chipymunk

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There are times in life when we all need to take a step back and balance our life's check book. T-day is one of those days... Other days in my life include the day my first son was born, the day before my bypass surgery, the day I quit smoking, the day I got married, the day I left Maryland and came to Pittsburgh (that was a long drive)... Well my check book doesnt balance and I need to get it fixed... 

This Thanksgiving, I would like to give a Thank you to the men and women that are out there right now protecting our ability to have this day... I found this video and it really puts some perspective on things.. Support our troops or not.. Support the mission or not... Whatever side of the political realm you lie on, this video has to touch your heart... Dont let it get you angry... Dont blame anyone... Dont say a word.. just absorb what it must be like right now for them... Try and wrap your brain around how much of a sacrafice they and their families are making today and tommorrow, all for our freedom... I know I'll look at my 2 year old with mashed potatoes from ear to ear and say a little prayer... 

If you see someone this holiday that is wearing a uniform, please, please... pick up their tab in the restaurant (we would have spent it on ourselves in the past anyway...), buy them a cup of coffee, open the door for them, or just walk up and say thanks... I've often thought about doing that but I am making it my mission this year to do something nice for a complete stranger that is in the military... 

Before I screw this up anymore, I'm gonna shut up and give the link... 

http://www.grouchymedia.com/streaming_video/sacrifice.cfm

Once again I'm back to 232...  I was pumped all week and did better (not great) at fighting head hunger but still gained 4 lbs..  I'm begining to get disgusted with this and depressed.. I'm gonna work out today even though its Sunday.. Need to get out of this house...

Chip

Ok. my peeps.. Check this out.. I am usually not one to use blogs to smear companies but let me warn you...  If anyone lives in the Pittsburgh area and happen to make it up Route 28 to the new "Pittsburgh Mills Mall..."  Dont bother, ya might as well keep on driving and go somewhere else because let me tell you something, this mall has been nothing but a disappointment...

Ok.. maybe not the whole mall but a good portion of it.. Let me give you a little snippet of our experience this weekend...  Saturday my wife and I took the kids to the mall, with the intention of buying some new appliances.  Our fridge is dying and our oven is really bad, so we figured, T day is coming, why dont we get new appliances.  Sears was having a sale where you save 10% on one, 15% on two and 20% on three appoliances.  So we thought, ok, Fridge, Oven, microhood...  We can do this and have it all by T Day..  Sounds good right??  

So we get there and we get a guy by the name of... Lets protect the innocent and say his name Drank..  Although it really starts with an F...  Jagoff..  Anyway, slick willy Drank, cannot comment intelligently about any of the products in his department, despite the fact that he "has worked here for 2 years."  We are looking at applicances, askign intelligent questions like "Do I need a plug for this oven??" and "Does this fridge come in a smaller size?"  Nope, not one intelligent answer from this guy.  

All along, here he is calling my wife "hun"... Ok.. back in Baltimore, when we picked up little ole ladies in the ambulance, its normal and customary to call them "Hun"  only when you have established a rapport with them... Not when they are about to right you a check for $3,000.  The last time a salespoerson called my wife "hun", he lost out on a new car sale...  What a jackass...

So finally we get the prices and numbers we want.  Then here comes the kicker.  "If you wait till tommorrow, we are having a VIP sale for our "special customers" and you might be able to save more."  So we go to dinner to think it over.  Shawn is melting down at this point and we decide, screw it, we'll roll the dice and return tomorrow to buy these things...

Oh yeah, and in the middle of our asking questions, get this... "Ive got to go take a break... Its the law... Were union.."  Ok.. What the fuck!!??!!??  A break?  I'm about to make you a commission that will pay your rent for a month and you are going to take a break?!?!?  Screw you!!  I hate unions.. They are worthless...

So we come back the next day and needless to say, thigns didnt get any better..  The prices were not all that different when we started, but have you seen a Sears receipt lately?  It reads like a mortgage..  And when its all said and done..  Your paying more than you thought you woudl in the beginign..  

I'm tired of typing.. It got worse from there..  But we ended up buying the appliances from a manager and not Drank...  Uggh...  I'm spent...

Chip

Well today is my weigh in day and I'm happy to report that I recovered from my little set back last week.  I'm not down to 228.5 which is great... 

Today is Sunday and were going to some super secret sale at Sears.  were gonna drop about 3,000 in new appliance, which we need and will only add to the resale of this house.  Besides, with Thanksgiving around the corner, were gonna be responsible for cooking everything but the Turkey, so we'll be busy.  New Friday, new range, new micorhood...  

Fatherhood is taking its toll on my sanity.  My 2 year old is being a normal 2 year old and getting into everything.  This wouldnt be so bad except add in our newborn who is 4 weeks old and you can see how tough this gets.  Up all night, no sleep.. Then the of course the 2 year old wants up just when the 4 week old wants to sleep... Were a tired bunch around here...  But 21 days from now and we'll be on a plane to Disney.  Am I nuts or what???  Taking 2 year old and a new born to WDW???  Maybe my psychologist should've kept me a for a while...

We also found out this month that my Mother-In-Law has lung cancer.  Its been a stressful couple of weeks.  But were living through it...

TTFN
Chipymunk

Ok.. So just when you think your doing good... I had a second 2 lb week gain this week.. I'm up to 232...  which really is frutrating...  Its all because I havnt been to the gym, I havnt been drinking, I've been eating like crap and I have been getting basically zero sleep...

The baby is keeping all of us up for nights on end and its really getting tough... But the good news is, 23 days until I'm Disney bound... Cant wait.. Its really getting exciting now...

:afro:
Chipymunk

Can you believe it? I cant really get my arms around this concept but 1 year ago I was just coming home from the hospital. Sore and painful but surviving...

So much has happened in this past year... Its been an amazing weight loss journey... From 389 to 229 in twelve months... I wish I had made 200 by now but I'm definately not complaining..

I've compared myself to soo many people along the way, its not even funny... Am I eating too much, too little, should I be losing faster, slower, excercise... And I still do it today.. I think I figured that part out though... I used to compare myself to other people in the past (pre surgery)... The difference is my comparisons were always negative on that side (your ARE eating too much, your NOT loosing enought, your NOT losing fast enough) and now?

Now I compare myself and say I've accomplished so much. If I compare myself to other people, maybe I can learn from their experiences... We always say, its stomach surgery, not brain surgery... And that is very very true, but how true is it? Maybe your brain does change...

Just some food for thought on a beuatiful but cold Saturday morning...

I weighed myself this morning and low and behold, I'm 229!!!  Yahoo!  I cant believe it. Its taken me about a month to break 230.  I'm pretty damn happy about that..  29 lbs to go to my lifetime goal.