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When my dearest daughter decided to let our awesome puppies from our very first litter out of their pen to roam the house she did not expect that the lil furs would cry and DEMAND to be let out and stay out 24-7 LOL ... a feat that cannot be done if we want to keep their safety in mind... the pen came into play when the little tykes started jumping out of the whelping box ... now these wee 6 week old furry bits were getting into and under everything...

This morning as I walked by the pen in unison they are screaming to be let out ... so I let them out ... however when it was time to put them back in they were just not having it ... so guess what? I took my goofy old arse and got right in there with them teeeeeeeeeeee heeeeeeeeeeeee ....it is an open top pet pen...  could I have done this at my highest weight of 327 pounds? I don't think so ... but today ... 7 years and almost 3 months after I got right in there with them and down on the floor and sprang right back up and for a fleeting moment I remembered how 7 years ago my mobility was impaired and today I am running 20Ks and loving it...

My awesome lovable toy poodle puppies and me in their safety pen this morning...

I also had an itch to paint and got my palette and my canvas and decided to paint my awesome furry family of poodles ... my dam Pierretta and the sire Chip and my awesome silver Pierre all a year old in the back and the wee babes in the front... Mis Perrines in a Basket .... an unfinished rough draft of a canvas I am currently working on... 

I am loving my journey in health and wellness more each day ... the tiniest things bring me such pleasure ... I love getting on the floor and being able to bounce right back up...

Before and now I am still me ... I empower myself with a goofy tool my sister (RIP) had suggested ... A Picture A Day Keeps the Pounds and the Inches Away ... it works for me ... I see it... I feel it ... and today I am enjoying my journey 7 years and almost 3 months later as if it were the very first year ... for me this honeymoon will never be over ...

Thanks for allowing me to share SNIPPETS of MY journey....

I dropped 8 pounds after 7 years and 2 months post-op and in maintenance without even trying  ... my awesome puppies are an all round the clock bundle of activities keeping my old carcass on my toes ... my oh my ... can I say BUSY??? but I am enjoying and loving all of it ... 

This morning I slipped into a stripped White House/Black Market XXS dress and made my before and after comparison collage ... 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE MY FURRY GYM LOL.... 

they are a family affair will ALL wrapped around their paws especially my DH...

Puppy love and maintenance ... they keep me moving ...

and best of all THE AWESOMENESS OF OH .... even my puppies get tons of blessings ... our AWESOME OH sista HisLady and her talented hands at knitting sent me AWESOME prezzies a HUGE SURPRISE and a total WIN ... a box full of sweaters for my puppies on a day when we woke up to snow/ice and sleet in spring go figure.... they LOVE IT!!!! THANK YOU HisLady and THANK YOU OH and all the awesome posters sharing their journey and allowing me the space to share another goofy SNIPPET of mine....

My awesome 4 week old toy poodles from our very first litter are a bundle of joy...

My morning started hitting the pavement in a 6 mile run ... and now after posting this I am off to the gym ... I am rocking my journey and loving it more each day still...

Off to the gym ... bokwa, zumba and body pump in that order...

I am loving my furry bundle this morning ... ahhhhhhhhh they smell and feel sooooooooooo awesome I am soooooooooo in love with my brood...

My beautiful friend and co-worker came to bond with little Roscoe who will be her own a gift from me 6 weeks from now..

I have purrrrrrfect walkers too... my very first litter of adorable toy poodles ... they are trying to walk at three weeks old today and I would just capture them on video ... they are keeping me on my toes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ4wSVgr8D4

For 7 years and 2 months today I have maintained a total loss of 203 pounds from my highest weight ... one day, one choice at a time ... living life to the fullest by living and let live this is the best thing I have ever done for me and it has trickled down in so many ways indeed... 

Thanks for allowing me to share snippets of my journey... off to the gym!!! it is a good day indeed... HAPPY SATURDAY TO ALL!!!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr it is COLLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDD... why is it still winter in the spring? ahhhhhhh well never mind I am going to make the most of it anyway ... I am on the most awesome journey for life living and loving the walk and the talk as if it just happened yesterday... I look forward to each new day weighing 203 pounds lighter and maintaining great health with 0 co-morbidities having five of these conditions in remission since RNY 7+ years ago  ... I am soooooooooooooo happy and forever grateful that ObesityHelp offers a platform where I could track, keep myself in check and in remembrance of how far I have come and plan to stay, to share my journey and benefit from so many others sharing theirs while on the same walk for health and wellness for life.... I track it all with my empiric tool ... my digital empowerment journal "A Picture A Day Keeps the Pounds on the Inches Away" it is my daily tracker and while I post snippets from it more infrequently now so as not to annoy others .... I still share and am grateful for OH allowing me to share SNIPPETS of MY journey ... it is My History... MY Story ... and I own it!

