So for those of you who don't know, I have been on a weight loss journey for a few years now. I am down over 60 lbs from the weight that was typical when I wasn't pregnant. During my pregnancies, I put on 60+ lbs in just water weight. So at points, I was over 120 lbs heavier than I am today. Crazy to think about! But that being said, because of the dramatic gains and losses, my skin took alot of wear and stretching.
Most people can't tell, but most places on my body, you can pull loose skin away. It is bad in my arms, stomach and thighs. It drives me nuts :) So I decided to see what it would entail and cost to get some of this excess skin removed. The results are mind boggling!
Two separate operations.
For my arm and thighs: $11,900
Tummy tuck: $8,670
Wholly crap that is ALOT of money! That is all I can wrap my mind around right now :) The surgeon said he highly recommends the tummy tuck for me because he could get the most results there. I have stretch marks on my stomach and he said he could get rid of most all of them!! Wow, didn't really think that was possible.
I have a whole mental stigma against plastic surgery, too. I think it seems so vain of me to want this. I have never had a great body, not that I will after either, but I didn't ever think I would be one to get something done like this...the pain, the money, the healing. This isn't an all of a sudden idea for me. I have been thinking about this for years and it was one of my motivations for my working out and eating a healthy diet. What I want to get done can't be done by diet and exercise, to change it, the only option is removal.
I also had another doctor appointment for my heart and blood pressure that I need to get sorted out before trying to sort anymore of this plastic surgery stuff out. But I just wanted to share about what I found out! Not sure how someone can justify to spend that kind of money on altering their body??? I will let you know if I do figure it out ;)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Happy Rantings!
I feel like ranting today...and I guess they aren't exactly happy :)
First on my list is: I want my kids to sleep longer in the morning! I hate waking up early and I know it is good they don't sleep until noon-anymore. ha ha ha. But mommy is a happier camper when she gets to sleep in! I can't seem to fall asleep earlier if I don't take some kind of night time medication! I was (in my mind) addicted to Nyquil until I used it all and decided I won't be buying that for myself anymore :)
Second: I hate money. I hate that it controls everything and is so important. I find it especially annoying since I do work hard, but I don't monetarily contribute to the family. It bugs me! You can probably never have enough, I am thankful I don't HAVE to work outside the house and that we don't need for anything.
Third: I hate chores with a passion and my kids can be, at times, the messiest kids in the world. I wish I could even like just one chore...but I don't. Unless it is mowing the lawn to get a break from the kids or re-organizing something when I have a good idea (Doesn't happen often). It is probably a good thing we move every couple of years!
Fourth: I truly am sick of being told how tired I look. It seems like I get this comment from strangers alot. I know running around with my two kids all day long takes it toll on me, but I ignore it and when you bring up, then I start to get mentally tired!
Fifth: Why do so many women dress up to take their kids to school? Even back in VA, the women at our school didn't doll up to drop your kids off at school! Joe even made the comment that they must be the "Real Housewives of Boerne" LOL! Now I feel pressure to dress up to take my kids to school so I'm not that young mom who doesn't know how things go around here. :( Ugh. I would like to just stay in my PJ's and get ready after I drop them off! I know I could, but I don't like to stand out in the crowd, even though I usually always do with looking so young, but I am noticing I fit in a little better that way here in Texas.
Sixth: I hate how everyone here has a big ole truck and doesn't know how to park the dang thing!! Don't buy it or drive it if you can't handle it...or take a class and learn! You aren't suppose to take up 3 spaces near the front of the store and in middle of the aisle!! Go to the back of the parking lot at least.
Seventh: I just can't be happy, I guess. I use to complain how everyone was so unsocial back east and now here, I feel like people are to nice! I don't like strangers when I am out and about- espcially if you are male. I probably don't want to talk to you unless I make eye contact with you and initiate the conversation. Please stop trying to gab it up with me when I am just trying to get through the grocery store or taking a walk or asking me a million questions when you figure out that I am not really from here. You usually get borderline or completely nosey! ( I am pretty nosey, so I can't really hold it against them)
Ahhhh, I feel a little better :) I am having one of those days. I know you all know what I mean!
