November 10, 2011

Snowball

I was finally able to sleep in a little this morning--6:30. My boys were already up, of course. After I got them off to school, I went through our bills and paid them; Jerry has no clue how to pay the bills or even how much money he makes! So I just wanted to get as much done as possible before my surgery on Monday.

I was looking at my "snowball" spreadsheet to pay down our debt, and I got really motivated again to get a move on it. We haven't used the credit card in over a year, but the balance just doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. I really hope things keep going well with my ads on the blog, because I can use that money to pay off my surgery and then get going on the credit card debt. I recently told my mom how much we owe on the credit card, and I think she almost had a stroke. I will feel so FREE when we are out of debt!

So anyway, I refigured our budget and cut back everywhere I could (not that we haven't already done that). My not being able to go anywhere for a while is going to help, I'm sure--every time I run into the store for "just one thing" I end up buying a lot of little things that add up.

I decided to give my kids an allowance, also--just $5 per week. But I'm going to make them use THEIR money when they want something (obviously, I will pay for the necessities, but I always get suckered into buying them stuff they don't need). I'm also giving me and Jerry each $20 a week for the random crap that we want. I actually took out cash for this, so that we can actually see what we are spending, and hopefully spend less.

Chocolate Lovers Shake--so good!
I've been making different protein shakes every day, to start working on all the protein my surgeon wants me to eat.

I will probably be posting a lot of the recipes on my recipes blog--today I did a "chocolate lovers" shake that was really good; yesterday was "cinnamon roll"; the day before that was "Butterfinger".

These are all recipes that I adapted from some Herbalife recipes--I don't use Herbalife products, so I had to improvise their ingredients with something similar. I'll try and get those recipes up this weekend.

It's this time last year that I broke my jaw and was living off of shakes (literally). I got really sick of them by February, but now I really like them again.

Noah gave me a little card last night that I thought was so sweet!
In case you can't read 7-year old, it says:

My Family
1. Mama smart
2. Daddy funny
3. Noah funny
4. Eli creative
I love my family!

Noah has this knack for giving me things like this right after I scold him for something, which always makes me feel horrible.

Phoebe is recovering well. She spent the evening like this on my chest last night:
The puncture wound she has on her back is almost completely healed over. I was putting the warm compresses on it for a few days, and I really didn't think it was doing any good, but I guess I was wrong!

I'm back to square one with Paolo. It's so frustrating trying to find a home for an adult cat!! Especially Paolo, who has "special needs"--he's missing a lot of teeth, so he needs soft foods.

So tomorrow starts my final weekend with my big old belly skin. I can't wait for it to be gone, but it's almost a little sad. I might be going out to dinner with Renee on Friday or Saturday; and I want to get in a final long run; other than that, I have no real plans!

18 comments:

  1. Even though it's that "time" I'd add some "Daddy amd Mommy" (wink wink) time to that list!!!
    Having your excess skin gone is sad in that it was a constant reminder of where you came from and how hard you worked for it, but, then again, it was a constant reminder of where you were and you want to move forward. It's a double-edged sword, my friend. Praying all goes well. Please say a prayer for my dad. He's going in for a catheterization tomorrow morning and we're all praying it's something minor. After all we've been through with my mom, none of us can take much more. Thanks!

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  2. I'm so excited for you! What a cool chapter you are living out in your life right now! Dr. Oz and this surgery are two major events! And how rewarding for all your hard work! I'm curious as to how much weight all that skin weighs?! Will the doctor tell you? (you know, like I removed 8 lbs of skin, or 15 or whatever?!) Just curious! I'll continue praying for you. That you get rest and let your body heal at its own pace.

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  3. @Frickin' Fabulous at 40

    I will be praying for your dad and your entire family!

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  4. I used to put love notes like that on my moms and dads pillows so they could read it when they went in there like a surprise! I forgot about that until just now! Thank you so much for the thoughts about my mom, it means a lot.

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  5. I can't eat a shake for a meal - it just won't satisfy me.

    I know what you mean about the belly and being a little sad. It can be weird to lose part of yourself.

    I hope you have Jerry write an entry to let us know the surgery went ok. Although come to think of it he may have other things to do - like take care of you and the boys. :)

    I have a weight loss question for you. (Yes, I know you are not a medical professional...lol.) You know how you said before that you give running part of the credit for the size 4 jeans....that you have been at a fairly low weight before but not looked nearly as tiny?

    Well I was thinking of starting to run again (ok jog actually). Does it have to involve LONG distance like 6-10 miles before you get tiny? I know I can work up to running 30-40 minutes 4 times a week on the treadmill but I can't imagine much beyond that...

    Hopefully you know what I am talking about and you are not thinking WTF right now!!

