So, this year I had a goal of losing 50 lbs by the time I turned 50...on July, 1st, 2012! I didn't actually hit it though, until July 24th, but I was happy anyway with the 44 that I lost by my birthday. (And the 3-4 sizes and the 7" I've lost off my waist!) My birthday is on the 1st, my dad's is on the 4th (and is born in the USA) and my oldest son Levi's is on the 5th so it's really a week of Birthday celebrations. I was really excited this year, not just because of my weight loss, but also because my family decided to step up and have a 50th Birthday party for me! My oldest daughter and husband were planning it, however a few weeks before, everything went to pot and it didn't happen...I was pretty disappointed but I decided to get over it and move on...with a husband and 7 kids, it's never really about you anymore! I had spent the month before working on my yard and so when the day came, I enjoyed my yard and made myself a Dukan Lemon-Lime Cheesecake along with a Gluten Free Angel Food Cake for everyone else...and all the other food. My mother-in-law...bless her heart, brought Popeye's chicken and I had already decided to have a couple of pieces to celebrate...the spicy type! It was really yummy! Was it worth it? I gained a lb and one half the next day...YES, it was!
That week, I made 2 more cakes to take to my dad's on his birthday as he was turning 83 and I figured he deserved a party of his own for that..albeit a small one (and some of the other grand kids and neighbours showed up) . So I whipped up another Angel Food and a Chocolate layer cake. On Levi's 18th Birthday the next day, I made a cake mix Spice cake with Brown sugar frosting. We went to the Keg with him and Jacob to celebrate Levi's Birthday and finishing well on their first ever year of school! Then on Saturday we had a barbeque to attend so I made a Carrot Cake and a pan of Key Lime Squares for a family reunion on Sunday! Whew! And I didn't eat any of it!
The next Tuesday we drove to the lake to spend the day with my sister-in-law from Calgary and her sister and my mother-in-law. That morning I woke up at 6:30 to the sound of my daughter, Chloe puking...that's the sound every parent wants to wake up to! Never!! But she was hyped and said she felt fine, so off we went. She threw up a couple of times in the car on the way up there...we also had my niece and her friend...oohhh...I felt for them, in the back of the van with the puking kid! So we spent the day at the beach and she ran and played and swam, then we all piled in the car and got home in time for me to make some Ghetto Spaghetti for dinner. When I make Ghetto Spaghetti, I add chopped onions and peppers to the ground beef, along with some spices, then use Tomato soup, a can of tomatoes and sometimes a can of tomato sauce for the sauce, then I add it to the cooked and drained Macaroni noodles in a large pan, shred cheese over it and bake it for 20 min. It's pretty much my family's fave spaghetti dish. I kept out some of the meat and sauce for myself to eat, Chloe seemed fine although she wasn't very active and we went to bed.
I wish I stayed there....that night I had the feeling that things weren't right and around 2 pm I started with violent diarrhea....gallons of it. In the morning, I was throwing up...you know the drill...you are basically a 'bowl' sandwich! I had a horrible aching pain in my lower back...it felt pretty much like the worst day of my life. I couldn't keep anything in at either end! Through the day they kids brought me stuff and came up to check on me...I was a mess! My husband brought me home some diet Ginger Ale and in the evening, I finally was able to keep down a few crackers...I know...not on the diet. All night I tossed and turned and the next day I woke up with the same fierce ache in my back. I ate some more crackers and drank a little but still felt very weak and nauseous. I couldn't stand to go in the kitchen and smell the left-over Ghetto Spaghetti smell!