First on my list is: I want my kids to sleep longer in the morning! I hate waking up early and I know it is good they don't sleep until noon-anymore. ha ha ha. But mommy is a happier camper when she gets to sleep in! I can't seem to fall asleep earlier if I don't take some kind of night time medication! I was (in my mind) addicted to Nyquil until I used it all and decided I won't be buying that for myself anymore :)
Second: I hate money. I hate that it controls everything and is so important. I find it especially annoying since I do work hard, but I don't monetarily contribute to the family. It bugs me! You can probably never have enough, I am thankful I don't HAVE to work outside the house and that we don't need for anything.
Third: I hate chores with a passion and my kids can be, at times, the messiest kids in the world. I wish I could even like just one chore...but I don't. Unless it is mowing the lawn to get a break from the kids or re-organizing something when I have a good idea (Doesn't happen often). It is probably a good thing we move every couple of years!
Fourth: I truly am sick of being told how tired I look. It seems like I get this comment from strangers alot. I know running around with my two kids all day long takes it toll on me, but I ignore it and when you bring up, then I start to get mentally tired!
Fifth: Why do so many women dress up to take their kids to school? Even back in VA, the women at our school didn't doll up to drop your kids off at school! Joe even made the comment that they must be the "Real Housewives of Boerne" LOL! Now I feel pressure to dress up to take my kids to school so I'm not that young mom who doesn't know how things go around here. :( Ugh. I would like to just stay in my PJ's and get ready after I drop them off! I know I could, but I don't like to stand out in the crowd, even though I usually always do with looking so young, but I am noticing I fit in a little better that way here in Texas.
Sixth: I hate how everyone here has a big ole truck and doesn't know how to park the dang thing!! Don't buy it or drive it if you can't handle it...or take a class and learn! You aren't suppose to take up 3 spaces near the front of the store and in middle of the aisle!! Go to the back of the parking lot at least.
Seventh: I just can't be happy, I guess. I use to complain how everyone was so unsocial back east and now here, I feel like people are to nice! I don't like strangers when I am out and about- espcially if you are male. I probably don't want to talk to you unless I make eye contact with you and initiate the conversation. Please stop trying to gab it up with me when I am just trying to get through the grocery store or taking a walk or asking me a million questions when you figure out that I am not really from here. You usually get borderline or completely nosey! ( I am pretty nosey, so I can't really hold it against them)
Ahhhh, I feel a little better :) I am having one of those days. I know you all know what I mean!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Camping!
I have no idea why, but I love the OUTDOORS! I don't remember doing alot of camping when I was younger or anything, but I have always felt at peace whenever i'm outdoors, either just eating dinner on the patio, riding my bike through the villages in Germany, running on the W&OD trail or whatever it may be.
Joe and I went camping once when we were dating (ha ha ha) and that is a story in itself, but last year, when Collin was 1, we decided to get a big ole tent and some camping gear to try to go camping more. We went up in the Shenandoah Mountains, and it was a nightmare, he wasn't ready and cried most of the night :) Wasn't sure if we were ever going to go again, but I worked with him over the past year to not have to have his own room and complete silence to go to bed. This made this year's camping trip much easier!
We debated where to go camping, Enchanted Rock or Colorado Bend State Park and the latter won because the pictures looked better :) We were one of the only people staying and no one was around us. We brought Belle, too. She scared off the deer when we first got there, but was well behaved otherwise! She has been coming along well in her on and off training :)
We set up camp and it was just up from a river in a canyon area. Very nice setting. The days are still very hot here in Texas, but the nights cool down into the 60's so that was bearable. Joe put up our gigantic tent while I dragged all the stuff down from the car.
After camp was setup, we went for a hike! We wanted to do the waterfall hike, but were told it was only trickling. It is a pretty long hike, so we are saving it for when it will be more of a waterfall to view. The state park rangers told us about some fresh water spring ponds that were on a hike and we decided to go check them out. They said it was only like 1/2 to them, but it was more like 1 mile + and carrying two kids, by the time we were done, it felt more like 10 miles instead of 2!
