By now you know I am a huge fan of the Entrepreneurial Spirit and free enterprise. I love the ideas and the freedoms that they represent. In my mind it embodies everything that is right about America and free people.
Because it is so important to me, I have tried to study what makes one person an entrepreneur and another just not able to think that way. I want my kids to be able to think like an entrepreneur.
When we took a family vacation to Disneyland a few years ago we made a day trip into Mexico just for fun. We had SO MUCH fun there! We toured all of the street vendors and ate massive Kligkids amounts of amazing street food with bowls of cold radishes and cucumbers on the side. We bought silver jewelry and quarts of vanilla; candied fruit and garish sombreros. We drank margaritas and danced to mariachi bands and in general had a blast.
But one of the most surprising best parts of the whole day was when we got into the 2 hour line to get back over the border. Between the lanes of stopped cars waiting were dozens of vendors some with carts and some carrying their wares walking up and down the road, stopping at the cars and knocking on windows sometimes. Most just walked up and down. There were people selling freshly fried churros in paper bags for a dollar. Let's just say we REALLY enjoyed those churros! We would buy a bag and share it between us all, and then wait for the next churro vendor to come by. So much fun! We laughed at the 2 ft plastic turtles and the seriously tacky religious decorations that walked by.
When we went to Tijuana for my surgery we had hoped that Pete would get a chance to go eat some street food and do some souvenir shopping for the kids, but it didn't happen. We were told that because the shuttle had a medical pass that the lines would be minimal to get back over the border, but we hit a day with extra long lines and got to watch the vendors in action again.
First churro vendor that came by had Pete in heaven eating a fresh churro again and reminiscing.
But what I want to talk about today is something we didn't see on our first visit. This time there were guy(s?) walking up and down the street with double fistfulls of assorted car chargers for cell phones; every size imaginable. I didn't find out how much they were, but man was I impressed.
It completely showcases entrepreneurialism at its finest. If you have a two hour wait sitting in a car with nothing to do, and you have a cell phone it gives you something to do. UNLESS your battery dies! I know I didn't have a charger with me and had I not been feeling weak from surgery and completely fascinated by my surroundings, I bet I would have bought one of those chargers.
Honestly, I kinda wanted to buy one just to support them for their great idea! "See a need; fill a need!" ~Robots~
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Lapband update
It has been 11 days now. I have lost 20.6 pounds!! My tummy is still tender and I tire easily still, but not too bad.
So here is the thing about losing 20 lbs in 11 days. IF it were only calories, then I would have had to burn 70,000 of the little buggers! That is almost 6500 per day. NO WAY I am burning that much laying around recuperating so clearly there is something else going on here. There is a theory out there that says the surgery resets your metabolism and really that is what I was hoping for and it does seem something like that is going on.
It is very interesting to note some of the things that have changed. I am very fussy about what coffee I drink normally. I simply cannot drink old coffee. Blech! But now I think I have lost some of my taste for the coffee I normally love. Hmmmm...
I also do have an occasional craving. We went to Famous Dave's for Ben's birthday date last night and when the food came out I really, yeah...really, wanted some of those ribs. Just a taste. But I knew that if I did I would get very sick and the craving passed in just a minute or two and didn't come back.
I find it sad that 20 pounds barely shows on someone of my size. For someone of normal weight 20 # would be 3 dress sizes! For me you have to know just where to look to even be able to see it. But I am okay with that. I know that this is a process. I also know that *I* can tell. There are things about being very overweight that no one talks about. Like how hard it is to turn over in bed past a certain point. I can turn over in bed much easier today than a week ago. :D I am one of the *apple* shaped overweight people and have an enormous abdomen. Sigh. It is softer and not as firm as it was and has shrunk but not by a lot yet. I can see dents in it now though.
Things I am looking forward to:
Crossing my legs
Being able to get up off the floor.
Fitting in a normal sized bathtub for a real bath.
Being able to get into the bottom shelf of my cupboards and fridge.
Picking up something off the floor without one foot in the air behind me and tons of embarrassment.
Being able to scratch the back of my shoulder.