The best thing was, the back pain had cleared up! Hooray! Around lunch time, I began to get the worst pain in my abdomen, like I was getting my period...great...I don't even get it anymore and it had already come back when I started the diet...like, wow, she's on protein...food is plenteous....she can make a baby! That was adding insult to injury while being sick...but then the pain reached a climax in which I've only experienced on one occasion...well maybe 5 or 6...while giving birth....it finally dawned on me...the aching back pain....NO, I was not having a baby...I was passing a kidney stone! I called a friend who is a nurse and asked her what she thought...I wanted to call an ambulance...there was no way I could drive myself to the hospital and my husband wasn't really interested in leaving work to came and take me. If only he hadn't taken all my drivers to work with him! But my dear friend drove all the way from London to pick me up and take me. The pain had been pretty fierce for about an hour and started to subside but by the time she got here and we set off it was hitting pretty hard again. Thankfully, when we got to the hospital, the waiting room was almost empty...joy of a small town! They got me into a room with another young man and his family. It was probably an hour before they got some pain meds into me...but not before I rolled around on the bed in agony while throwing up...yeah, I felt sorry for that poor guy and his family! Eventually, they got an IV in and I slept for a few hours. The next day I had an ultra-sound and it didn't show any stones-just a slightly enlarged kidney. An Asian doctor with a strong accent gave me some paper filters and told me to pee through them...that was a disaster! A day later, I realized he had given me the 'man directions'! New plan...pee into a container, then filter! I never found a single stone. I loved the drugs they gave me...oh the blessed relief from the pain...and the hours of sleep! It would always start with a throbbing in my lower back and I immediately had to take the Perocets or the pain would be unbearable in 20 minutes! And continue until I felt that it had lapsed...sometimes 6-8 hours.
By now it was Saturday and on rising the pain hit so I took meds and spent the next 6 hours cleaning...they either take you up or knock you out! We were supposed to go to a family barbeque before my Sister-in-law left to go back to Calgary and I had said I would stay home. I got the kids to make the food I was supposed to take, and then at the last minute, decided...I've been feeling great! I think I'll go! As soon as we got in the car, the pain hit! My husband took back roads and every bump was excruciating! When we got there, I went straight to bed and spent an hour writhing around and begging God to make it stop before the drugs kicked in...what was up with that??? (so thankful for health care and drugs in our country!) I got up in time to leave at 9:30 and go home to bed. The stones continued every day for over 2 weeks. I managed to get somewhat back into a routine around the house and after a week, went back to the diet. When I wasn't feeling well, I ate dry crackers, toast and butter and some fruit. My weight went down to 1 lb away from 50 lbs! I saw my doctor a few days after they started and asked about the cause. We're pretty sure it was because I was so dehydrated from the virus I had, and possible other factors such as me taking Vit C and Vit D every day...not sure entirely, but he thought since I was doing so well on my diet and I had learned my lesson about drinking more water, that I should continue. Yeah! I did go to Union Burger with the family though and had a Bourbon Burger and some fries! And then went back on my diet!
My clothes had been getting really loose and I was having trouble keeping my capris on so I went out and bought a couple of new pairs! Size 12-14!! Yeah...down from 18-20! A week after the stones started, they sent me for a CT scan...they really found nothing except a foreign object in my abdomen...now we are trying to figure out what that is? I swallowed a dime once when I was a kid...maybe it accumulated interest? Onward and upward...whoops, I mean downward!
By now it was Saturday and on rising the pain hit so I took meds and spent the next 6 hours cleaning...they either take you up or knock you out! We were supposed to go to a family barbeque before my Sister-in-law left to go back to Calgary and I had said I would stay home. I got the kids to make the food I was supposed to take, and then at the last minute, decided...I've been feeling great! I think I'll go! As soon as we got in the car, the pain hit! My husband took back roads and every bump was excruciating! When we got there, I went straight to bed and spent an hour writhing around and begging God to make it stop before the drugs kicked in...what was up with that??? (so thankful for health care and drugs in our country!) I got up in time to leave at 9:30 and go home to bed. The stones continued every day for over 2 weeks. I managed to get somewhat back into a routine around the house and after a week, went back to the diet. When I wasn't feeling well, I ate dry crackers, toast and butter and some fruit. My weight went down to 1 lb away from 50 lbs! I saw my doctor a few days after they started and asked about the cause. We're pretty sure it was because I was so dehydrated from the virus I had, and possible other factors such as me taking Vit C and Vit D every day...not sure entirely, but he thought since I was doing so well on my diet and I had learned my lesson about drinking more water, that I should continue. Yeah! I did go to Union Burger with the family though and had a Bourbon Burger and some fries! And then went back on my diet!
My clothes had been getting really loose and I was having trouble keeping my capris on so I went out and bought a couple of new pairs! Size 12-14!! Yeah...down from 18-20! A week after the stones started, they sent me for a CT scan...they really found nothing except a foreign object in my abdomen...now we are trying to figure out what that is? I swallowed a dime once when I was a kid...maybe it accumulated interest? Onward and upward...whoops, I mean downward!
The Birthday People! |
It was Cake Week!
Great Grand Child Morgan |
It just keeps getting better and better! |
Nieces and Nephews with Auntie Michelle! |