Food Mysteries

It is so weird to figure out the things I can eat with the lapband. Some food that works good for me, really hurts someone else. Take rice for example. I have discovered that I can't eat rice. It hurts. Really hurts. I think because it swells once it gets in my tummy. But I know I can't eat it, or I will just throw it up. And bread is tough too. But one food I can't eat, which should be a good thing but just makes me sad is french fries. Every time I try to eat one I regret it. I also notice it is hard to have sugar.
Figuring all this out makes it kinda scary to eat since you don't know how it will make you feel. I do notice if I have no carbs and straight protein, I don't hurt at all. I haven't been brave enough for steak, but I assume if it is tender enough, I'll love it. And I seem fine with fruits and veggies. So what my body is telling me is that I can only eat healthy things. Go figure.

Hooray!

Thought you needed an update on the weight loss front. I weighed yesterday, and I have now lost 30 pounds!
I got my first fill about 2 weeks ago, but I was too cautious and didn't have enough put in, so I went back a week later and had more added. Now I have good restriction and I can't eat a lot. About a 1/2 to 2/3 a cup of food a sitting. Hopefully the weight will start coming off more consistently now. I lost 20 in 3 weeks and it took 3 weeks to lose the next 10.
That's about it. I'm loving having the band and would recommend it to anyone.

Amy

A month or so ago we got a package from my sister Amy with individual presents for each kid. The kids were so excited to receive something in the mail. So we decided to say thank you in a post.

From Isaac: I love when Amy comes and visits. She tries to spend one on one time with us, and bring crafts for us to do. One time we had clay that we could eat. It was fun. I love you Amy.

Jon: Amy always brings these chocolate eggs that have toys inside when she comes. I love that she brings them, and I make sure I ask her if she did right when she walks in the door.

Jackson: Amy always gives great hugs and loves to make gingerbread houses with us. I wish she lived closer.

Ellie: I love all the stuff Amy bring when she comes to visit. I love the chocolate eggs and making things with her. I love when Andreas carries me on his back. And I love to sing for her.

Gavin: Um.... I love you!

Thanks for thinking of my kids Amy. I love you and wish you'd live closer so I could see you more, but I know that you are happy, so I'm happy too.

Cute Car

Well he did it. He took the Mustang to get painted and let me just say, it went from junker to so stinkin' cute! I love it. This weekend I went cruisin' with him two nights in a row. It was really fun, but so weird how many people want to talk to us at stop lights. Everyone has an opinion. It makes you feel like you need to have perfect hair and makeup cause you get stared at so much. Now I'm not embarresed to have it parked in my driveway.

Women's Conference

Last week I flew to Utah to go to Women's Conference with my Mom and Leigh. When I first arrived, I wasn't feeling too pretty. My roots were really bad and I felt like I was looking dirty. So on the way to Leigh's house from the airport, we stopped at Target and bought a box of ash blonde hair color. I thought, no big deal, I can do this. Well.... it turned out orange and grey. Really. Orange and grey like a Tabby cat. So my mom's friend Debi grabbed another box of color she had in her house, a warm blonde. We thought this would take out the grey color and maybe lighten some of the orange. But... it didn't change a thing. Now it was 1 in the morning and I needed to hit the sack cause we were getting up early to head to BYU. So I went to the first day of Women's Conference with the ugliest hair there. And let me tell you, there was some butt ugly hair. So bad that we would sneak and take pictures of some of the big, sculpturous hair. But I think mine was the worst. I was so aware of how bad it looked. Especially in the sunlight.
The speakers that we saw at the conference that day were not the greatest. A bit boring. But the concert that night was FABULOUS. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. But you need the whole story, so here it goes. Before the concert, Leigh had to go and help out with all the artists, so the rest of us waited with all the other 18,000 women for them to open the doors to let us in. I thought that it sucked so I texted Leigh and asked if she could get us in. She worked her magic and told us to go in this side door, where all the artists enter. We walk in, and there is Alex Boye'. You know that black guy that sings in the MoTab and does all the spirituals.

So Leigh says hi to him, and I thought my mom was gonna pass out. She has a major crush on him. Leigh then leads us to the floor of the stage and says take a seat. Now the concert is in the Marriot Center, so the stage is on the court and there are only 2 rows of chairs for the artist families. So we sit right in the center. Then Hillary Weeks comes out to do her sound check. I loved it and couldn't help singing along. Afterwards she comes up to us and asked how we scored such great seats. We told her about Leigh and then she said she say me singing with her. I said yes, I love her cd. I have it in my car right now. Then she said she had a cold so could I step in if she needed me. I told her I was a fabulous back up singer. How funny. The concert started and I felt like a teenager again. We were screaming and dancing and giggly. It was a blast.
Once we got home, I grabbed another box of hair color to repair my hair disaster. Debi said it would take 2 applications to get it right, so I dyed my hair twice that night. If you are counting, that is 4 dye jobs in 2 days. My scalp was on fire!!! But I think the final product turned out great. It is way different from what I would normally do, but it is fun to change.

The second day of the conference was pretty good. We ended it with hearing from L. Tom Perry, who I love. He is great. I really enjoyed the conference and would love to go again next year.
The rest of the weekend we just hung out and had a good time. It was a nice break away from my real life.