It's My Birthday and I Can Wine If I Want To, Wine If I Want To...

That's right my birthday weekend was spent wine~ing! ;-)

I decided I wanted to do the local wine trail and stop @ the wineries we had not been to, take pictures, take notes, decide if we'd ever go back to any of them, that kind of thing.

Before I go any further let me just say the winery tour is not all about the wine, drinking and getting drunk. It's a cultural thing, meeting new peeps, seeing beautiful scenery, learning how wine is made, how the grapes are harvested, etc.

On Friday we toured 7 wineries, on Saturday we toured 3 wineries, on Sunday we toured 2 and repeated 2 that we've been to before. Overall good time!

1. Stone Hill (www.stonehillwinery.com):
Very historic, very friendly peeps, great guided tour (about an hour long), wine tasting @ end of tour for only tour peeps and it was only 2.50 per adult! Meant two men from Michigan and chatted for awhile. Also chatted with "Ray" as he stocked the bottles of wine. He told us where to get great pizza near our home! Bring your camera! Bought Kick'n Berry and Cream Sherry (Cream Sherry was wonderful!)

2. Adam Puchta (www.adampuchtawine.com): OK place, outside bathrooms, signature port pretty good ~ gold medal quality. (Traminette)

3. Hermannhof (www.hermannhof.com): pretend self guided tour, won't let you taste the port wines ~ didn't buy anything from them as we know we like the Spring Blush and can buy it anywhere.

4. OakGlenn (www.oakglenn.com): The road in was a pretty drive. Well off the road (dirty car road LOL), beautiful view @ winery, coolers OK, don't tell anybody about this place LOL, port wine tasting, indoor bathrooms but dark, Patriots own the place! Port/White was yummy!

5. Bias (www.biaswinery.com): train = twice! Bad road.

6. Bommarito (www.Bommaritoestatewinery.com):
Nick was great! Very personalbe. Came in off his tractor to pour us a little wine. Great guy to talk to, would go back and take a group of peeps with us! Very laid back, relaxing atmosphere. Coolers allowed. Wood fired pizza sounded yummy!

7. Robller (I don't know how to do that funny thing over the letter o) (www.robllerwines.com): OK, nice taste guy but only part time hehe, on hill over looking vineyard. Liked VILLA ROUGE (semi dry) red wine ~ fruity, chill-able red. A great "getting to know you" wine. Grapes: Chambourcin and Villard Noir. Also liked KASSELFEST (sweet) ~ chilled, sweet red, with rich, berry flavors. Great with dark chocolate (now you're talking my language) Grapes: Steuben, St Vincent and Chambourcin.


Saturday we hit 3 more:

1. Blumenhof (www.blumenhof.com): can bring cooler, OK view, dusty road.

2. Augusta (www.augustawinery.com):

3. Sugar Creek (www.sugarcreekwines.com): Sunset Red was good and we bought LaRustica Red!

Sunday we hit 2 new and 2 old ones:

1. Chandler Hill (www.chandlerhillvineyard.com):
Made me think that this must be what the California wineries are like. Pretty pricey in my opinion. Small taste glass was 5 bucks for 5 tastes. Big (ugly) taste glass was 8 tastes for 10 bucks and you get to keep the ugly glass. They didn't have their own wines ~ mostly CA wines and some MO wines but not made there. They are in the process of growing grapes/making wines/etc. The food we saw peeps eating looked pretty good, view was nice, lower parking lot was gravel and that meant dust on the freshly washed car, shuttle bus to the top. I would go back, planning to eat lunch there, and enjoy but today we had our picnic basket and wanted to go to a winery that would allow it in.

2. Yellow Farmhouse Vineyard & Winery (www.yellowfarhousewines.com):
I almost blew it on this one as it was not on the map and I was thinking they wouldn't have their own wines so when hubby asked me did I want to stop I almost said no but quickly changed to sure why not?! Good change of mind! Paige was our server. You can sample as much as you want for 5 bucks and you get to keep the cute little glass. If you buy a bottle of wine the 5 bucks is waived on the tasting. She talked us right into a bottle of wine haha. She was very informative about wines, grapes, etc. While we were there, a newspaper reporter asked if he could photograph us ~ why of course! When we were ready to leave he asked for our names, address, etc and told us the article would be in the business section of the paper on Sept 4th ~ so we'll see, maybe we will be in there! This winery allows coolers, dogs, etc ~ has bright colored chairs hill side, picnic tables, a covered area and a one man band. I'd repeat this one.