The trail was along the river most of the way. The kids called the cactus we passed "pokies" and we saw an Armadillo. We weren't sure what it was at first, so we sent daddy to investigate :) Once we got to the pond, we were surprised they were green :/ But they were teeming with life. Little fish and big fish and who knows what else. they flowed from one area to another down rock like cliffs and the kids had a ball climbing through the water and trying to catch fish and slipping on the slippery rocks/silt. Mommy and daddy on the other hand (at least mommy) was freaking out about them slipping and hurting themselves or into the deeper water :) They were all wet and we sat down for a snack and a drink before heading back.
When we got back to camp, we were physically tired, but it wasn't quite dinner time yet. So we all headed down to the river area to do a little exploring. Again, there were a bunch of fish of all sizes, little water snails and TONS of little frogs! I caught one for the kids to see up close and personal. We walked up and down the water's edge looking for things. I have to say, I enjoyed this a lot and reminded me of some childhood memories :) We headed back up to camp for dinner.
Dinner was pretty basic. We weren't allowed to have any flames of any sort since it has been so dry and hot here in Texas. So we just had some sandwiches and chips. We then went and used the potty's (gross) and got ready for bed. We brought the Ipad and watched Rio (for the umpteenth time). Once it was dark, the kids were out, like light bulbs. It was fantastic until...
Raccoons. We didn't take our garbage up to the dumpster, but hung it in the tree. Ugh, that was a mistake. The darn raccoons were at it all night waking Joe and I up every 20 mins at night. After that, the deer came to see what they were up to and then the rascally raccoons started to go for our cooler. Not sure why Belle never barked at any of them. Maybe she knew she wasn't suppose to?
In the morning, (mommy didn't want to wake up) Alana was the first up, followed by daddy and then Collin. Amazing that Collin wasn't first! We had muffins and donut holes, backed up and loaded up the car because we had a pool party to get to that afternoon.
So it was a good time! We learned something new...throw away your trash BEFORE bed :) We are excited to go again soon. So glad the kids enjoyed it so much. Just hoping I get a little more sleep next time.
Our Beach Outing!
I have slowed down on my blogging...life has been so hectic for me with Daddy being gone and having the kids, plus a dog, plus a house to maintain! So sorry...
Alexandra, one of my two really good friends from high school, and I have been meeting up on the weekends to do stuff. She is here for a year, without her husband, so she has some free time :) We decided to take a trip to the beach and it turned out to be quite an adventure!
So I tried doing my research before we went, but you can only do so much. I read you should get a parking pass for beach areas before getting there and I thought we'd be fine just going to the Corpus Christi bay beach area...WRONG!
So I stop at an HEB (grocery store here in TX) that I researched before hand. The outside and area in general looked shady, but I went in anyway. I was stared down (only white girl and not sure if they ever had seen one before??) and was pretty uncomfortable. Everyone looked at me crazy when inquiring about a beach parking pass and directed me to go to a Stripes (gas station). Alex stayed in the car with the youngins :)
We get to the Stripes, not far from HEB and I tell Alex it is her turn! Ha ha ha, she said I'm not getting out...and I said, okay you are prettier, so I am less likely to get stolen. LOL! I was pretty freaked out, too. So I go in and the lady at the cashier looks at me like I am crazy and she asked why I would stop there and to go closer to the beach. As soon as I get in the car, Alex tells me OMG that girl is a prostitute! I look and sure enough, the (not so attractive) lady who was pacing in front of the gas station before I went in, was all over a guy in the corner area. Can we say CREEPY! Needless to say, we moved on as quickly as my little Mazda would take us :)
Then, we stop at the next Stripes where I get Alex to go in :) She said the guy was creepy in there and was trying to get her to buy some candy?! He said we didn't need one in that area. Geez, this darn pass is a pain! But we go to find a spot on the beach area. So the area looks nice, but the people and the beach area is pretty gross!
