I used to love to cook and I was good at it. I have so many things going on that there just isn’t enough time to plan menus and get to the grocery. We eat out often. In fact, we meet our friends and get to visit with them because they eat out too! I guess everyone is busy these days.

There is nothing worse than being out with friends and having a tooth break. I was eating Mexican food with our friends and all of a sudden, I felt something hard in my mouth. I thought that maybe it was a hard piece of rice but it felt bigger than that. I found out that part of my tooth had broken.

It was very uncomfortable to try to eat without getting food into that tooth. I wish I would have had some Dentemp OS. It is a great temporary fix when you get into trouble. It would have given me a 60 minute solution to get me through dinner at least! I need to carry this temporary dental repair with me to avoid the situation next time. We live and learn!

Well, I had my second laser eye surgery yesterday and oh my goodness, how great it is to see again.   I had cataract’s removed from both eyes about a year and a half ago and the covering over the implants clouded over and I was almost blind and couldn’t see, so had that taken care of last week and this week.  We don’t appreciate our eye site untill it goes bad on us.  I couldn’t believe all the brightness of the colors again.  

I forgot I have been working on putting an afghan together for The Share A Square for Children who have cancer and will be in camp next summer.

This is the link for that also.  http://thiseclecticlife.com/2007/10/01/october-sas-update/

Mailing the one I put together for her today.

Had to put black around all the squares and whip them together and then rim it with a couple of rows of crochet.

It has been such a blessing and rewarding to do this.

I haven’t forgotten I have a blog, but it probably seems that way.  I see I haven’t posted since september 20.   Too long!!

I have been so busy.  I am having Gastric By-Pass Surgery on the 30th of this month and there have been so many things I had to have done before the surgery.

Clearance by my heart doctor, a cath, much lab work, gallbadder untra sound, x-rays, visit to 2 different doctors, a physicologist meeting for 1 hr. to evaluate why I want this surgery.

Guess I am all clear and will start on this new jorney next week.   Oh, in the middle there, I had cataret surgery over 1 1/2 years ago and the covering for the implant clouded over in the past 6 months and so had to go have lazer surgery on my left eye last week and tomorrow I go for the right eye.

Hope all of you are doing good.  Thanks for all the comments on my last post.

I know God is good and I know He is with me through all of this.

I’ll try and write again before the surgery.

Do any of you play on Pogo games?   I have been a member for a couple of years.    They have all kinds of games, but my favorites are Canasta, Pinochle and my very favorite is Mahjongg.    You can earn badges by completing the challenges each week.   It can be very addictive.   You can also live chat while you play.  Check out www.pogo.com    I have some free 2 week passes if you would like to try it out.   I would need your email to give it to you.   Well, just wondered if anyone knew about pogo.

Does your desk or workplace get piled up like mine?   My husband has made one of our connecting rooms into a wonderful office for me and it is so difficult to keep it neat.   It is large enough and you would think it would be easy to keep neat, but NO doesn’t seem to be that easy.   

I have an L-Shaped desk that he built and a long counter behind me, but it stays piled up with papers all the time.  Seems like the more space you have, the more places you have to lay things.  

I have taken some pictures and will share them with you.   As I looked at them, I realized I have too many things just sitting on my desk all the time that I need to condense.    Like candles, penholders, coin holder, plaques, pictures, etc;  so looking at the pictures helped me to see what I need to do.   

So many times, I work and get it all looking good and then in no time, it it back like this again.   I am a person who likes things neat, so this is a challenge.   Can anyone relate?   First picture I took of this mess , 2nd. Picture , 3rd Picture , 4th Picture , 5th and last picture    Any advice from you organizers out there?

How many times have you and your family planned to go on a trip and since you know where you are going, you think, “now where are we going to stay? Do we just take our chances and hope we can find a room when we get there or do I need to make a reservation?”

Well, I have been there, done that, and it is not a good idea. Take it from someone who knows. There have been a few times I had to take a room in a place I really didn’t want.

So, I think … “Where do I go to look for a place to stay that is going to meet our budget?” So, as so many of us do, I go online and type in motel reservations and Oh My Goodness, there are so many sites that will come up. In fact, if you have just done that, there will be around 38,900 sites pop up and then you think, “Oh My Gosh, Now What Do I Do?” There are so many to choose from and immediately I am overwhelmed.

Well, I have good news for you. There is a way to solve your problem and that is when you go to this site Hotel Reservations and this Little problem or maybe we should say Big problem facing you can be resolved. This site has great discount prices and offers these prices not only here in the USA which is where I live, but they can accommodate you world wide.

They have many places to choose from not only with hotel/motels but those wonderful resort and vacation rentals at a price you can afford. They have vacation packages and as most have an 800 number and an international number also for you to use.

Have you ever wanted to stay at a resort/vacation rental place and thought you couldn’t afford it? Well I have and it is a really nice thing to do.  With these people you can stay at a place that you have always wanted to be. You must check out this site  and see for yourself all they have to offer. You will find them friendly and anxious to meet all your needs and we all like that, don’t we?

So do yourself a favor and go visit this site and then you can travel relaxed knowing that you have a place to stay even if the evening gets late before you arrive. They will hold your room.