Have I told you all lately how much you all mean to me?  You mean a great deal!  Thank you so very much for your input and concern in regards to the gastric bypass surgery.  Don’t worry, this is not something that I would do hastily.  I’m still researching it and I’m not through asking questions by any means…besides, I still need to find out if it’s even something that my insurance will cover at all.  If it’s not, I may not be financially able to have it done even if I chose to go that route.

I appreciate the links to people here on Xanga who’ve had the surgery, I know of both of the persons that were referenced…and have talked to one of them about this topic before…but I still appreciate you giving me outlets for information!  Also thank you to those who’ve shared your knowledge…it’s great to have that feedback.

Like I’ve already stated, this isn’t something that I would do in haste and believe me…if my health weren’t an issue I wouldn’t consider surgery.  I’ve had to have many operations in my life and none of them were pleasant.  I’m not fond of having surgery for things that aren’t “necessary”…so this is a big decision for me.  But it’s one that’s been weighing heavily on mind for quite some time now and I’m almost out of options.  I’m going to continue to find out more information and see what (if any) other options I may have…and I will let you know what I find out.

Okay…with all of that said.  I’m feeling better today.  I’m still coughing a bit…but not as bad as I was last week.  I stayed in bed most of the weekend…aside from doing a couple loads of laundry.  Hey, I’m a mom remember?  Anyway, my Jason was in bed ALL weekend…and most of it running a fever over 101°.   He’s been sick to his stomach and has eaten hardly a thing. I hope he’s feeling better today.  He said that he felt a little better this morning before I’d left for work…but he hadn’t gotten out of bed yet so…

Well…as usual I have a TON of work to do…so I should be going.  However…I will leave you with a few more pics of my best friend Eric’s new baby daughter…Baylie.

isn’t it funny how they have the same expression on their faces? hehe

Thank you all for you well wishes! You are very sweet to me.  I’m feeling a little bit better…but still coughing a great deal and my chest hurts quite a bit from coughing so much.  I only have one more day of antibiotics left…so I hope that I don’t get worse instead of better over the weekend.  If I’m not feeling up to par still on Monday, I’ll go back to the doctor.  The last thing I want is for this to elevate to pneumonia.

Other than that…I’ve been working…or at least trying to.  I’m behind as it is…but after having to leave early on Monday to go to the doctors and then being gone on Wednesday and leaving early yesterday (the President told me to go home)…I’m still behind.  The good thing is that they’ve hired a temp to come help me over the next two weeks with my filing and such…that will help out a great deal!  Also, I found out yesterday that instead of hiring me a new assistant, they’ve decided to have Regina (a dear friend of mine that currently handles payroll and accounts payable for the company) to only do payroll and benefits.  They’ve hired a new full time accounts payable clerk and that means that Regina will be moving into my office to be my new assistant!!

I think that is the best damn idea that they’ve had yet!  We work very well together and do things the same way…so this ought to work out just wonderfully!  No more of either of us having to constantly go to each other’s offices (which are currently on the opposite ends of the building) to go over things and exchange paperwork!  Finally…a good decision made by the management of my company! 

In other news…completely unrelated to all of the above.  I’ve been doing a great deal of research this past year on gastric bypass surgery.  My doctor mentioned it to me last year as an option (more like a last resort) if we were unable to get my hypothyroidism under control.  So since that time, I’ve been giving this a great deal of thought because even after almost thirty years of being on medication for hypothyroidism…I still am unable to lose weight effectively, no matter what I do.  The more I’ve researched morbid obesity (which is anyone who’s BMI is over 40…mine is 54.1)…the more signs I recognize in myself.  Hypothyroidism is a medical condition that can sometimes be controlled by medication…but there are some cases that cannot.  I’ve been overweight my entire life and have had many medical conditions.  I was born with pneumonia which weakened my heart over the years after having relapses for eighteen years straight.  Due to this, I almost had a stroke having my first child…but I chose to have her anyway.  I’m not diabetic (thank God)…but I’ve had many problems with high blood pressure, hypoglicemia, depression, stomach ulcers (also acid reflux) & something that my cardiologists have referred to as “petite coronaries”.  These are all items that I’ve seen related to being morbidly obese.

I‘m going to check with my insurance and see if this procedure is covered and then speak to my doctor again about it. I’m sure that to some people this seems a bit drastic, however…I must look at this from a logical standpoint.  I have some health issues that potentially could become life threatening if I’m not careful and they all are related to being morbidly obese.  I’ve tried everything that I know of to be healthy and have recently been able to keep my blood pressure stable without medication…but the other items all still concern me a great deal.  I want to be here for my family and I want to be healthy and the only way that I believe that’s going to happen is if I have this surgery.  Many variations of this surgery are now available and I’m curious to see which one would be recommended for me.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see…and in the meantime, I’m going to contact my insurance and get some questions answered.