I love love love hair ... and on my most recent meet and greet in New York City a month ago organized by a former OH member I got to meet and find an AWESOME and kindred spirit and we BOTH love hair ... WOOT! ... I have been sharing with her awesome demos from my shops with no strings/costs attached and have been having FUN rocking my hair in different lenghts in shades of REDS .... ringing in the SPRING that eludes us as it is COLD???? Whoever wears red hair and pink duds???? well ME! LOL...

I got all done up on Sunday for an awesome b-day celebration dinner for my DH on his b-day... 

and everyday I enjoy the awesomeness of my three furry bundles ... the prettiest puppies ever from my toy poodles very first litter ... totally planned and cared for with love forever....

Three awesome bundles of joy...

and my empowerment collage today ... loving my journey!!!

Another of the most wonderful experiences ... being able to get down on the floor... sleep at her side ... rupture the sacs when she could not do it for herself with her tiny tongue, clamping and cutting the cords ... what love and what wonder ... the beauty of life and instant love and nurturing from nature's creatures ... a true blessing...

I wanted all to go smoothly .... I educated myself and my family did the same ... we read, we had coaches and in coordination with our vet we knew just what to expect and what to do.... It felt so special to be able to get down on the floor with my tiny toy poodle Pierretta and lie beside her whelping box coaching and petting her as she delivered her first litter ... the rewards were plentiful .. three healthy and lovely toy poodles ... the first to be born was Leo who will be going to Panamá with my brother after he is weaned at approximately 9 weeks old or however longer it takes, the second to be born was Roscoe who will be blessing the home of a nurse co-worker who is very special and like me a poodle lover my friend's daughter was hit by a car last year on her summer break from her first year in college ... her recovery was a miracle she will be renaming Roscoe Beau ... but for the time that I have him he will be our Roscoe ... and the last to come after the first two guys was our little white pawed Lupita who was claimed and named by my daughter for her very own... I want to breed my Pierretta once more before fixing her- this was her first litter and we have no plans to sell any ever Poodles have been in our family here and abroad for years as far back as I can remember ... Pierretta has turned out to be the most awesome, loving and nurturing mom while looking towards us for her daily supply of never ending love and hugs ...

The chances of me with my weight impaired mobility at 327 lbs over 7 years ago before my RNY WLS would have certainly limited my ability to get on the floor with my dam and assist in the whelping of these little bundles of love...

The rewards were AWESOME!!! Leo tan and precious, Roscoe I think he will be silver, Lupita black w white paws ... not one brown one like the Sire Chip

Leo the firstborn is special... as they all are and totally loved and cared for...

32 hours after whelping mom has her daily dose of tons of hugs and love from us ... pups are thriving and so is our awesome toy poodle Pierretta ... Chip our sire and Pierre our silver are upstairs with my daughter giving mom and babes all the space she needs...

and how is this related to weight loss? a lot ... because without an awesome tool and my determination to make it work for ME ... I don't think I would have been able to maneuver getting on the floor when before going up a flight of stairs was a challenge..,

Sooooooooooooooo grateful for this awesome experience .... I am still full of wonder and enjoying these little bundles of joy and the beauty of life ... I am also grateful for 7 years and 1 month post RNY enjoying my journey for life...

 Thanks for allowing me to share - SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY... 7 years 1 month post RNY.... There is joy and there is misery in equal measures in this world ... I am embracing Joy and MAKING it happen to me ... of course there is misery but I for one am NOT letting it in ...thank you my beautiful friend Mary for these amazing words...

My best weight loss came from losing the burden of 5 co-morbidities and other morbid obesity related issues that were weighing me down and cramping my style ... 7 years post RNY I am still in the game and enjoying my journey with the same excitement as I went into it....

Of course I love the scale as an awesome tracking and accountability tool ... like the blood pressure cuff of the past that I still currently use for wellness check it is just a measure of telling me where I am that day ... I love keeping myself in maintenance always ready to run the extra mile or climb the extra stairs should it fluctuate out of my range... no stressing over it .... I am in control of me by choice....