So if I am ever out and about and you see me do any of those things just feel free to congratulate me! Well unless it is the bath. If you are hanging out in my bathroom we will have other things to discuss!
So here is the thing about losing 20 lbs in 11 days. IF it were only calories, then I would have had to burn 70,000 of the little buggers! That is almost 6500 per day. NO WAY I am burning that much laying around recuperating so clearly there is something else going on here. There is a theory out there that says the surgery resets your metabolism and really that is what I was hoping for and it does seem something like that is going on.
It is very interesting to note some of the things that have changed. I am very fussy about what coffee I drink normally. I simply cannot drink old coffee. Blech! But now I think I have lost some of my taste for the coffee I normally love. Hmmmm...
I also do have an occasional craving. We went to Famous Dave's for Ben's birthday date last night and when the food came out I really, yeah...really, wanted some of those ribs. Just a taste. But I knew that if I did I would get very sick and the craving passed in just a minute or two and didn't come back.
I find it sad that 20 pounds barely shows on someone of my size. For someone of normal weight 20 # would be 3 dress sizes! For me you have to know just where to look to even be able to see it. But I am okay with that. I know that this is a process. I also know that *I* can tell. There are things about being very overweight that no one talks about. Like how hard it is to turn over in bed past a certain point. I can turn over in bed much easier today than a week ago. :D I am one of the *apple* shaped overweight people and have an enormous abdomen. Sigh. It is softer and not as firm as it was and has shrunk but not by a lot yet. I can see dents in it now though.
Things I am looking forward to:
Crossing my legs
Being able to get up off the floor.
Fitting in a normal sized bathtub for a real bath.
Being able to get into the bottom shelf of my cupboards and fridge.
Picking up something off the floor without one foot in the air behind me and tons of embarrassment.
Being able to scratch the back of my shoulder.
So if I am ever out and about and you see me do any of those things just feel free to congratulate me! Well unless it is the bath. If you are hanging out in my bathroom we will have other things to discuss!
Monday, February 6, 2012
*Our* Dolphins
December of 2010...14 months ago we went on an amazing family reunion vacation to Disneyworld. But that is another story for another day. Today I want to tell you the story our *our* dolphins in Florida.
We had been to Disneyworld and were spending a few days with our close friends Mike and Cheryl Kvalvik in Tallahassee. One day we wanted to go to a beach and it didn't matter much what one. It was pretty cold that week but we managed to pick a nice day. Nice enough for the beach anyway.
The two families packed up and we put in the coordinates of the beach they had chosen into the GPS and off we went. It was a fun drive actually. We drove through the small little beach towns and saw dozens of handpainted wooden signs advertising boiled peanuts in front of ramshackle buildings that weren't open for business sitting cheek by jowl with quaint and freshly coiffed seafood restaurants with white painted covered decks and gabled roofs.
The GPS merrily took us on our drive and drove us directly, not to the beach we had intended, but to a deserted-for-the-season private beach with about 7 or 8 closed up houses and an empty stretch of sugary sand with thousands of seashells waiting politely for us to pick them up.
We piled out and the kids started doing beachy things. Was a teensy bit cold for water play but that didn't stop anyone.
About 10 minutes after we got there someone noticed a dolphin just offshore. In a minute or two we saw a mother and baby swimming in tandem, and then another one. It was hard to tell how many there were all together but my guess is 8 or 10 of them. They swam closer and closer to us and one of them (this is hard to describe) seemed especially curious about us and flipped himself sideways up as close to the beach as he could get without getting stranded. We watched them for quite a while. They were clearly wanting to investigate us.
At one point the teenage girls all went waist deep wading and one of the dolphins came close enough to touch. It scared them just a little and none of them actually reached out to touch but they could have. Pete got some not-so-great video of some of the best parts that I will try to add here too if possible.
As we played in the sand and gathered shells the dolphins kept watch. They would swim closer and further out and then back again, always staying close. As it got toward sunset we started to gather our things and head for home.
It was so beautiful and such an amazing treat for us all. It felt like we had stumbled by accident into a planned private blessing and is a memory that we all treasure.
