Tagged by the ultra-fab *S*

Explain what ended your last relationship?
I guess you'd say cultural differences.. the Colombian "machismo" thing wasn't going to work for this girl

When was the last time you shaved?
Two days ago

What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
Getting off the train (BART) on my way to work

What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
Munching on a piece of tangerine

Are you any good at math?
I'm decent at it but I don't enjoy it

Your prom night?
I didn't go. Noone asked me. I don't feel like I missed out on anything though

Do you have any famous ancestors?
Not that I know of

Have you had to take a loan out for school?
Thankfully no. My grandmother paid for travel school and I've paid for the undergrad stuff that I've done

Do you know the words to the song on your myspace profile?
Yes!.. "It Must Be Love" by Etta James

Last thing received in the mail?
Nike Woman catalogue - I'd love some new workout wear from Nike

How many different beverages have you had today?
Counting my protein - 4. Nectar Roadside Lemonade, hot lemon tea, a sf vanilla latte, Crystal Light lemonade

Do you ever leave messages on peoples answering machine?
I do most of the time

Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to?
The Red Hot Chili Peppers with The Cramps as the opening act - New Year's Eve 1990. My first experience in a moshpit. I had the biggest bruises on the tops of my feet because I didn't know to wear hard shoes.

Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
I have before

What was the most painful dental procedure you have had?
Having my wisdom teeth removed

What is out your back door?
Don't have one.. I live in an apartment

Any plans for Friday night?
Oh yes! Friday is my 2 year anniversary and we're staying the night at the Four Seasons in SF. I got a hook-up from the sales manager.I can't wait.. I'm such a hotel ho... I looooove staying in fancy hotels!

Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
Yes, and I love what it does to my skin too

Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
Nope

Have you ever been to a planetarium?
Yes - and I've gone to one of those cheesy laser shows too

Do you re-use towels after you shower?
I do for one day if I'm at home

Some things you are excited about?
My new nephew, who should be born any day now.. Flying to Washington DC in 2 weeks to meet Chris' family for the first time .. My dad coming to visit on my birthday next Wednesday .. Seeing Jill Scott, Common, and the Roots in concert a week from Saturday .. Serious swimming in the spring .. My new body and my new life

What is your favorite flavor of JELLO?
Don't have one.. can't stand the stuff

Describe your keychain(s)
A Harley Davidson 100th Anniversary fob that I got at a HD run that I went on with my Dad in 2003 .. a mini-flashlight so that I can see my door locks at night.. a few various keys

Where do you keep your change?
Usually at the bottom of my purse

Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
Open just a little so the cat can get in and out

Month four in the life of the future pin-up girl

Life at four months post-op is great folks! I feel so much more comfortable with my body. I'm still over 200 lbs, which I had hoped to be under by now, but I think I'm ok with that. Really, I can't remember being this small since I graduated from high school, so how can I be disappointed? Eating is becoming easier and easier (now that I've sworn off eggs..lol). I have a good routine down.. Nectar protein first thing upon waking. Either yogurt or 1/2 a protein bar around 10am if I'm hungry.. often nothing until lunch. Lunch is usually a small soup from my favorite spot, San Francisco Soup. Co. Lots of watered down Crystal Light in the early afternoon. Then a cup of hot tea around 3pm or so. I get home around 6pm and start dinner, which is protein of some sort and a cooked veggie.. maybe a few baby greens with a drizzle of dressing. I have to be careful with dressing though - I dump pretty hard on fats. I do ok with butter in moderation and olive oil, but I cannot stomach (literally) mayonnaise or really creamy salad dressing. Just the thought of it makes me want to heave. I find this fascinating, considering pre-op I ate mayo like it was its own food group. I slathered that stuff on EVERYTHING.. I even put it in spaghetti. Eww. Anyway, food is pretty easy to tolerate - which is good because I have to feed my body. I feel really healthy - and I think I look pretty healthy too. Before surgery I was concerned that I might end up looking gaunt and bug-eyed, which I've seen in a few before/after pics on OH. Not cute. But me - I'm finally feeling cute again! All of my favorite clothes fit again and many have been folded up and put in a pile to be donated. I wear skirts and heals to work almost every day. I fix my hair and my makeup and enjoy being a girl again - and people are noticing! Especially my coworkers.. who now ask me what shade of eyeshadow I'm wearing and tell me how much they love my new haircolor. Speaking of haircolor - I'm now a redhead!.. and I'm loving it! I finally found a new stylist and she's so wonderful. Her name is Colleen and she's 3 years post-op.. isn't that too cool!?! She's a gorgeous redhead and just the sweetest person. I love going to see her because she makes me feel so comfortable. She knows exactly what I'm going through and what my concerns are (like the thinning hair thing). So far, I'm thinning some on my crown, but it's still manageable. Going with a lighter color and processing my hair again has helped a lot. So - here are the new pics! I hope you like. I'll try to get Chris to take a full body (clothed..lol) soon.. but in the meantime, I think these shots will give you an idea.

Love to my sassy fatty sisters!

