4 Years Post Gastric Bypass, 9 Years of Marriage and a Job

Whenever we go anywhere…besides around here…I imagine living there. But it’s funny..the one and only time I moved away I always came home. It was the demise of my first marriage I think.

There’s a job opening that Skip wants to try for. We had tabled the thoughts of moving away a few years ago when it became obvious that for whatever reason…God wanted us to stay put. But here comes an opportunity that is the perfect stepping stone for Skips career…and I’ve given my blessing for him to go for it. The way I see it…since I have no interest in making money..I can’t really tell him not to try and make more. He busts his ass and I work 3.5 days a week pretending it’s work. And this place is only 3 hours away so it’s not like I couldn’t get home pretty quick if I had to. We haven’t told anyone and don’t plan to. Not even the kids..although it appears that they are gypsies like their mama…always game for a new gig.


Running-


Is going very well. I’ve managed to push my mileage up into the 20’s for the last couple weeks and am tolerating it well. Dom is getting ready to finish basketball and our training starts the first week of March. I’m excited..I just know he’s going to astonish himself with what he can do!


Shoes-

Even though this winter has been far from cold…an ideal winter for running I’d say..there has been days where my New Balance Minimus just don’t offer enough warmth. So after not much research…I purchased the Brooks PureFlow. They are ugly, look like I stuck my foot in Grimace and there they were….but I completely love them! They offer tons more cushion than the Minimus but in turn…more warmth. Brooks nailed it with this one and I’ve found my go to shoe.


4 Years Post-Gastric Bypass

I finally had my follow-up with my surgeon. Four years for me was actually this past October but well..life just kind of gets in the way of things doesn’t it? So it ended up being more like 4.5 years. I have maintained a 90 pound loss out of 100 pounds. But the real kicker? My body fat was down almost 9 percent from what it was last year! How bout that? He couldn’t believe it. I know I owe that to Jillian…because nothing but 30 thousand dollars worth of surgery has changed my body like she has. I continue to do her workouts 4 days a week in the mornings. By doing her workouts first I am teaching myself to run on very tired legs…which in turn is making my running easier. I’m not any faster…but I’m hoping that will come in time.

9 Years of Marriage

February 11th marked me tying myself to Skip for the 9 years. We had a wonderful anniversary at a lumbar yard, a grocery store, and IHOP. The day we got married was kind of a hodgepodge. I had to have my car serviced down in Illinois where I bought it and the wait to get married down there is only a day. So although we planned to get married in Vegas that April, I was like ‘dude…do you want to just get married on Tuesday?’ He did…and we did.


That night…after telling my parents and the kids…we took the then 6 and 5 year old boys to IHOP for dinner. Romantic I know. So that’s where we went on our anniversary. We walked in and they had the section where we sat closed down for the night. I told the kid that it was our 9 year anniversary…and that 9 years previous we had come in here and sat in that booth over there and ate dinner. And he opened the section…cute. We’ve gone back there probably 5 years out of the 9..the Nutella crepes were awesome people…just awesome.


So here’s what I know today.


After 9 years of marriage I realize that it doesn’t have to be a ton of work. That if you like someone as much as you love them…marriage is pretty easy. I like Skip. I respect him. He is my best friend and he cracks me the hell up more often than not. And if I want to be with someone forever..it better be him because otherwise it just won’t work.


After 4.5 years of having my guts re-routed it is still a struggle. I will always be way too interested in food and will never be able to eat with abandon. But I don’t want to. Surgery is not a quick fix or a cure all. It’s a tool…but there still has to be someone attached to that tool that is willing to use it properly. I still sometimes eat the wrong things and end up puking my guts out. I still can gain weight…pretty damn easily. But if you commit to changing your life…swinging that hammer…and don’t expect something to DO it for you….it WILL work.


Kind of like life…don’t you think?