We had been to Disneyworld and were spending a few days with our close friends Mike and Cheryl Kvalvik in Tallahassee. One day we wanted to go to a beach and it didn't matter much what one. It was pretty cold that week but we managed to pick a nice day. Nice enough for the beach anyway.
The two families packed up and we put in the coordinates of the beach they had chosen into the GPS and off we went. It was a fun drive actually. We drove through the small little beach towns and saw dozens of handpainted wooden signs advertising boiled peanuts in front of ramshackle buildings that weren't open for business sitting cheek by jowl with quaint and freshly coiffed seafood restaurants with white painted covered decks and gabled roofs.
The GPS merrily took us on our drive and drove us directly, not to the beach we had intended, but to a deserted-for-the-season private beach with about 7 or 8 closed up houses and an empty stretch of sugary sand with thousands of seashells waiting politely for us to pick them up.
We piled out and the kids started doing beachy things. Was a teensy bit cold for water play but that didn't stop anyone.
About 10 minutes after we got there someone noticed a dolphin just offshore. In a minute or two we saw a mother and baby swimming in tandem, and then another one. It was hard to tell how many there were all together but my guess is 8 or 10 of them. They swam closer and closer to us and one of them (this is hard to describe) seemed especially curious about us and flipped himself sideways up as close to the beach as he could get without getting stranded. We watched them for quite a while. They were clearly wanting to investigate us.
At one point the teenage girls all went waist deep wading and one of the dolphins came close enough to touch. It scared them just a little and none of them actually reached out to touch but they could have. Pete got some not-so-great video of some of the best parts that I will try to add here too if possible.
As we played in the sand and gathered shells the dolphins kept watch. They would swim closer and further out and then back again, always staying close. As it got toward sunset we started to gather our things and head for home.
It was so beautiful and such an amazing treat for us all. It felt like we had stumbled by accident into a planned private blessing and is a memory that we all treasure.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Very brave Lapband pictures!
When we first got there. We barely had time to take the picture!
This is Esmerelda putting on my wristband.
Just a hospital room.
Check out the nice touches though...you don't find that at a hospital here.
Sexy gown eh?
IV
Final signatures saying I am not allergic etc.
This guy was very sweet and we talked several times. He tried SO hard to pronounce my name right and just couldn't do it.
Headed in.
Just out of surgery.
Hmmmm...sleeping something...not beauty for sure, but post surgery you take what you get.
The hospital was very pretty.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Lapband Surgery Detail Q and A
I have had lots of questions so I thought I would answer them here where those who want to hear about it can and those that don't...well...don't!
Q: Why did you decide to do lapband?
A: I am turning 50 on March 1st. I have been grossly overweight for a long long time and nothing seems to work to get it off for me. Call it a midlife crisis if you want to, but as I turn 50 it seems more important to me than ever to not spend my life like this.
Q: Why not just diet?
A: I have tried every diet there is. It does work for a while, but there are metobolic things that happen with being overweight for a long time that make it more and more difficult to lose weight. I can lose 15-20-30 pounds but the second...and I mean the SECOND I ate more than1000 calories a day, or a gram of sugar or carbs of any sort it came back. It is nearly impossible to maintain that level of low calorie, or low carb forever. Also it really isn't even about calories. If it were then a fat person could eat the same calories and exercise as much as a thin person and lose weight but we all know that is not true. And yet I also know it is essential to eat small enough amounts to lose. Period. It is just impossible for me to do that at this point because of how small it has to be.
There is another reason that I have tried to articulate but not very well yet. I believe that gluttony is a sin. Admittedly it is not the same as knocking off the liquor store or manslaughter, but it is still a sin. I have tried to get rid of sin in my life the best I know how with God's help. It would be and is hypocritical to choose which sin I choose to accept for myself. This is one of the ones that God has been dealing with me in. The Bible says in Matthew 18 that if you have something that causes you to stumble to get rid of it. I feel like I was not in control of my stomach and my mouth, so the surgery helps me to take control of it. I do not think that I will go to hell if I am fat, but I do think that along with other sin such as gossip and anger and bitterness etc, that I will do better and have a better integrity before God if I do what He asks me to do and gluttony is one of those things.
