The Bestest Weekend Eva!

I may need to post a few times in order to let you know how much fun and excitement I had on my visit with Barbara this past weekend.

Wow. What an amazing woman she is. Warm, genuine, loving, sweet, generous all rolled into one. There aren't enough adjectives to describe her. What a time we had.

Part 1: The trip to Pennsylvania
I’ll start with my trip down on Friday morning, May 20th. I left about 5:30 am because I couldn’t sleep. Hooked up the GPS and headed out. Jill is the voice on my GPS and she told me where to go throughout the trip. I also told her off a few times and told her where she could go! When I didn’t go in the direction she wanted me to, she didn’t get pissed or anything. She just kept recalculating.

My first stop was at the US/Canada border. The US Border guard was a lady. I passed her my passport and here is how the conversation went:

Guard: Where are you going?
Me: Pennsylvania

Guard: Why?
Me: To visit a friend. (notice I hadn't mentioned the sex of the friend)

Guard: And how do you know this person?

OK stop right there. I was in a bit of a panic. I couldn’t think. All sorts of thoughts were running through my mind.

• Well she’s a BOOB—nope, not gonna say that.
• Well I met her on the Internet—nope, not gonna say that (I hadn’t mentioned a “she”)
• Well she’s a Bandster—nope, not gonna say that.

So after a big pregnant pause, I said: I met her at a conference.

Guard: And when was the last time you were in the United States. God, these questions are tough. I was sure I would be thrown in jail!
Me (after thinking really hard): Oh yeah, last September when I was at a conference and met my friend!

That got me through the border and I was on my way. Turned up the music and sang my way through New York and then into Pennsylvania.

Part 2: The arrival at Barbara’s House around 3:00 pm
As I rang the doorbell, I began to think maybe she wouldn’t like me and we would have nothing to talk about. As the door opened, we stared at each other. Two little Yorkies—Sophie and Chloé—danced around barking frantically at this intruder. Then we hugged each other so tight it felt like we had known each other for our entire life.

…and didn’t stop talking until I left on Monday morning. 

I think there might have been a tear or two but it was like BOOBs 2010 with 48 fewer people around.

Suffice to say, I consider Barbara to be one of my bestest friends. On Friday night, we did go out for dinner with Barbara’s daughter and son-in-law. Such a cute couple. And the crab cakes were excellent.

Part 3: Saturday dinner out at R2L in downtown Philly
We made a vlog (my first) so go see it if you like. It is a bit dark, partly because we forgot to turn on the lights. But at least it doesn’t show how bagged we were. The vlog tells most of what we did on Saturday so I won’t repeat. And yes we shared a few bottles of wine over the 3 days. We had a driver take us to the restaurant and Cindy and her hubby joined us too:

Here is a picture of that pig on a plate that Barbara ordered that was the special of the chef. You would think she didn’t have a band! But I think she only was able to eat 3 bites of that big hunk of pork:

Cindy and Ed

OMG, aren't they cute!

Cindy, I'll e-mail you the pics.

Part 4: Sunday Shopping at the Premium Outlet Stores
First thing Sunday morning, Maria dropped in to visit.

Then it was off to shop all day Sunday. I was able to get a couple of pairs of shorts, a skirt and a Coach purse at the Outlet Stores. Barbara did ok too. By that night we were both exhausted but happily so.

Part 5: Farewell
After lots of hugs and goodbyes I had to leave and spent Monday driving back to Ottawa, stopping to shop on the way. Today at work was agony. I wanted to crawl under my desk and sleep this afternoon. Funny how the body doesn’t bounce back from partying like when we were younger. But it was worth it. So much fun and laughter.

I imagine Chicago 2011 will be just like that.

My Adventure with Barbara

Come see our vlog we made last night.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

I'm off to invade the United States of America.

Yes folks, I'm heading to Pennsylvania for a visit with our Barbara. She has such a weekend planned and it also includes Cindylew!!

Relaxing and pampering. Eating out. Drinking. SHOPPING!!

And the Canadian dollar is above par so I'll get more for my buck in Buck's County!

Is anyone jealous yet?

Leaving early on Friday morning and will be back on Monday. I have maps, a GPS and Google Maps on my iTouch. I just have to point myself south and I shouldn't get lost.

Although coming home tonight I used my GPS and it tried to take me to a house on the street behind me. It had to keep recalculating as I missed their suggested turns. Oh well. If I get a few hundred feet from the destination, someone should help me.

See ya later alligators.

***I just found out that Maria from This one time at Band Camp is meeting us on Sunday. Yeah for a mini BOOBs***

The Whole Enchilada

I ate it. And then half of the second enchilada. It was yummy along with the beans and nacho chips and salsa. Oh yeah. Throw in a glass or two of Sangria and I'd say, the band is being very friendly right now.