3. (repeat) Balducci (www.balduccivineyards.com): friendly servers, nice winery to sit and relax, enjoy the view and eat from your picnic basket! Liked the SONATA ~ a blend of white varietals Vidal, Rayon and Chardonel. Aged in stainless steel with a sugar level of 3.25%. Also liked: CHIARETTO ~ Light bodied semi-dry red aged in stainless steel. A blend of Chambourcina and St. Vincent grapes, with a sugar level of 2.8%.

4. (repeat) Montelle (www.montelle.com): server very friendly, they stopped giving out chocolate with the Raspberry wine tasting so hubby bought us a little piece of chocolate to enjoy! We've been here several times with friends, great view from the deck area. No coolers allowed here. They were parking peeps into the overflow lower parking area, they asked if we were handycapped and I said "no, but I'm retarded does that count?" and I scrunched my shoulder kind of funny, he smiled and sent us on up the hill into the regular parking lot. Sometimes it pays to cut up with the hired help! ;-) Always like the CHAMBOURCIN, CYNTHIANA, RED RASPBERRY and the FRAMBOISE is really good as a dessert wine.

I will post some more info and pics @ a later date so make sure you check back! ;-)

BTW ~ have no doubt my weekend pushed me away from ONEderland a wee little so this week is journal, exercise, and move the scale down!

Thanks for....

the new followers!! 2 in one day!! ;-)

Thanks for....

all the b'day wishes I got today!

scale went up a wee bit this morning to 201.4 such is life.

Here's a snapshot of me from today (if you click on it it gets bigger ~ oh joy!):



I must learn to suck the gut in!! ;-)

Calling All Lurkers ~ Calling All Lurkers....

During our hike/walk/jog/step experience tonight the man candy in my life wanted to know how many followers I have for my blog ~ I replied FIVE! Then I was thinking it would be great if the "lurkers" signed up to follow my blog too!! So come on peeps ~ join me in blogspot and follow me ~ maybe I could have 50 followers before my next b'day?! ;-)

Post Op Day 70

wt: 201.2 (31 lbs gone as of this morning!)

Happy Birthday to "the girls" ~ they are a year old today and if I had it do over again I'd have that surgery again only earlier in my life!! My plastic surgeon was great and the results I'm pleased with for sure!

Now my real birthday is tomorrow and I'd love to drop that 1.2 pounds over night but I'm thinking that won't happen but by the end of the weekend I plan to be in ONEderland!

If by some miracle when I weigh tomorrow morning I'm in ONEderland ~ you will hear me screaming and feel me doing the happy dance just so ya know it's not an earthquake!! ;-)

I've had 3 co workers say something to me today about losing weight. Is 31 lbs gone the key number for someone to notice? Who knows ~ who cares ~ it's not about being noticed, it's not about being proud, it's not about who says something, it's ALL ABOUT ME ~ THE NEW ME ~ MY NEW SELF!!

Hump Day and Post Op Day 69

wt: 202

This evening we went for a hike for the second day in a row @ Castlewood State Park. It tried to kick my butt tonight but I conquered it. It is hilly up and down and over a ridge then there are the steps........down goes fast ~ back up NOT so much!!

2 lbs to ONEderland.......will I make by my birthday on Friday AM? ;-)

Here's a shot of "the killer stairs" but only part of them....



count them... 201 steps if I counted right! We did the park again tonight (8/27) for the 3rd night in a row...this time I did not stop coming back up the steps for a rest just slow and steady ~ like Dorie in Nemo...just keep swimming...just keep swimming...sorry had to add to the blog ~ I do that from time to time just to keep my peeps coming back ~ LOL!

How Does the Lap Band Work?!

copy/paste for your info (the pictures didn't copy/paste so will try to add them later):

Lap band surgery is a procedure aimed to promote weight loss for people struggling to cope with obesity. Overall, the lap band surgery is a simple procedure where, in short, a small implant (aka my gizmo) is placed around the top portion of the stomach to form a “gastric pouch”.