Q: Why lapband and not some other types of gastric surgery.
A: It is the one that is proven safest. I have 7 kids still at home, and a lot of responsibilities. It is also the one that requires the most self control. I can do that. I look at it much like I would look at using a nicotine patch to quit smoking. You still gotta do it. I never thought this would be easy, just possible.
Q: Why did you decide to do it in Mexico instead of locally?
A: I have done a ton of research on this and found out several years ago that for a self pay here in Utah it is around $16,000. In Mexico it is $5000 and that includes hospital, anesthesia, Dr, labs, everything. Once I found that out, I started looking at the Drs and reputations. I didn't want to go to some dark alley for major surgery! The Dr. that I chose is one of the best in the world. He has a wonderful reputation and a great success rate for his patients. They also offer financing for the costs which is a nice thing too.
Q: What was it like to do it in Mexico?
A: Well...Pete and I flew to San Diego on Monday the 30th. We stayed in a nice hotel and ordered pizza which I didn't really eat much of since I had been fighting a migraine all day.
Tuesday morning at 8:30 the shuttle came from the hospital and drove us to Tijuana to the hospital. The driver was very nice and helpful. We arrived at the hospital at about 9:30 and was literally met at the door by Esmerelda who was my liaison throughout my stay...part interpreter and part facilitator. Pete sat in the lobby and I was taken directly back for lab work. I had blood taken and a chest x ray and the two of them took a total of about 20 minutes. I never waited more than about 2 minutes for anything and Esmerelda would be there waiting for me when I was done with each step.
I signed all the paperwork, and we did the financial stuff, and then we went upstairs to my room which was nice. It was just like any other hospital room except the bathroom which was beautiful! There were nice little touches around.
About 5 minutes later Dr Corvala came in for an exam and consultation. After he left about 5 more minutes and anesthesiologist came in and did his thing and another exam. Then about 5 more minutes and I had a third exam from the floor doctors. I changed into a hospital gown and they put compression stockings on me and then started an IV. I was wheeled out for surgery at about 12:30 and hardly had to wait at all until they took me back to the OR.
The OR itself was much better than the one I was in here for my shoulder surgery four years ago. I was treated like a piece of meat there. Really. It was actually a bit traumatic for me and very frightening. Here they were very considerate of me and comforting. Then I went to sleep of course.
When I woke up I was being extubated and that was no fun. I was extremely thirsty and my belly hurt a lot. The first 6 hours after surgery I was 100% sure I had made a gigantic mistake. The second 6 hours I was pretty sure still but they found a pain med that worked better for me. The third 6 hours I was starting to think it would be okay. By 24 hours I was doing better and sure I had made the right decision. Pete helped me up to the bathroom right away though.
I had had open gall bladder surgery back in 1982 with an incision that went from my sternum to my navel and it had some adhesions that made the surgery a little more difficult than normal laproscopic is and so a little harder to recover from.
The next day I was tired and my belly hurt. They wanted me to walk so I tried to do that. I sat up and walked some and rested some and mostly felt like I got hit by a truck. They took me down for a barium swallow test to make sure everything was working right (which took a total of about 15 minutes!) and then allowed me to start on clear liquids. Nothing but ice chips prior to that. I gotta say that going from nothing to that *nasty* barium is a shock! That stuff is wicked bitter and I was afraid it wouldn't stay down. The broth and sugar free jello they brought for dinner was lovely.
One little problem we had was that Pete had a really hard time on Tuesday getting any food. There was a language problem and no real cafeteria like we have here. He was supposed to get companion meals, but I was so out of it after surgery I didn't think to help him with that, so he fasted all day Tuesday except water and a cup of coffee he managed to get. Wednesday he talked to Esmerelda for help getting food. Whew. There was a couch that he was able to sleep on to be near me, which made things so nice for me to have him there. It was comforting.
By Wednesday night I was getting nervous about the travel. I felt awful and could not see how we were going to manage the process of getting home. Two flights, security, baggage, etc seemed so overwhelming. I was hurting a lot still. I had thought I would have felt better and didn't take the previous surgery into consideration.