After my fill two weeks ago (0.2 cc) I've been eating all types of food and have especially enjoyed toast. I chew the beejeebus out of everything. I am a model chewer. But I haven't lost any weight. Quantity is my killer right now. When I was in the green zone in the past, I would just stop eating because I didn't feel like eating anymore. Does that sound like how a normal person eats. I could go for hours and not think about eating. But not right now.

So I called my clinic to beg for another fill. Well, it wasn't begging but I'm sure she heard the desperation in my voice and told me I could get 0.1 cc the week of May 30th. I'll take it. I love that I can eat almost anything. The problems is I am hungry within hours. I also wake up hungry which hasn't happened for months. So I'll pump up that little puppy with a drop and see if it keeps the hungries at bay.

In much better news. My liver is NORMAL. Yup, I saw my doc on Monday and my liver function tests are all fine. For the last 5 years my liver enzymes have been elevated and I was told I had fatty liver. Losing the weight has reversed that. Now I won't feel so bad having a drink or two (as if that ever stopped me!). And yup, he is the same doc I met up with at the liquor store with a cart full of wine.

My blood sugar is also completely normal. Woo Hoo! It had just started to go up before my surgery but I never got the dreaded diagnosis of diabetes, although I know it would have made its entrance if I hadn't lost this weight. My cholesterol is high so I'm on Crestor to see if it comes down. And my BP is still not as low as I would like.

More exercise for this chicky. I need to make my goal of walking to Chicago.

I had a Makeover

That is, my blog had a makeover. Jen from Just Foolin' Blog Designs whipped this up for me and it is amazing. You won't see it from Google Reader so come visit my page to see the incredible work she did. Thanks so much Jen! You are so talented and creative. I love my Rollercoaster!

Don't you just love the the little lady in the rollercoaster cart with the wine bottle. All created by Jen. The bottle has a picture of a maple leaf (for Canada) with my name on it. Funny little side note: in the first draft, some of the wine splotches looked a little too much like blood splatter so she smoothed the drops out a bit. We knew Gilly would get a kick out of it looking like blood though.

I named my blog because I felt my multiple tries to lose weight by any means possible was like a rollercoaster. The endless diet, lose weight, stabilize for a few months, gain the weight back. Many many times over the course of the last 46 years. Up and down and all around, always looking for the next big diet which would work.

But none of them did. It isn't about the food. I know the majority of us actually know what a completely healthy diet looks like. But the quantity is something I was never able to get under control. My brain was crying out with hunger. But it wasn't always food that it needed. I chose food to soothe me when I was sad, happy, depressed, stressed, tired, angry...

I truly believe that not all hunger is for food. It shows up as emotional and psychological hunger as well. The band has helped control the portions but the brain still cries out sometimes. Why are you doing this. Why are you "starving me". There's a whiny two year old stuck in my brain sometimes.

Living with the band is a tool now for me. Blogging helps me understand the brain side of things as I try to comfort my thoughts with something other than food. It is still up to me to do my part as well. Exercise, eat right and be aware. I'm not quite at my sweet spot—that lovely place when the band is working optimally, when I can forget about eating—but I will get there again.

I actually got the band to help me keep the weight off. And it is working. I have been at the same weight since September. Maybe this is as far as I can get on the scale (170). I don't know. I'll never give up trying. Because to give up is to get back on that Rollercoaster again.

Right now "The Ride is Over" for this Rollercoaster. But I can still stand on the sidelines and watch as others twirl and get thrown around the curves on their quest for a thinner body. They will eventually need to get off too. I reached the end, still smiling. Ready for anything.

I'm just glad I was able to get off before I threw up!

And special thanks to Jen for my new signature block. A few people have told me I drink too much. I really don't. But it's fun to keep the fantasy alive!

Pre Fill Day

I got my fill of the Royals. Loved it all. I had to give "the look" to a lot of the guys in my life when they rolled their eyes. I just replied that it was no difference than these same guys going all gaga over hockey or soccer or football. Just give me a few royal moments pulleze.

Bandwise, I've been able to eat almost anything, although I'm keeping to smaller amounts. But when bread and pasta become daily events, I know I will soon be back to gaining. I have a fill booked for Tuesday morning and hope that kicks me into gear to lose a bit more weight. At the beginning of March they took out 0.5 cc. I had 0.2 cc put in three weeks ago and this should bring me back to my green zone.

I've been out walking at least 3 times a week. Today is rain so of course I decided to do something else and blog.

I just voted. I am sure not many of you know but we Canadians are in a Federal Election. We'll know later tonight what if any changes (like a new Prime Minister) will result. My only fear is big cuts to government jobs but mine should be safe (for now)!

That's my update.

And I am thrilled that Osama bin Laden is dead, dead, dead. Is that bad?