Good News…Bad News

Unfortunately, I have severe bronchitis.  Although better than pneumonia…it’s still pretty damn bad.  When I arrived at the doctor’s office yesterday, he checked my breathing and listened to my cough…and then told me to sit tight a moment as he left the room.  When he returned, he was holding a breathing apparatus that measures your lung usage and power…needless to say, my lung capacity is extremely low at the moment.  He said that I’m only using 20% of my lung capacity in each lung…that’s not good.  So then he left the room again and came back with an oxygen gage to check my levels…umm…50% isn’t good either.  He then put me on oxygen for about 15 minutes and told me that I have a pretty severe case of bronchitis and that he was concerned because of my history of pneumonia…yeah, well…me too.

Anyway…he put me on a new drug called Ketec and I hope it works quickly because my chest hurts and I can’t breathe worth a damn!

On a different note… I received an email from my ex’s mom yesterday regarding his niece’s wedding next month.  The email “informed me” that J (the niece) would like to have Dora, Corin & Jonah in her wedding.  Okay…I don’t have a problem with that…but then I was “informed” that they would “let me know how much the outfits cost” so that I could “take care of it”.  Umm…well, I’ve been married a couple of times so I do know proper wedding etiquette…but considering first of all…J never asked Dora personally if she’s like to be in the wedding nor did she bother to call me to ask.  I don’t have a problem covering Dora’s dress…but I think that it’s only proper that my ex pays for the other outfits.  My ex has stated that he will take care of the little ones’ outfits…which I appreciate.  It just irked me a bit about the way all of this came about.  However, I suppose that some people just don’t know any better huh?

Well…I suppose that I should get back to work.  I’m really behind now that I’ve been off for a week and had to leave early to go to the doctor.  I wish that I didn’t even have to come in today…my chest and lungs hurt so friggin’ bad right now.

My best friend Eric and his wife Kippie had their baby on New Year’s Day!!!

She is just too darn cute huh?  Look at all of that black hair!!  I’m so happy for them!!  She’s a bit early (the original due date was 1/26/05) but there were some complications and an emergency c-section had to be done.  Mommy and baby are just fine though…and here are the baby’s stats:

Needless to say, Eric is a very proud daddy right now and I couldn’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year!! 

In other news…Cotton is doing fine after her surgery.  Thank you all for your thoughts and well wishes.   She is NOT a good patient though …and she is quite the mommy’s girl let me tell you.

I‘ve developed a nasty congestion in my lungs and am going to the doctor today to find out if I have bronchitis or pneumonia…I’m hoping bronchitis because I was born with pneumonia and have dealt with is most of my life and I don’t feel like making numerous trips to the hospital to have my lungs drained as I’ve had to do in past years.  So think positive thoughts for me okay.

Other than that…I hope that you all had a wonderful New Year’s!!  Jason and I stayed home…but enjoyed our time together very much.   Unfortunatly I know that not everyone had the same experience…especially all of those people in Asia that are dealing with such tragedy and loss during this time…it’s so sad.  My heart goes out to them all…

Christmas was splendid!!  I got the one gift that I’ve been wanting…my ring.   I bought Jason several gifts…but I think he liked the Michael Vick Falcons jersey and the Colorado Rockies watch  (you can download the entire MLB schedule into it every year) best.

The kids loved their gifts and had a marvelous time opening them!   After all of that was accomplished, the little ones went off with their dad for holiday celebrations with his family and I took Dora and my Mom to see The Phantom of the Opera …which I’ve written my review on as well…for those of you who wanted to read it.

Do any of you have plans for New Years??  Not sure what we’re doing as of yet…Jason has to work that evening and won’t get off of work until 10pm…so…who knows.

My little Cotton goes in tomorrow to be spade and to have her microchip put in.  So please send her good thoughts…I’m sure she’ll be a bit scared tomorrow morning when I take her in.  I’ll let you know how it goes…I’m sure she’ll be fine…but I’m still a concerned mommy.

Well…I need to get back to cleaning and kiddos. Have a splendid week m’dears!

Well, tonight is my company “Holiday Party” and of course it’s a whole 6° F here today with a windchill of -18°F!!