Thursday morning the Drs started expressing concerns about me leaving too. I did feel some better that morning, but still...not great. Dr. Corvala kind of strongly recommended that I stay an extra night. But we had flights already paid for, and arrangements made for everything. We talked about it and decided that as long as it was just how I felt and not a complication waiting to happen, that we would go. All my tests were perfect and it was not a matter of my health if I left so we did. I really appreciated that I didn't really have to consider money as a possible reason for them to want me to stay. There would have been no additional charge for an extra day. It helped make the decision less muddy for us. I didn't leave AMA but rather with their consultation and blessing.
The trip home was hard, but we had wheelchairs at the airports and except for SLC there was someone to help push me so Pete didn't have to. It was still very hard on both of us. My friend Susan picked us up and took me home to my own comfortable bed.
I am on a clear liquid diet for the next week and then I can add thicker liquids like cream soups for another week and then some soft foods such as puddings or mashed potatoes. My stomach holds a little less than 1/4 cup of food and I will not be able to eat much fiber or meat for long time if ever because it won't digest. I do wonder about the lack of fiber and the rest of my digestive system to be honest. Maybe I can take a supplement?
I am very sore, and last night when I went to sleep I got stuck on my left side and couldn't turn over or get up out of bed. LOL
I have lost 6 pounds so far. :D
Q: Why did you decide to do lapband?
A: I am turning 50 on March 1st. I have been grossly overweight for a long long time and nothing seems to work to get it off for me. Call it a midlife crisis if you want to, but as I turn 50 it seems more important to me than ever to not spend my life like this.
Q: Why not just diet?
A: I have tried every diet there is. It does work for a while, but there are metobolic things that happen with being overweight for a long time that make it more and more difficult to lose weight. I can lose 15-20-30 pounds but the second...and I mean the SECOND I ate more than1000 calories a day, or a gram of sugar or carbs of any sort it came back. It is nearly impossible to maintain that level of low calorie, or low carb forever. Also it really isn't even about calories. If it were then a fat person could eat the same calories and exercise as much as a thin person and lose weight but we all know that is not true. And yet I also know it is essential to eat small enough amounts to lose. Period. It is just impossible for me to do that at this point because of how small it has to be.
There is another reason that I have tried to articulate but not very well yet. I believe that gluttony is a sin. Admittedly it is not the same as knocking off the liquor store or manslaughter, but it is still a sin. I have tried to get rid of sin in my life the best I know how with God's help. It would be and is hypocritical to choose which sin I choose to accept for myself. This is one of the ones that God has been dealing with me in. The Bible says in Matthew 18 that if you have something that causes you to stumble to get rid of it. I feel like I was not in control of my stomach and my mouth, so the surgery helps me to take control of it. I do not think that I will go to hell if I am fat, but I do think that along with other sin such as gossip and anger and bitterness etc, that I will do better and have a better integrity before God if I do what He asks me to do and gluttony is one of those things.
Q: Why lapband and not some other types of gastric surgery.
A: It is the one that is proven safest. I have 7 kids still at home, and a lot of responsibilities. It is also the one that requires the most self control. I can do that. I look at it much like I would look at using a nicotine patch to quit smoking. You still gotta do it. I never thought this would be easy, just possible.
Q: Why did you decide to do it in Mexico instead of locally?
A: I have done a ton of research on this and found out several years ago that for a self pay here in Utah it is around $16,000. In Mexico it is $5000 and that includes hospital, anesthesia, Dr, labs, everything. Once I found that out, I started looking at the Drs and reputations. I didn't want to go to some dark alley for major surgery! The Dr. that I chose is one of the best in the world. He has a wonderful reputation and a great success rate for his patients. They also offer financing for the costs which is a nice thing too.
Q: What was it like to do it in Mexico?
A: Well...Pete and I flew to San Diego on Monday the 30th. We stayed in a nice hotel and ordered pizza which I didn't really eat much of since I had been fighting a migraine all day.