Here’s how it works:

A ‘gastric band‘ with a small balloon inside is attached around the top portion of your stomach, forming a smaller “gastric pouch”. The placement of the band creates a small pouch at the top of the stomach that holds up to approximately 30 ml, which works out to about 1/8 cup. (I was told 3/4 of a cup to 1 cup of food per meal). You are inclined (key word here?!) to eat less because the pouch holds less food than the whole stomach. As the upper part of the stomach registers itself as being full, it sends a message to the brain (this is only if you have a brain lol) saying that the entire stomach is full. This is the main principle behind the lap band procedure; this tightening of the stomach feeling or sensation helps the person to:

1. be hungry less often
2. to eat smaller portions
3. lose weight over time

This balloon is filled with a saline solution or a Radiopaque isotonic solution which is injected into the band via a port. Via the port, the surgeon has control over the amount of saline solution that is inserted into the band. When fluid is injected, the lap band expands and places pressure around the outside of the stomach. This causes a decrease in the size of the passage between the pouch and the lower stomach; restricting the movement of food.

The gastric band is adjusted or inflated via a small port inserted just under the surface of the skin. When adjusting the lap band (same as gastric band) a specialized needle must be used as to avoid causing any damage to the port or the port membrane. These ports come in many different styles and designs and may be placed based on the surgeon’s recommendations.

Once the procedure is done, (usually takes about 45 minutes) the next stage is the post operative follow-up adjustments, support, and lifestyle changes (hello). The patient will need to visit their doctor every few weeks in order to receive their saline injections. Over this time the band is filled to the point where the patient feels they’ve hit a “sweet spot” where optimal restriction has been achieved. This is just based on personal preference and each person will be different.

Interestingly enough, the entire lap band operation is fully reversible! The lap band surgery is the ONLY weight loss surgery that is reversible. That’s because gastric band placement, unlike other procedures like malabsorptive weight loss surgery (an example would be Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery), doesn’t cut or remove any part of the stomach or the digestive system. It’s usually easy to remove the band and reverse the surgery, requiring only a laparoscopic procedure, after which point the stomach should return back to its normal pre-banded state.

So that’s how the entire lap-band procedure works, but we still haven’t touched upon post-surgery support, diet plans, proper nutrition, healthy lifestyle, the list goes on and on....

My Mom's Birthday!! Post-Op Day 68

wt: 202.8

First ~ HaPpY BiRtHdAy MoM!! ;-) (she's my biggest fan on my blog LOL)

Second ~ I have been cutting up for about a week now and playing with the same pound up and down the scale. Time to knuckle down and get to ONEderland!! Haven't exercised in days (since last week w/the personal trainer), haven't journaled properly either, eating not completely under control, NOT good!! Must get focused again and press on towards the prize!

Today I started a new journal as the old one was filled up. Now to keep it going all day until bedtime......writing what you eat really opens your eyes! I need to eat only when hungry and no snacking "just because". For those of you that are still thinking that the lap band surgery is the easy way out ~ I'm here to remind you "it's NOT!" you still have to do the right thing in order to take weight off and keep it off ~ the lap band is just a tool to help you out.

I had an issue with a bite of potato last night that resulted in "sliming" but no where near as bad as the first episode! I spit up twice and was over it. Why don't I remember to chew chew chew?! Especially that first bite?!

Personal Trainer Workout

Another week of up and down morning weigh ins. Guess that's life in my lane! Weight this morning was 202.6 ~ so close to ONEderland yet so far away hehe.

I had my free session with a personal trainer last night. A first for me unless of course you count hubbies personal training! She showed me no more than he has shown me over the past couple of years. She even had her hand on my back when I was using the row type weight machine to make sure I was squeezing my shoulder blades together properly @ the end of the row exercise just like the hubby does. I knew all along he knew what he was doing and telling me but working out @ the same time as him has been an issue for us. We remain on different schedules but now we have our evenings together so we can pull it off if we really wanted to. Why would I pay 45 bucks for a workout session when hubby is basically free?! LOL

Maybe A First......