Can you say COLD!! Yikes!  But I have a sneaky suspicion that we will have a white Christmas.  So yeah…the drive into work was fun!  People out here don’t know how to drive on snow-packed roads…but what else is new eh?  

Anyway, I’m here at work now and Jason is giving me a hard time about still wanting to go see Phantom tonight after the party because it’s snowed and we will be out late and he has to work tomorrow…but the thing is, he doesn’t work until 1pm tomorrow afternoon.  I told him that I will be more than happy to go by myself…but he’s whining.  And then he tells me that he told my Mom that he and I are going to see Phantom tonight and now she’s upset because she thinks that I’m not going to take her to go see it on Christmas Day.  Big MOUTH!  Geez!   Btw…I AM taking her to see it on Christmas Day…it’s not like I’d mind seeing it twice!

This is not the reason I’m posting…sorry, I totally got off track. I’m posting to wish you all Happy Holidays!!

OMG…I just got a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to me!! And no…not from Jason (who btw is celebrating his 4th Xangaversary today)….they are from a dear friend of mine that I’ve worked with here for many years…in fact, I mentioned him not to long ago…my friend Vern.  He’s the one who’s had a really rough time the past few months.  It was a very nice gift to receive…thank you Vern.

Now…where was I? Oh yes…

Good news…goooooddd news!! I just found out that The Phantom of the Opera WILL be playing at the nearest theater to me!  WOOOHOOOOO!!! This means that I will be able to see it on Thursday after all!!  

~does happy dance~

So…anyone still last minute shopping?  The media states that holiday retail sales this year are down from previous years.  Hmm…could that have anything to do with our economoy sucking? Just a thought.

Do you know what I did yesterday? I spent the day with my hubby.  Yup…some together time!  I was very nice and I want more.  However, that won’t happen for a few weeks I’m afraid. But, we certainly had fun hanging out together yesterday.  We were busy running errands most of the day though…picking up food for Christmas dinner (an Italian menu this complete with salad, stuffed mushrooms, lasagna, wine, and marsala apples for desert) and light bulbs (the one on my fiber optic tree croaked) and some last minute stocking stuffers.  We did stop for lunch though at Red Lobster…haven’t been there in a long while…and we had so much left over that we ate that for dinner as well!

So…are you all ready for Christmas?  What are your holiday plans this year?  My kiddos (the three younger ones) are going to their dad’s house the afternoon of Christmas Day (after we open gifts) and will stay with him for the remainder of the weekend.  Dora chose to stay with Jason and I this Christmas…we’re excited about that.  So, on Christmas Day…(since I found out that The Phantom of The Opera is only playing at one theater location in the Denver metro area as an early release…in Boulder…and only has three showtimes 2:15; 5:30; 8:30 ) I’m taking all of us (my mom, Jason, Dora and myself) up to Boulder to see it!  So Christmas dinner will be on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day…which is OK considering the little ones will get to enjoy it this way as well.

After that…it’s the beginning of the “clean sweep” that I’ve talked about doing.  Yup…I’m going to spend my week’s vacation cleaning (more like gutting) my house and organizing things…whether my mom likes it or not.   I can’t live like this anymore…so I’m doing something about it.  Call it a Christmas gift for ME if you will.

Okay…back to work for me.  Have a great Monday!

Thank you all for you wonderful words of encouragement and support regarding the situation with Dora…it means the world to me.

Well…the good news is that Dora was able to sing last night at her choir concert!  They sounded wonderful for a group of seventh graders.   The bad news is that Dora and I had an altercation this morning regarding her taking some of her grandma’s possessions and attempting to give them to her teachers as gifts.   The shit thing about it is that I already have gifts for her teachers…all she had to do was ask.

Some of you may remember that over the summer I had a problem with Dora because she stole a necklace from Mervyns, where her grandma works…it was a huge ordeal because my mom covered for her on it and didn’t tell me about the situation until a while later.  Anyway, in order to attempt to teach Dora how serious this could’ve been…I confiscated all of her jewelry from her.  I was trying to teach her that when you steal…you could possible lose everything…and it’s not worth it. 

Apparently my efforts were in vain because she didn’t learn.  So…we’ll just have to keep trying and talking about the difference between right and wrong on this.  I think that she knows the difference…but she chooses the wrong option.  I was also very angry with her because not only did she take things from her grandma…but when I confronted her with it, she lied to me about it.  Btw…she’s an awful liar and always has been.  She’s NEVER gotten away with lying to me…ever…and yet, she still attempts to do so.

Anyway…that’s my gripe for the day.  It’s kind of bummed me out…