I keep my nutrition/hydration and vitamins and labs in check as well as an awesome exercise routine ... I have learned to enjoy these things even when some days I have to give my old carcass a mental shot of Geritol to get started...

Yup, my best weight loss came from losing diabetes, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux, sleep apnea and hyperlipidemia as well as other issues like shortness of breath, seeping while coughing or laughing too hard WTH I was about to invest in designer's Depends and I was just not having it...

I keep myself empowered with a goofy tool that I call my digital empowerment collage ... "A Picture A Day Keeps the Pounds and the Inches Away" ... I see it ... I live it... it is my journey and I own it ...it is not about look at me ... I am after all a picture AW because I love pictures ... but more than that I empower myself to keep on keeping on ... and I am having fun with it ... even when I get hit with storms and have to walk through valleys of challenging experiences I try to enjoy the rain and the sun and the rainbow because I know that whatever comes my way it comes and it too will pass....

7 years and I STILL love my journey ... 

From Before RNY....

TO NOW.... this was me on yesterday ... with another 'fun-est' tracking tool ... picking up a tiny dud I wore months ago and being able to slide my curvy body at 203 pounds less than my highest weight for the same fit 7 years after my surgery..

I am still the goofy old fool that rock my hair short and get totally sick of my Dumbo looking ears and slap on extensions or a lace front wig the very next day ... because I just love hair and hair pieces too ... so I was in a quandary between wearing my dress to an oldies dance with my DH with my short hair or with wearing  wig teeeeeeeeeee heeeeeee.... I opted for my short hair and I clipped on a tail as I love to feel hair on my neck ... now THAT IS GOOFY..... like me...

Now this is DEFINITELY a goofy Snippet of my journey ... to encourage myself and maybe someone else to press on .... for wellness .... whether internal or external being at peace with one self and embracing what makes us happy while hurting no one IMO is the most rewarding experience on the journey .... 

It was very cold yesterday ... and I left the house looking like this...

and now I am enjoying my Sunday... staying close to home and on call because my toy poodle Pierretta will be delivering her first viable litter any day now.... in the meantime Chip got into a pocketbook I was about to send to a friend...

HAPPY SUNDAY TO ALL!!! and a happy upcoming week ... I continue to embrace my friend Mary's words "There is joy and there is misery in equal measures in this world ... I am embracing Joy and MAKING it HAPPEN to me ... of course there is misery ... but I am NOT letting it in"

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE... SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY.....

Yup DIY (do-it-yourself) is an AWESOME tool ... a penny saver and a calorie saver ... whether it is a major home improvement DIY project or a fun filled DIY grooming project ... after all busy hands stay out the pot no??? well mine do teeeeeeeeeee heeeeeee... plus I just LOVE LOVE LOVE anything DIY .... not only do I love making things but I also love saving pennies along the way.  Today was a totally DIY day as I spent a leisure day at home resting up after a busy week at work... at the shop and life in general ... I do need more hours in the day ... My DIY is ongoing ... last week I finished my tiny dress that I plan to wear on a weekend trip back home to visit my sister ... where it is cold here it is scorching in Panama...

From my DIY hairpieces and extensions to my DIY dress I made last week I am working my fingers to the quick as I am saving to upgrade my Brother Project Runway sewing machine to an awesome newer model cause a sista has to sew ya know????...

Today was another DIY day ... I filled, painted, UV gelled my own nails ... as I have been doing all along ... saving pennies along the way ... I figure if I can paint on canvas I can paint my own darn nails TEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEE.... with my artist acrylic paint that I paint on canvas with at that ... and with awesome coat of gel sparkle and clear drying gel... and I am good to go ...

I love the weirdness too... this is the end product...my DYI nails ... I had them in ultramarine blue last week.... totally goofy ... like me...

This is my week in pictures...

I spent awesome time with my toy poodles ... my Pierretta will be having a litter 2 weeks from now... I can't wait...

and while I type my goofy snippets in my empowerment journal lil' Chip my all chocolate toy poodle keeps me company...

This is a totally goofy snippet ... DIY does keep the mind busy... creates fun and even complex things/projects ... and keeps cravings at bay ... at least for me ... 7 years post RNY and maintaining.... I track it all in my digital empowerment journal "A PICTURE A DAY KEEPS THE POUNDS AND INCHES AWAY"...

BEFORE AND TODAY.....

Thanks for allowing me to share SNIPPETS of my journey....

