Christmas is Coming

Happy Birthday, Joseph Smith!

For the first time in my life, I am not hungry. How long that will last I know not, but I am taking advantage of it. This morning, I'll get my steristrips off and basically be ready to meet my other New Year's Resolution, lose 100 or more pounds by next Christmas. It's taken a long time, but I feel the medical improvements have made it a procedure worth waiting for. No one questions a person getting a pacemaker, they feel like hey, you need it. You don't say to a person, "Hey if you just had more will power, you could make that heart beat regularly and consistently." So I feel this lapband helps my stomach to be like everyone elses. I always had a constant murmuring from my brain to me saying, "you're hungry, you're hungry, you're hungry" and when I discovered that all the sensors that tell you that you are full at the top of the stomach (which makes absolute perfect sense), a light went on and I realized that my body doesn't need much to survive (good pioneer stock) but my brain doesn't get the message so I would eat until I was full only to discover 2 to 3,000 more calories than I needed. Now, I am "guzzling" okay "sipping" about 5-700 calories a day and it's a force feeding,have to remind myself, "drink your protein" and I am so much happier. Everyone has been really surprised and pleased with my recovery. The surgery went faster than normal, they operated at 8:35 and I left the hospital at noon, and then I went home and watched House of Eliott, really fun and great, Friday, I did a few things around the house, Saturday I went to the Village Theatre production of Meet Me in St. Louis, Sunday, 3 hours of church and a Stake Christmas program, Monday, Christmas shopping, yesterday I did a temple endowment and today, I"ll be running around getting ready for tomorrow (we are deciding to have our traditional Christmas, Christmas Eve morning, with Stephanie calling on Christmas and a Christmas feast with dad-in-law, I know that I can really only take one major event at a time. Rob isn't converted to it, but . . . .everyone else is and I have no doubt that when he sees us opening all our presents, he'll join the group. We're going to have yeast waffles and hot chocolate, bacon and orange, a pretty fun breakfast, laid back morning and start the gift opening around 11. Scott and Virginia, probably Natalie, David, Kerstin, Andrew, Isabelle, Alexa and me are all agreed and Rob can be "Scrooge" for the day. Still have some last minute shopping, catch you later