One pound .....whatever

Dammit - I thought for sure I had lost more than one measly pound. Oh well - guess I'm losing inches instead of pounds right now. I do that a lot - I'll lose a lot of poundage or several inches but not at the same time. Last night I was laying on my bed (eek - nude!) and Chris started staring at me from the waist down. I started to get really self-conscious and I asked him, "What are you looking at? Do I need to shave or something?" He laughed and said, "No - I'm just shocked at how much your body has changed." I made sure to thank him properly for noticing ;-)

Bad egg

I have a love/hate relationship with eggs. I don't know what it is about them, but Phyllis just cannot make up her mind whether they will go down just fine - or if they will make me severely ill, hating life for about 3 hours. Saturday morning I had one scrambled egg with a little cheddar cheese and salsa. No problem. Sunday morning, again - one scrambled egg with a little cheddar cheese and salsa. Within 10 minutes of eating, I felt a full-body green nausea overtake me. I ended up in bed for 3 hours praying that the nausea would pass. WTF?!? And today I'm still feeling kinda yucky. I'm sipping some warm mint tea and hoping that I'll feel a little better tonight.

I haven't weighed myself yet this week, but I'm pretty sure that I've lost a bit more. My new slacks are all saggy in the butt. I'll go downstairs and jump on the scale when I get home tonight. Seeing a new low number will definitely make me feel better.

Walking on Sunshine

I'm having one of those days - one of those "it's-just-so-good-to-be-alive-and-everything-is-beautiful-and-I-can't-stop-smiling" type of days. I had my 3 month post-op checkup with Dr. U today. My blood work came back great - he's very happy with my weight loss and also with my appearance. He says that I have good color and that I look very healthy. That was great news - I just love that man! So I left there in my cute twirly little skirt and my kitten-heal maryjanes, enjoying this gorgeous, sunny Bay Area day.. I almost skipped to my car! On top of it all, I got the BEST COMPLIMENT OF MY ENTIRE LIFE last night. So - Chris comes home from school last night and tells me that he ran into his classmate Jen. They caught up on how winter break had gone and were exchanging numbers when she saw the pic of me that Chris has as the wallpaper on his cell phone. He told me that she said, "Oh Chris - she's really beautiful. She looks like one of those pin-up girls. What's that artist's name - Varga?" I've never met Jen, but I think she's my new favorite person. I just had to share with you all because if anyone would understand how that made me feel, you all would.

Lights out

Last night I fainted for the first time ever. The whole evening was going great.. I was starting dinner and trying to cut into a butternut squash. I was going to try to duplicate the most delicious butternut squash soup that we had last month at a holiday dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel. In the process I sliced my finger. It was sorta deep but not deep enough for stitches in my mind. Chris bandaged me up and seemed a little concerned that I was refusing the stitches. I went back into the kitchen and suddenly felt hot and head-swimmy. Next thing I knew, I was in the floor with Chris over me, shouting at me and kinda freaking out. Poor thing - it really scared him. He got me up and put me to bed and immediately called Dr. U. Dr. U calmed him down and asked a bunch of questions about how I was feeling (I felt just fine). Since I was having no pain or nausea or vomiting or anything WLS-related, he told me to rest and to go to the ER if I started having any other symptoms. This morning I woke up with a big lump on the back of my head and a serious bruise on my ass. I guess it's a good thing that my big ole booty cushioned my fall.

Month three (and 1/2) in the life of the future pin-up girl

Happy New Year! Sorry that I've been away from my blog for so long (has it really been since Thanksgiving?!), but this holiday season was just so eventful and even a little overwhelming at times.

On the WLS front, I'm now at the lowest weight that I've been at in about 10 years. Last night I bought size 16 slacks and I'm proudly wearing them today. My new size 16 jeans will premier on Friday..lol. Ok, so they're a Lane Bryant 16, but so what! On Sunday, I JOGGED!! It's amazing the things that I can do with 60 pounds taken off of my body. I wear heals to work without excrutiating pain.. I stand taller .. I smile and I look people in the eye. I'm eating healthy meals and I'm satisfied quickly. I can't say that I ever forget to eat, but the thought of food doesn't control me. It's easy to make good food choices because I'm not obsessing about when and what I will eat next. This tool is truly amazing.

So let's see.. what's happened since Thanksgiving? .. lol. Well .. my sister and I helped throw a baby shower for my sister-in-law.. I spent a weekend with my very good friend C in Salinas.. I worked ridiculous hours as my clients did a big year-end push to close deals.. we visited my parents and my family in the Central Valley.. we went to 3 fantastic Christmas parties.. we saw "The Jersey Boys" and LOVED it (it was Chris' first time at the theatre.. he was so excited and we had a blast).. and then right after Christmas - I got the flu. That pretty much sucked, but I got through it. We spent New Year's Eve at home with a couple of DVDs, a bottle of red wine (of which I had maybe 3 oz. and got REALLY tipsy), and each other. I was happy to end the holidays at home with my honey.. relaxing and enjoying a romantic evening together.


2007 is going to be filled with lots of wonderful, exciting things.. there are so many changes to come and I can't wait! To you, my friends, I wish nothing but happiness, love and good health in the coming year.