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  6. I paid off a large amount of credit card debt using the Dave Ramsey snowball method. It really truly does work. I didn't like his idea of paying cash for EVERYTHING. That was too much hassle for me. But I did open separate bank accounts for my "fun money". I put a small amount from every paycheck into my "fun money" account. And that is the only debit card I carry with me (unless I'm making a special trip for groceries). That way I'm not tempted to purchase other stuff. Anyways, it worked really well. When I made that final payment and closed my card it was one of the happiest days of my life! NEVER AGAIN!!! I'm glad the ads are paying off. Hopefully the gockets are too! I love mine. It's on my magnetic board behind my computer screen so I see it all day as a reminder of my goals.
    Enjoy your last weekend before the surgery!

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  7. awwww that is so sweet of your son to write that :). I'm so excited about your surgery, it's probably going to be stressful but I know you are going to look phenomenal. did the doctor said how many pounds of skin they are going to remove? good luck with everything...
    DESYACV2)

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  8. I am so glad to hear that Phoebe is recovering!!!!! Noah is such a sweetie!!!!
    I was thinking your title was in reference to actual snow!!!! I am not sure if you got any yesterday, but I was surprised that we got some, enough for my 3-year old ( it's his B-day today!!!) to go outside to play in the snow!!!:-)
    I am excited for you and your surgery!!!!!!!
    ~Laura

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  9. funny to hear you say..."It's the last weekend with the belly fat"....as if it came for a visit and now has to go home. ;-)

    You've worked really hard to get where you are..it is time to say good bye to it. ha!

    Enjoy your last run .....So I guess this is like a little toast to you...Til you run again without your belly!! Cheers!

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  10. I am betting you're at your goal weight after the surgery (and recovery) from losing all that skin. That's going to be so cool for you! I am beyond excited and a whole bunch of envious ;) Enjoy your weekend and best of luck on Monday and the weeks after!

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  11. Losing LindyNovember 11, 2011

    I finally ordered some pb2, I ordered a two pack that has the regular and the chocolate types...I will be back for suggestions/recipes

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  12. Katie, I have a little knot in my OWN belly just thinking about your upcoming surgery. I'm so nervous! It's kinda like how I felt before I had to give my presentation in class yesterday. I'm sure if it was my own surgery, I'd be even more nervous--but just wanted to let you know I feel for you!

    MONEY! There's never enuff is there??? I just LOVE buying new clothes to fit my new smaller body and I can't quit. I have paid off all my credit cards so many times, swore I'd never get into credit card debt again, and then there I go! I really want to retire in about a year, but not sure if that's going to be possible with my current debt. We got a new car (used) in May. But I knew we needed to get at least a newer car than we had and try to pay for it before I retire. But...there's no way I can get it paid for in a year, it's a 5-year loan. Then a month or so ago, we had to get four new tires for it! Plus hubby wanted to keep the old car (we also have a pick up), because he was afraid our new car wouldn't be as good on the ice and snow as the old car was, so now we're paying for gas, insurance, upkeep, and taxes on THREE vehicles. PLUS the new car payment. At least the other vehicles are paid off!

    Anyhow, hope you find a place for Paolo to go. He is beautiful--that should help him in finding a home. Although he was kind of a jerk (on Friends) LOL! I'm glad Phoebe is getting well. Sounds like she has developed into a more indoor, affectionate cat after her escapade in the neighbor's shed!

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  13. running without the belly skin will be SO amazing when you can do it! Trust me, I know! I am so excited for you! Oh and a side note, you have inspired me to try running, I don't run now unless someone is chasing me or short distances (like first or second base) BUT I am going to sign up for the warrior dash and hope that gives me something to work towards.
    Thank you and good luck in the surgery and recovery although you won't need it! YAY!

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  14. @MamaMericle
    I'm not sure how much skin she'll remove, but I'll ask her to weigh it and let me know. I'm very curious!

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  15. @michellechristine
    I'm going to try and show Jerry how to post, so he can update while I can't... we'll see how smoothly that goes! ;)

    About the jeans and running... I really started to notice the difference when I picked up the mileage. I dropped sizes really FAST then. I was following a 15-K training schedule, which was probably about 15-18 miles per week? But obviously you have to work up to that!! Start with 5k training, and then 10k, and then 15k. That's what I did :)

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  16. @MamaMericle

    Thank you so much for the prayers for my dad! He made it through the catheterization. They found no blockages but they still don't know why his heart is working at 35% capacity. he has an appt. with another cardiologist that specializes in the electrical aspect of the heart, so I don't know what to expect. They did say he had a leaky valve before this test.

    I didn't know any other way of contacting you to say thanks! I hope you see this and I hope Katie doesn't mind! (I also hope I did the @ thing right!)

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  17. Just a thought-why don't you have a link to a paypal account so readers can contribute to your blog and cause as they wish? I've looked for a donate link an can not find one. Your blog has been an amazing source of inspiration to me. I read it daily and have lost 30 lbs and counting because of your story. I don't think it would be too forward to allow readers to donate to such a cause. You do more with your blog than any high cost weight loss program has!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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