If my brain is engaged (might not be) I did a "first" today!! We had an ice cream social @ work and first off I ordered the No Sugar Added stawberry flavor so my container was marked with my name and NSA strawberry. I ate some of it, slowly, pushing it away here and there until I had ate about half of it and then (drum roll please) for the first time I threw the remainder away!! I know, I know, there are starving children in _____ but I knew if I carried that container back to my desk "for later" that I would eat on it until it was gone so I boldly walked to the garbage can and threw it away right there in the cafeteria where other peeps trash was (I have been known to pick something out of my own garbage and eat it if nothing else had touched it). Yes, I am addicted to food and yes I am breaking that addiction!! Gotta love it.........my gizmo saves the day once again! ;-)


Today is 2 months since surgery ~ when I started the liquid diet before surgery I weighed 232.2, this morning I weighed 202.6 so that's minus 29.6 lbs and I'm 2.6 lbs away from ONEderland (just a weight update for ya)!

Sliming....Oh No!! Post Op Day 59

wt: 203.4

(it's still been a roller coaster week with my weight ~ ONEderland is so close!!)


My first experience with "sliming". Now before you even ask...here's the best I can explain it as copied from another source.

Sliming ~ is usually when something gets stuck or can be because you've eaten too much. But it's your body producing saliva to get the food through your stomach (to lubricate it) sometimes it will bubble up and you have to spit it out.

Now sliming is probable a made up word in lapband land I don't know but I do know I NEVER want this to happen to me again!! The experience was horrible so let me explain what happened.

I ate a breakfast with a small piece of leftover grilled fish (we ate out Saturday night) and an egg with a bite of portabella mushroom. Very good, all went down fine......well I asked hubby for a bite of his leftover fried fish and of course he gave me a bite. I apparently ate it without chewing it up. BIG MISTAKE cuz it got stuck, wouldn't move, I paced, I took deep breathes, I paced, I took deep breathes, I paced some more (I so wanted to cry, I was in such pain and so upset but I held back knowing that would make everything worse)......then the sliming began. The stuff just bubbled up and out, not like nausea vomiting, just up and out smooth and easy. This went on for about 20 to 30 mins. Over and over again the stuff just kept coming up and out. OK so back to basics 101 on lapband life chew stupid chew to the consistency of toothpaste......

Life goes on...

Review Keys To Success ~ Post Op Day 55

wt 205 (it's been up and down this week)

A good day to review why I had this surgery, where I came from, where I'm going to, how I'm gonna get there and the keys to success. My eating has been off for 2 days now ~ time to get control. I must only eat when hungry. I must weigh and measure all foods (been estimating). I must stop this grazing mode I've been in. I need to go back to the small salad plates ~ I noticed I used a paper plate last night...not needed!! Should I look @ carbs too or is that just gonna be way too much for me to focus on?! I track time, ounces of fluids, proteins and calories so adding carb counts in too might be a little much for me! Decisions, decisions.

keys to success ~ some tidbits I noted:

~ get a support network. (have it!)

~ commit to staying exactly on the pre-op diet. (did!)

~ commit to post-op diet fully. (did but been slacking a couple of days)

~ find ways to celebrate events that aren't food related. (can you say shopping?!)

~ keep good correct foods in the house and at work. (done)

~ avoid alcohol to the extent possible. (hhhhhhmmmmmmmm)

~ commit to taking small bites and chewing until food is dissolved. (if I don't I have troubles!)

~ commit to small sips. (done)

~ journal/blog regularly; chronicle success. (admit if I mess up like I did above)

~ measure myself monthly; log; take pictures. (doing it)

~ note NSV's as they happen. (I think I do!)

~ focus on hobbies; other interests. (been going to gym is that a hobby?)

Sunday Post-Op Day 52

wt: 203.4

Since peeps have asked if I can feel a difference after getting my first fill on the lap band I have to say yes. Food gets caught very easily if I do not chew (chew chew chew and chew some more) it into a toothpaste type consistency and it gives chest pressure. I think this is where "Productive Burping" talk comes from on the forums that I read. I just have to remember to chew, eat slow and all should be well in lap band land!

Hubby took my pic today and took my measurements as well. See below.

DS came home from college to see me ~ that's what he said!! He took a few things back with him but I think he just wanted to see his loving mama!

Here's the pic (if you click it gets larger ~ not that I need to be larger and why my teeth have a couple of shiny spots I have no clue ~ in real life they aren't like that!):



Here's my measurements:

waist 39 1/2 (no change in waist)
hips 46 (minus 2 inches)
chest 45 3/4 (down from 47)
wrist 6 5/8 (was 7 3/8)
forearm 11 (minus 1 1/4)
thigh 24 (minus 1 inch)
calf 17 1/2 (minus 1 1/2 inches)
ankle 8 3/4 (down from 9 1/2)
upper arm 15 1/2 (the size of a normal persons thigh! geez....no change!)
neck 15 (down 1/2 inch)

so gut and upper arms need lots of work!! well all over needs lots of work but I would have liked to have seen some change in the gut and arms....

Saturday!!

wt: 204

Not sure what post op day it is w/o my journal on hand but anyways I've been cleaning out my closet again this morning. I could use some hand me downs about now because my 16Ws are getting too big and that's as small as my totes go. I'm going to go shopping this morning and see if I can find a few things on sale to carry me through. My oldest son has cleaned his closet before he went off to college and left a stack of clothes behind to go out of the house. My youngest son has cleaned his closet and also has a stack of clothes to go away. The clothes from the boys will be dropped off to a friend and my clothes will go to goodwill. It's been a productive week around this house!!

Besides sorting out clothes my youngest son has been cleaning the basement ~ we will be listing a bunch of stuff on craig's list to sell and a few things on ebay.

9 months is not a long time to purge a home ~ believe me I know!!

Off to shop.......

back from a little shopping.......do you know how good it felt to be able to put on pants without a big "W" next to the number on the size tag?! Let me just say I was doing the happy dance in the fitting room....

Plan to shop some more in a little while ~ looking for a HOT dress to wear to the class reunion next weekend!

Post-Op Day 49

wt: 204.8 (that's minus 27.4 since I started the liquid diet before surgery)

Had friends over for dinner last night ~ all went well. When writing down what I ate last night I felt like I had "cut up" a little but since it was spaced out I'm thinking I was OK. I had to find some clothes to wear before they got to our home cuz the ones I wore to work were falling off me. I ironed a shirt that has been hanging in my closet ~ after ironing it I cut out the shoulder pads (now that's showing it's age!) it was really too big but it will do for now. Don't want to buy a bunch of new clothes @ this point in time. I have more to go to goodwill now also. I guess I need to weed through them again and make a big donation to goodwill. ;-)

Made it to the gym tonight ~ 14 day free trial period so might as well use it up! I did some arm weight workouts and 30 mins on the tread climber. If I can't walk tomorrow I hope someone will help me out!

Oldest son left for college today, he's going early to help work in the frat house. I will miss him but I'm happy he is moving on to his next step in life. I will not think about it cuz it will make me cry!

Post-Op Day 48

wt: 205.4

I got my first fill on Monday and it's now Wednesday so I can go back to regular diet today. I have had no complications with the fill. I did feel some chest pressure when I was woofing down my lunchable today like the old me. But after that first cracker/meat/cheese combo said hello slow down and chew chew chew all went well. Oh how easily we can slip back into our old patterns and life styles....

We have not got back into the regular exercise routine since vacation but we will work on that tomorrow.

Hit The Big 25 Pound Mark!! Post-Op Day 46

wt 206.6

I ("we" actually ~ me and my gizmo) did it!! 25lbs gone!!

It's Monday and reality is here ~ It was get up and get back to work this morning.

No journal or weighing myself the whole vacation time. I was down .8 this morning from my last weigh in. First vacation in my life I went on and didn't gain 10 lbs!! That brings my thinking "this is a permanent weight loss journey" into a true light for me.

I go for my first "fill" this afternoon ~ I'll post again after that and add a picture for my 25 mark!

Added the photo and back to write that the fill wasn't that bad. I felt a little pain when the doctor was pushing on my stomach in that area and a little stinging when the fill was being done and a little tugging when he pulled the needle back out. He said it was about 1.5 ccs. Today I finish with liquids and tomorrow is soft foods then back to normal foods.

We went to sign up for our 14 day trial @ the gym today. I'd like to be trained on core exercises that I can do @ home on my balance ball. We'll see how all that works out!!

On another note I got in my head this morning "9 months" ~ that's my time line for moving out of STL and setting up a practice. Long enough to birth a baby?! Guess that's what it will be like and I'm sure there will be birthing pains!