I had the most horrible respiratory process going on for over a week ... it seems like there was an invisible faucet attached to my nose that was left on around the clock while my head exploded with congestion and my body decided it just wanted to rest and sleep and sleep and rest ... I hated the tired, dragging, fatigued feeling ... then the snow came and kept coming and coming and coming .... at one point I decided to just get up and get out there and help the guys with the shoveling ... breaking a sweat in the cold made me feel much better .... DH treated me to an awesome bowl of spicy chicken feet soup from Maxine's Jamaican restaurant and it hit the spot ... it took me right back down memory lane and to home to where my nana would make the most awesome soups (chicken feet, cow foot, fish head with dumplings and veggies and ground provision) to treat the common colds according to her ... the stuff worked ... more-so for the TLC that she put in it and the special attention that we got while she doted on us .... awesome childhood memories... the soups were delish believe it or not... although when I make chicken feet soup now my DD and DS say ewwwwwwwwwww.... 

So while I was down a bit I added shoveling snow to my exercise routine ... biceps and triceps are feeling it still ... and when I got home from work on Friday I was greeted with a HOT FLASH getting out of the car .... YIKES.... the snow blocking the shed in my backyard came in so totally handy ... hey why not put it to good use? I took off my coat while the flash crawled up from my toes to my head taking my breath away so I just sat down on it YUP on the snow and just picture AWd while I was at it ... why not? .... awesome Rx for an old sista having a hot flash LOL....

if you can't beat it join it the saying kinda goes .... even if it means building an igloo in our backyard as my awesome neighbor and her husband did and here I am while its being constructed using an empty recycling bin in which the snow was packed in to make awesome blocks ... I took a picture with one of her awesome daughters a lovely munchkin that I enjoy loving and spoiling as I do not have grandkids of my own but my awesome toy poodle Pierretta will be having a liter next month so a fury grandma I will be...

I got up this morning to discover that it had snowed a bit overnight and we are expecting another 5-6 inches tomorrow on top of the mounds of snow that we have not gotten rid of yet YIKES! anyhow we will take it in stride ... and while we are at it why not enjoy????

A bad cold tried to knock me down for a few days ... I shed a few pounds above the waist where I don't need to lose another ounce I wish it would wear off the caboose or the thighs but that is okay ... I am still within my maintenance range 7 years post op and maintaining ... and loving it....

This is just another goofy post ... staying on track in maintenance for life ... 7 YEARS POST GASTRIC BYPASS... thanks all and OH for allowing me to share .... SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY...

I was soooooooooooooooo happy to find this in my FB feed this morning shared by another surgery sista I met at an OH event... and today as I celebrate my 7TH YEAR SURGIVERSARY..... I REMEMBER and continue to celebrate each and every day that major step I took for me to be a better me for me and mine ... I have health... mobility... grace ... favor.... stamina ... a mindset to love and an adventurous spirit to discover ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE being me ... with my old heart and personality wrapped in a lighter frame ... I am in motion till the day I die and while I am at it I am living my journey one day... one choice at a time ... HAPPY 7TH YEAR SURGIVERSARY TO ME....

BEFORE...

and NOW...

Whereas I could not even cross my legs at 327 lbs today maintaining at 203 pounds less I can squat on the floor and play with "GLOBITOS" these crazy bubbles "bloonies" that we played with as kids that my classmates and I were reminiscing about the other day ... I saw them out of the corner of my eye when I was checking out at a store and got them and on Sunday... I squatted on the floor with ease on the way up and on the way down while I played with my awesome toy poodles...

Yesterday I forgot my lunch bag and had to hit up the caf at work ... 7 years on the journey and I am still reaching for pro-forward choices seamlessly with ease and enjoyment ... good nutritious food that doesn't pack on the pounds abound ... and I find power in my choices ... so I forgot my lunch but enjoyed strawberries and cottage chese for breakfast and YUMMY Swiss Chard topped with Feta for lunch ... came home to awesome dinner of baked salmon stuffed with shrimp and scallions TO DIE FOR....