Tuesday morning at 8:30 the shuttle came from the hospital and drove us to Tijuana to the hospital. The driver was very nice and helpful. We arrived at the hospital at about 9:30 and was literally met at the door by Esmerelda who was my liaison throughout my stay...part interpreter and part facilitator. Pete sat in the lobby and I was taken directly back for lab work. I had blood taken and a chest x ray and the two of them took a total of about 20 minutes. I never waited more than about 2 minutes for anything and Esmerelda would be there waiting for me when I was done with each step.
I signed all the paperwork, and we did the financial stuff, and then we went upstairs to my room which was nice. It was just like any other hospital room except the bathroom which was beautiful! There were nice little touches around.
About 5 minutes later Dr Corvala came in for an exam and consultation. After he left about 5 more minutes and anesthesiologist came in and did his thing and another exam. Then about 5 more minutes and I had a third exam from the floor doctors. I changed into a hospital gown and they put compression stockings on me and then started an IV. I was wheeled out for surgery at about 12:30 and hardly had to wait at all until they took me back to the OR.
The OR itself was much better than the one I was in here for my shoulder surgery four years ago. I was treated like a piece of meat there. Really. It was actually a bit traumatic for me and very frightening. Here they were very considerate of me and comforting. Then I went to sleep of course.
When I woke up I was being extubated and that was no fun. I was extremely thirsty and my belly hurt a lot. The first 6 hours after surgery I was 100% sure I had made a gigantic mistake. The second 6 hours I was pretty sure still but they found a pain med that worked better for me. The third 6 hours I was starting to think it would be okay. By 24 hours I was doing better and sure I had made the right decision. Pete helped me up to the bathroom right away though.
I had had open gall bladder surgery back in 1982 with an incision that went from my sternum to my navel and it had some adhesions that made the surgery a little more difficult than normal laproscopic is and so a little harder to recover from.
The next day I was tired and my belly hurt. They wanted me to walk so I tried to do that. I sat up and walked some and rested some and mostly felt like I got hit by a truck. They took me down for a barium swallow test to make sure everything was working right (which took a total of about 15 minutes!) and then allowed me to start on clear liquids. Nothing but ice chips prior to that. I gotta say that going from nothing to that *nasty* barium is a shock! That stuff is wicked bitter and I was afraid it wouldn't stay down. The broth and sugar free jello they brought for dinner was lovely.
One little problem we had was that Pete had a really hard time on Tuesday getting any food. There was a language problem and no real cafeteria like we have here. He was supposed to get companion meals, but I was so out of it after surgery I didn't think to help him with that, so he fasted all day Tuesday except water and a cup of coffee he managed to get. Wednesday he talked to Esmerelda for help getting food. Whew. There was a couch that he was able to sleep on to be near me, which made things so nice for me to have him there. It was comforting.
By Wednesday night I was getting nervous about the travel. I felt awful and could not see how we were going to manage the process of getting home. Two flights, security, baggage, etc seemed so overwhelming. I was hurting a lot still. I had thought I would have felt better and didn't take the previous surgery into consideration.
Thursday morning the Drs started expressing concerns about me leaving too. I did feel some better that morning, but still...not great. Dr. Corvala kind of strongly recommended that I stay an extra night. But we had flights already paid for, and arrangements made for everything. We talked about it and decided that as long as it was just how I felt and not a complication waiting to happen, that we would go. All my tests were perfect and it was not a matter of my health if I left so we did. I really appreciated that I didn't really have to consider money as a possible reason for them to want me to stay. There would have been no additional charge for an extra day. It helped make the decision less muddy for us. I didn't leave AMA but rather with their consultation and blessing.
The trip home was hard, but we had wheelchairs at the airports and except for SLC there was someone to help push me so Pete didn't have to. It was still very hard on both of us. My friend Susan picked us up and took me home to my own comfortable bed.
I am on a clear liquid diet for the next week and then I can add thicker liquids like cream soups for another week and then some soft foods such as puddings or mashed potatoes. My stomach holds a little less than 1/4 cup of food and I will not be able to eat much fiber or meat for long time if ever because it won't digest. I do wonder about the lack of fiber and the rest of my digestive system to be honest. Maybe I can take a supplement?
I am very sore, and last night when I went to sleep I got stuck on my left side and couldn't turn over or get up out of bed. LOL
I have lost 6 pounds so far. :D
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