We get on the beach and right off the bat, this little boy comes and starts taking our toys and playing with them. I didn't care much, but I think Alex was like WTF? lol. We eat our sub par lunch and the creepy kin folk of the boy come up to show us a jellyfish and ask us if we want to touch it...we were like NO!! And he came back a little later to ask if we had a knife? strange. Then some gangster looking guys came and we were like, let's drive that extra hour to the nice area!
So off we went, not sure where the hell we were going. Alex drove right onto a ferry in port Aransas :) Ready or not, we went to the other side, not sure if that was even where we really wanted to go. SO MUCH nicer over there. We drove for awhile and decided we better stop and see the beach here. We sure were glad when we stopped (even tho we didn't have that dang pass we were TRYING to get). It was nice, pretty white sandy beaches and no seaweed or murky water. We could see little fish swimming and we all had so much fun playing on this beach. No creepy people approached us and we had wished we knew about this spot all along. It was getting late in the day and had a long drive ahead of us. On the way home we stopped at Whataburger (LOVE) and DQ ha ha ha for a potty break. All in all a great adventure, even tho parts were a bit sketchy. So glad I didn't do that one alone :)
P.S. We brought Belle with us, too! She was good, for her :) She wanted the ice cream man and bikers, but other than that I was happy she came.
Alexandra, one of my two really good friends from high school, and I have been meeting up on the weekends to do stuff. She is here for a year, without her husband, so she has some free time :) We decided to take a trip to the beach and it turned out to be quite an adventure!
So I tried doing my research before we went, but you can only do so much. I read you should get a parking pass for beach areas before getting there and I thought we'd be fine just going to the Corpus Christi bay beach area...WRONG!
So I stop at an HEB (grocery store here in TX) that I researched before hand. The outside and area in general looked shady, but I went in anyway. I was stared down (only white girl and not sure if they ever had seen one before??) and was pretty uncomfortable. Everyone looked at me crazy when inquiring about a beach parking pass and directed me to go to a Stripes (gas station). Alex stayed in the car with the youngins :)
We get to the Stripes, not far from HEB and I tell Alex it is her turn! Ha ha ha, she said I'm not getting out...and I said, okay you are prettier, so I am less likely to get stolen. LOL! I was pretty freaked out, too. So I go in and the lady at the cashier looks at me like I am crazy and she asked why I would stop there and to go closer to the beach. As soon as I get in the car, Alex tells me OMG that girl is a prostitute! I look and sure enough, the (not so attractive) lady who was pacing in front of the gas station before I went in, was all over a guy in the corner area. Can we say CREEPY! Needless to say, we moved on as quickly as my little Mazda would take us :)
Then, we stop at the next Stripes where I get Alex to go in :) She said the guy was creepy in there and was trying to get her to buy some candy?! He said we didn't need one in that area. Geez, this darn pass is a pain! But we go to find a spot on the beach area. So the area looks nice, but the people and the beach area is pretty gross!
We get on the beach and right off the bat, this little boy comes and starts taking our toys and playing with them. I didn't care much, but I think Alex was like WTF? lol. We eat our sub par lunch and the creepy kin folk of the boy come up to show us a jellyfish and ask us if we want to touch it...we were like NO!! And he came back a little later to ask if we had a knife? strange. Then some gangster looking guys came and we were like, let's drive that extra hour to the nice area!
So off we went, not sure where the hell we were going. Alex drove right onto a ferry in port Aransas :) Ready or not, we went to the other side, not sure if that was even where we really wanted to go. SO MUCH nicer over there. We drove for awhile and decided we better stop and see the beach here. We sure were glad when we stopped (even tho we didn't have that dang pass we were TRYING to get). It was nice, pretty white sandy beaches and no seaweed or murky water. We could see little fish swimming and we all had so much fun playing on this beach. No creepy people approached us and we had wished we knew about this spot all along. It was getting late in the day and had a long drive ahead of us. On the way home we stopped at Whataburger (LOVE) and DQ ha ha ha for a potty break. All in all a great adventure, even tho parts were a bit sketchy. So glad I didn't do that one alone :)
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