I rang in my surgiversary awesomely ... last week on Monday 1/27/14 I spent the day in the Big Apple at an awesome meet and greet and luncheon with awesome OH sistas I met on here back in 2007 when I joined and while some no longer post I have embraced them as my friends as I got to know them as the awesome persons that they are despite the oftentimes judgementalism of an online screen .... picture me with my high heeled boots and tiny duds heading into the city to have a blast ... My luncheon with Diana Cox and Bagelface and EN and MsVee and AAAA was superb ... we met at Katz Deli on the lower East Side and had a blast... diversity at its best ... interracial, interbeliefs/unbeliefs, intersurgical we were all one an awesome diverse mesh of post-ops women and a very supportive spouse of one each complimenting the other as it should be ... what fun I had... censoring diversity of style and delivery sucks .. it fixes nothing and kills the spirit of tolerance and togetherness in common goals ... I MISS MY FORMER BANNED OH POSTERS A LOT! and whyyyyyyyyy oh why did the cab drive take me all out of my way because I did not pronounce Houston Street a la Manhattan? geez Louise not only did my accent get in the way but I managed to turn a $10 ride into a $35 dollar one LOL ... only me ... I am still practicing Hawwwwwwwston WTH? LOL

 My Big Apple collage and duds last week as I headed out to celebrate IRL with friends met on OH and continue relationship on and off the boards... and I walked through Grand Central Station nimble in my high heeled boots and pigeon toes too LOL ...

I SIT HERE TODAY CELEBRATING MY SURGIVERSARY ..... I rung it in at midnight in a pleasant exchange with a newly found former OH poster who I met last week and we have soooooooooooooooooo much in common it was past midnight when we bid ourselves goodnight ... today and everyday I am celebrating me and everyone else in this awesome community ... for one day she remembered .... I REMEMBERED.... 

At my desk yesterday on break in between bites of my delicious breakfast ....

7 YEARS OUT ....WOOT! Loving the ride that I will never allow to end ....  I don't ever want to forget for I don't EVER want to go back!!! Thanking OH for the space to share and thanks to DC and Charles and EN and Susan and MsVee and AAAA for an AWESOME meet and greet in the city .... and thanks for the entire OH community linked by the common goal in pursuit of wellness for allowing me to share SNIPPETS of my Journey on this my 7th Surgiversary.

Having my RNY at the age of 49 going on 7 years next month I have had soooooooooo many twice over NSVs that I cannot help but feel I am living my life twice over and loving it....

TWICE OVER ...that's my number ...it started at an early age because being child number two as the middle child I got to wear my elder sister's Mela (RIP) clothes -I got to wear them twice over... and here I am today sharing my SNIPPETS ... as I live life twice over ,,, reliving my NSVs thick and thin and loving all my moments with improved health, energy and mobility ...

TWICE OVER .... I made every single gown and boutonnieres and floral arrangements for my wedding 25 years ago including my own bridal gown ... I bought all the fabric and the notions and no one had to spend a dime... my DH and my aunts cooked the most awesome menu combining Panamanian and American foods and DH made this awesome multi-tiered cake with fountains and the works ... my wedding party was huge and so was my reception and I had so much fun sewing away that many years ago...

I sewed all those dresses .... I can't believe I even kneeled for those pictures in the park with the guys around me...

In 2008 18 months post RNY I had a twice over NSV as I again sewed my gown to reaffirm our vows .. no longer morbid obese...

I made my vows re-affirmation gown and floral arrangements too...

In 2009 I took an awesome size 4-5X sweatshirt that was a special gift as I was never into wearing sweats I cut it down and made me an awesome dress that I wore on a visit to friends in Naples, Fla... A twice over NSV ... my sweatshirt worn as a dress made by me...

and my NSV for today .... as I track my FIT wearing my almost 7 year old denim jumpsuit .... I wore it to the Obesityhelp Conference in Philly in 2008 - 18 months post-op and I was asked to introduce one of the guest speakers...

I wore it for the same outfit in 2009

and 2010...

and I am wearing it right now ... as I type ... as I relive my NSVs twice over...

I am forever grateful to my personal trainer as she fights her own battle while dealing with weight loss through diet and exercise while dealing with a 2-year diagnosis and treatment of dermato/polymyositis my beautiful first born and lovely 6'2" daughter ...

My daughter before,,, in transition

my daughter today... so thankful for my girl who helps my old carcass keep going... YIKES try running a 20K with this one ... I can't keep up LOL

This is another goofy thread ... as I relax going over my NSVs that I have relived twice over ... so grateful for a new chance at life with renewed health and mobility ... I don't ever want to go back ...keeping my focus on pressing on ...one day... one choice at a time... totally determined to get back up no matter how many times I might have to...

THANKS OH AND ALL FOR THE SPACE AND FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY....