What of a bits...

I let the kids play on my iTouch. Mostly Angry Birds and a Star Wars game. They all play and love it. A few weeks ago I found Ian in the closet "playing". Turns out he was watching Tombstone. He would fast forward the talking parts and go straight to the gunfights. For those of you that don't know, the movie is about Wyatt Earp, his brothers and Doc Holliday and their time in Tombstone. The fight at the OK Corral and all that. The bad guys are a group of truly mean dudes who call themselves Cowboys. Wyatt, Doc and the boys prevail in the end but not before a lot of bloodshed. The leader of the Cowboys wears a red shirt.

I told him that was not a movie for children only mommies and daddies. (Is that how you spell those?) He was disappointed because apparently he had been watching that movie for a while. I said no more and that was the end of it...or so I thought.

We were out at dinner the other night and right in the middle of dinner he turns to me and says in a whisper:

Daddy? What did the Cowboy in the red shirt mean when he said, "What of a bits?

Needless to say I was ROFLMAO. I explained to him that was a bad word and that was why he couldn't watch the movie.

Madison had a slumber party for her 9th birthday last Friday. Ian and I left on a guys night out. We ate at 5 guys burgers just to keep the mood. We drove over to Mom and Dad's to spend the night in the camper and watch Master and Commander. On the way over the traffic was horrible. Grapefest was going on and it was raining. Needless to say, the bad drivers were out in force. During the drive I said to Ian there sure were a lot of people out tonight. From the backseat looking out the window and without skipping a beat he said, "And a lot of morons."

I guess they do listen.

I told this story to my brother Steve and he said one day they were going to school and some bozo cut Steve off. About 2 minutes later Christian asked:

Dad? What does funky moron mean?"

Pfaff Pfest XVI is in the books...

what a blast!

I can speak for all 10 attendees when I say a good time was had by all. We sang. We talked. We laughed. We cried. (mostly during the game) And we laughed some more.

Got to spend some good time with my nephews, Tod, Eric, Kody and Craig. Had some deep conversations about love and life. Best thing was their dads going to bed early. Not that they wouldn't have been as open if they were around but it may have made it a little easier. Regardless, Saturday night was fun and somehting I will remember for a long time.

Who had a good time on Saturday night hanging with his brother Steve and his nephews Tod, Craig and Eric...

Again it seemed like the game got in the way of the good time. We made a game of it but we were too little too late. 0-1 to start the season. Welcome to UCLA football.

Steve and I played golf on Friday at the #1 ranked course in Texas. It was truly awesome. Pine tree lined fairways. Tough, tough greens. I hit the ball pretty well but putted like a blind man. It didn't matter though. It was spectacular anyway.

Next year it's either Colorado or Oregon. Wherever the wind takes us the family will be there.

Madison was baptized on Sunday...

what a great day.

Amidst the constant hitting and kicking and yelling among the siblings, it makes us feel like we are at least doing something right. She knows Jesus and loves Him and wants to live her life by His word.

It's all good. But not too good. (Right Sam?)

Aside: I know why Jesus was an only child. I just can't see him calling his sister a poopy head. Or kicking her in the nose because she touched his army men.

I wrote a song for the occasion. The chorus came to me about two months ago. In church, I just started to hear these words in my head:

On water He walks
From water to wine
Of water and the Spirit
He saves this sinner's life

Not long after I wrote down these words Madison came to us and asked about Baptism. I finished the song soon thereafter. Jim Henderson and I sat down and knocked out the chords in about 45 minutes. I then went home and created the melody.

I put in some words from a David Wilcox song called "Break in the Cup". I planned on looking at Mike and Steve when I came to that part and smile. I thought I might laugh but I did it anyway.

Much to my surprise, I started to choke up. Not good when you are singing. I had to look away post haste. Which I did and made it through the song. Whew!

The coolest thing happened after the song.

Aside: The whole family was there sans the Phoenix Pfaffenbergers. The church was 1/4 full with just us. Pretty cool.

From my view in the choir, I could see Steve with Tod and Craig sitting right behind him and Mike sitting right behind them. I sat down and looked up at them and as if on cue, they all nodded their heads in perfect unison as if to say, "Well done, sir."

Unscripted, raw emotion. Family.

Everyone came back to the house. The newly painted house because...that's another blog. Simple fare; sandwiches, chips, potato salad, asian coleslaw, fruit, olive tray, cookies and cheesecake. Some swam, some played, all visited.

The words to Madison's song

On water He walked
To reveal Himself to them
The calming sea proved
He is the Son of man

From water to wine
His life forever changed
He set His fate in stone
His promise began that day

Chorus
On water He walks
From water to wine
Of water and the Spirit
He saves this sinner's life

Bridge
There's a break in the cup that holds love
Inside us all
For there's a break in the cup that holds love
We must go to the waterfall

Over time
Water wears the stone
Through the perfect grace of Christ
Water brings us home

Nothing better...

than a long drive to clear the head.

I drove up to Tulsa this week for work. Trust me I wouldn't go if I didn't have to.

Aside:

Everytime I want to type an apostrophe I end up typing a semi-colon instead. I will give you a second to look at your keyboard...As you saw they are right next to one another. I always have to arrow back to the word and replace the semi-colon with the apostrophe. I wish it had auto-correct so it would know I wanted to type can't instead of can;t. On second thought my phone has auto-correct and it, to put it bluntly, sucks. I was sending a text the other day and I wrote "You damn skippy" because that is one of my favorite sayings. Well, it came out "You damn sloppy". So I sent it again making sure I typed in skippy an even explaining that auto-correct changed the word. Auto-correct strikes again. For the second time it changed the word to sloppy. I then added it to my dictionary. I won't be second guessed by my freakin phone. (By the way, when I typed in the word won't just now, I typed in a semi-colon instead of the apostrophe. D'OH!)

Anywho...believe it or not, after that rambling, my head was clear. Actually, it was clear enough to remember that hilarious anecdote so I guess it worked.

I thought about Kelly and Madison and Ian and the little one...what's her name...think Presidents...oh yea Reagan. (Man, I'm a goof)

I thought about how lucky I am. I thought about how if I had the chance to do anything over again I wouldn't change a thing.

And yes, I typed the wouldn't as wouldn;t.

Back again...

Where should I start...

Madison presented herself for Baptism on Sunday. She made her profession of faith and is ready to become an "official" Christian.

She initiated the conversation without any prodding from us. She spoke with our pastor, Sam, and she came down the aisle last Sunday. For those of you not familiar with how the Baptists do things, at the end of the service they have a time where church members can come down the aisle to the pastor and pray or join the church or ask for Baptism. It's a big deal. Coming down that aisle all by yourself is a little scary. Or so I am told.

Needless to say, Kelly and I are very proud. She is an 8 year old wise beyond her years. We know, and Sam agrees, that she understands what she is doing and what it means to be a Christian.

When we talked about it with Ian and Reagan, Reagan asked "When can we get appetized?" Ian when told how a Baptism works, in the Baptist church they are fully submerged, looked a little concerned:

What's the matter son?
They go totally underwater?
Yep.
Can I wear my goggles because I can't go under water without my goggles?

Reagan wasn't too keen on getting appetized after that either. She can't go underwater so she will have none of it.

As a Catholic, this is all new to me. The sacrament that best correlates to the Baptist Baptism is Confirmation. Catholics "seal the covenant" or confirm their infant Baptism at Confirmation. Baptists confirm their belief in Christ through Baptism. I don't want to wax poetic on the dogma but that is my belief in a nutshell.

On the weight front, I don't know how much I weigh. I do know I am still buying smaller pants. 10 sizes so far. I have about 6 sizes to go. If I could make it 8, that would be gravy.

I am still training for a 5K in November. I was going to do the Turkey Trot but it is a Susan G Komen foundation sponsored event and they give to Planned Parenthood. That is something I will not do. So the 5K is still a go; I just need to find a new one to run. There's got to be a million of them.

I just got through reading this post. I don't want to upset anybody. Rest assured any word choice was not pre-conceived to elicit emotional distress. I just wrote what I felt. So please don't read into this. Now I am projecting.

I will shut up now.

Sixty seven years ago today...

What makes free men jump out of landing craft in rough seas jump out to face this?

Sixty-seven years ago, free men of America, Great Britain, Canada, and Poland-in-exile stormed the shores of Normandy into the teeth of Adolf Hitler’s Fortress Europe. The losses at Omaha Beach especially were astounding; over 4400 Allied servicemen died in the assault, and 7500 more were wounded or went missing. Americans made up almost two-thirds of the overall casualties (over 6600). The German casualty figures were never known, but estimates range from 4000 to 9000. But that was just the first day of the Battle of Normandy. By the time Normandy was secured, over 425,000 casualties had been inflicted on both sides, 209,000 by Allied forces. Another 200,000 troops were captured by the allies. The French paid a price, too; over 15,000 civilians were killed in the Battle of Normandy.

Think of that picture above and the courage it took to take that first step. Many of the men who saw this vista died without ever getting past the shore. What made them take that step? Certainly discipline strengthened them, but these men knew that they faced one of the most evil regimes the world had ever known — and that the Nazis wouldn’t stop with Europe. Evil could not be contained, nor appeased; it had to be fought and destroyed, and that it would take a tremendous sacrifice to end it. They went forth to battle evil, and even if they as individuals fell, these men knew that liberty and justice would defeat evil, and that their sacrifice would make that victory possible.

Not for nothing do we call this our “Greatest Generation.” Most of them are gone now, but their valor and dedication live on to challenge, inspire, rebuke, and encourage us. We should not less this date pass without some remembrance as long as free people cherish their liberty.

FInally weighed myself the other day...

265!

That's 2 lbs shy of 70. It felt good. So I had a bowl of Capn Crunch. Mutley moment there.

I have to get back on the treadmill. It has been almost two weeks since I have been on that thing. I feel so good when I am done walking/running. I need to keep that mindset throughout the week.

The best thing right now is being able to walk into a store and by some clothes. And it isn't a tall and fat store. I bought two golf shirts and two pair of nike shorts. No way on God's green earth I could have fit into those things 3 months ago. It is very nice to be able to do that. People who don't battle wieght problems just don't understand the feeling of being able to do that. But we each have our triumphs.

T-ball season is almost over. Ian is much more aggressive on the field. Still some issues but he is 5 and is doing great. He said he loves tball. We will be practicing every week until next season. He can't wait.

I just realized Madison will be in 3rd grade next year. Only 2 weeks of school left and she's a 3rd grader. Man-oh-man! Time flies.

She is still reading...and reading...and reading. We are so proud of her. She is wise and mature beyond her years. I told you about the people game: one clue she gave was this man invented paper money and taught himself to swim at the age of 6. It was Benjamin Franklin. She continues to astound me in the things she knows. All because she read it somewhere. I hope she keeps it up. She wants to be a librarian so that's a good sign.

Reagan is the tag along. No matter what Ian and Madison do she wants to do it too. No fear. Tattletale. Just like her old man.

She is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

As a side note, I like TV shows about Bigfoot. They scare the crap out of me but I watch them nonetheless. When I was a boy we went to Oregon to see my Aunt and Uncle. They had a house in the forest. Their bathroom did not have curtains on it so you looked right out into the forest. Unless it was dark then you couldn't see anything. I did not go to the bathroom from sunset to sunrise the whole time we were there.

Come to think of it, that may be why in my heyday I could sit at a bar and drink for hours on end and never go to the bathroom. People thought there was something wrong with me. Nope. Just had a bigfoot bladder.

Moving right along...

like a skinny guy in his natural habitat...a Studebaker. (That's a muppet movie refernce by the way)

Still losing as far as I know. I haven't weighed myself but my belts are not holding up my pants anymore. No more holes. Time for a new belt.

I have kind of plateaued however. They said that would happen when I started eating real food. I am still not eating much. It's just that the body gets used to pretty much nothing. A little food slows the metabolism.

I do have a plethora of energy. Jefe, what is a plethora? (Three Amigos movie reference there, sorry. I actually didn't use the word correctly in this context but I will stop at nothing to reference a movie. Even break grammar rules. And for me that's huge.) The surgery is paying off nicely. And thanks to a tax refund I will be paying off the surgery quickly too.

I am starting a new job on Monday with a company here in Dallas. They do what I do on a grander scale. They have more resources so I can learn more. It's a steady paycheck and, best of all, insurance.

I wasn't looking. They called me. When they found out they were actually one of my clients, it clinched the deal. The travel was excessive so I said thanks but no thanks. They called back later that day and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Little bit of travel. Mo' money. You can't go wrong with that. I'm looking forward to it.

The kids are still learning, growing, thriving, fighting. As they get older it is ramping up. More frequently. More intensity. I'm about to erect an octagonal ring in the living room and let them go at it.

Kelly had her Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas concert on Sunday at the Myerson. It was phenomenal. Her choir sang a song by Puccini that was the highlight of the evening. She is a talented woman and I am very blessed to be her husband.

SHort and sweet today.

It's been a while...

but I have so much energy now I don't want to spend it in front of a computer screen anymore. I still work from behind here and that makes it much harder to write this blog.

Things have been progressing nicely. I am down 8 pant sizes officially. Bought a new pair of jeans; which by the way I caught myself having to pull up this morning....aside...I have found the key to my childrens humor. I can stand in the middle of the room and move my belly back and forth, ala Fozzie Bear in the wokka-wokka mode, and my pants will fall to my ankles.

They laugh so hard they cry. All to the echoes of "Do it again! Do it again!".

I am comedy.

Kelly and I had a date night the other night. We left early about 4:00. Went to Sfuzzi'z in Uptown and sat on the porch. Had some bread with olive oil and pepper. Ordered a fabulous smoked salmon bruschetta and a pepperoni/organic veggie pizza. All wonderfully delicious. Brought a lot of food home.

We people watched. Talk about a boob and cocaine crowd. Holy Moly! There was more plastic on that patio than in our kids toy bin. You know the kind of people who look like they feel they are owed something.

It was a great time. Albeit slow. We looked at our watches after much merriment and revelry and it was 6:15...ok...what now? We drove around the Highland Park area and looked at the old homes with the huge trees and thought, wow...this is what our neighborhood looks like. Lucky us.

We than found a Humperdinks where the leather couches were free. I finished watching the Rangers beat the Orioles while Kelly fell asleep on my shoulder. What party animals! We were home by 8:30.

T-ball is going well. Ian got the game ball last night. He hit the ball well; out of the infield in fact. He made the last out by fielding the ball at 3rd base and stepping on 3rd to force out the runner. I think I may have been more proud of him for the fielding than the first hit. He was having an issue with fielding the ball and through some practice and hard work he overcame it.

Barney Fife moment.

The pool is all clean and ready to go for summer. I had to get in last Saturday to try to fix the pool sweep. My boys still haven't come down. TMI I know but man that water was cold.

The kids will be getting in this weekend. Sans daddy who is still recovering. They are looking forward to it.

As always the Pfaffenberger family is blessed happy and healthy.

Thank you, Obama!

I am officially...

no longer considered diabetic.

Went to my Dr and he took me off all diabetes meds. I still take 1 for the arrhythmia and 1 for blood pressure. I was taking 6 so I'm pretty happy. I am not taking the blood pressure medicine for blood pressure strangely enough. My BP was 116/60. The years of diabetes took a toll on the kidneys so the BP medicine is working to help the kidneys.

I jogged/walked 1.75 miles yesterday in 32 minutes. Slowly but surely, I am winning this battle.

I had a piece of pizza last night for the first time in about 3 months. As expected, it was awesome! I did not get through half of it before I started to feel full. That's the trick. Stop eating when you start to fell full. Before, I took that as a sign to eat faster because I didn't have much time. Now, I take it for what it actually means. Your body doesn't need any more. For a skinny person, those aren't decisions they consciously think about. For a large person, it is a matter of life or death.

I was doing something outside in the dirt and I went to wipe something off my hand and when I did my wedding ring went flying into the jasmine. Needle in a haystack my keester, ever try to find a wedding ring in the jasmine. Not an easy task. Nonetheless, I found it. All that to say, it may be time for some tape around the ole wedding ring less I lose it.

It may be time to start kicking Steve's butt in racquetball again...I've decided...yes, it's time.

2.8.8.

That's 288 lbs!

Those of you reading this who think man that is still a lot of weight, are right but it ain't nothing compared to 333 where I started. Go find a 50 lb weight and lift it, or a bag of sugar times 50.

It is amazing to think about.

They cleared me to do whatever I want. I am not restricted on foods or exercise. I can eat what I want. Strange, but I don't want what I wanted before. Although the hamburger is still on the list.

Just wanted to let you know about the weight loss. Thanks for reading.

I may have to change my song soon.

Week 6 of post surgery...

and all is very well.

I seem to be pulling the belt tighter every day. I am down to my last notch. I may have to pull out the scissors to make more because I'm not ready to buy new clothes just yet. I like pulling on the britches and having tons of room. This weekend I was out cleaning the pool. I was skimming the leaves and my shorts dropped around my ankles. Good thing we have a high fence...and I was wearing clean skivies. I thought that was pretty cool.

Tomorrow I have a Drs appointment. I will get weighed. Haven't been weighed in over a month. I hope it's where I want to be. If not, I need to focus on the shorts around my ankles. I like not knowing what I weigh. I like focusing on pant size and peoples feedback. I'm starting to get a lot of

"Have you lost weight?"
You damn skippy!
"How'd you do it?"
I had 80% of my stomach removed!

That always gets an "Oh!"

Ian had his first game on Saturday. I swelled up when he hit his first ball and ran to 1st. What a great moment. I think I will be watching my grandkids play and flash back to that moment as if it was yesterday.

Madison continues to amaze me. She is so smart. We play a game called The Person Game. Someone gives a clue of a person or character and the others try to guess who it is. I remember playing with her when she was younger and she would give clues for Cinderella and Belle. Now she gives clues for Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Two of the clues, I did not know. I asked her where she learned that and she said she read it in a book.

She reads 300 page books in an afternoon. Chapter books. Not kid books.

Reagan...what can I say about Reagan? Independent. Headstrong. Fiesty. Pretty much just like her mother. Her vocabulary is expanding every day. She loves to mimic her older brother. She loves to draw. She has the best pitch of all 3 kids. She really can carry a tune. She stays on key, has rhythm, the whole nine yards.

Yep just like mommy.

I thank God everyday for my good fortune. A beautiful, talented and caring wife. My children who are the reason I was put on this earth. My health.

I am blessed.

Almost 6 weeks...

without a solid bite of food. The closest thing I have had to food is a sugar free popsicle.

I can't believe I made it.

Starting Monday, I can have oatmeal, eggs, shaved deli meat, low fat cheese, ground lean beef etc. It's all down hill form here my friends.

I am walking a mile a day. Taking 21 minutes. Not bad for me. By the time the 5k Turkey Trot rolls around in November, I will be ready. My goal is to be able to run the 5k in about 36 minutes. If I can go faster, more power to me.

I don't know how much weight I have lost. I don't have a scale. I do know none of my pants fit me anymore and my t-shirt world has opened up considerably. Pants and shirts I haven't worn in years are coming out of the closet. One of my favorite shirts of all time, a Harlequins rugby shirt, came out of the closet last week. I hadn't been able to wear that shirt for 9 years. It felt really good.

I have to say I am at the point where everything I've gone through and the money I spent is absolutely worth it. My sugar levels have been below 100 since the surgery; from 89 to 97. My blood pressure has been 130 over 70. I am taking 2 pills instead of 6. And the 2 may go by the wayside too.

Feeling very good and starting to feel better about myself. Which is the main thing. Going through life not feeling good about yourself is a hard thing to live with. So much so that you start to take it out on other people.

I had a Barney Fife moment. Well I've had more than one but this is kind of a milestone. Ian had his first baseball practice this week. Now his first practice was not so good. He thought it was going to be him and I and his cousins going to practice. Well when he got there 14 kids were running around. It overwhelmed him a little, well alot, and he did not practice. He just sat on the sidelines. I was disappointed but I can't convey that to him.

We talked about it and he said he would play next time now that he knew what th deal was. And play he did; catching the ball, throwing, hitting, he did it all. He did extremely well for his first baseball practice ever. Insert BF face here.

At the end of the practice, the boys put their hands together and yell "Dodgers!" Well, he didn't like that too much. Way too loud. He started to cry. He then said he didn't want to play tball anymore. I told him he didn't have to do the cheer at the end of practice. He could do it from afar and he perked up after that. We are going to the field today to field some grounders and throw and bat a little.

Baby steps, Ian. Just like your old man.

Saw the Dr yesterday...

well actually his PA, regardless I am on the mend.

Staples were taken out. Ian was fascinated. He wasn't there of course but he realy liked looking at my staples. When I came home and they weren't there. He really thought that was cool.

I have lost a total of 30 lbs in about 4 weeks. Not too shabby.

Skin healing nicely. Stomach healing nicely. Barium slid through the banana like a luger. Next appointment is at the end of the month and I intend to be well into the 280s by then.

I met a fellow gastric sleever in the Drs office. Nice guy. Had the surgery the same day as I. Same Dr. Same hospital. Same day to get his stitches removed. We are pretty much on the same path. So you can imagine my surprise when he informed me he had already eaten a few little vegetables and had a small bite or two of brisket. I couldn't believe my ears.

The reason they tell you not to eat solid food is because regardless of how well you chew it, small particles could end up getting caught in the staple lining of the stomach and cause infection. If having a stomach lining infection is something I can avoid, I think I just as soon will.

I don't think that guy has read any literature. Something I can't be accused of. I know the dos and donts, ins and outs, rights and wrongs of this procedure backward and forward and I am following them to the letter. Call it a return on investment. Don't get me wrong I look forward to the day when I can have a piece of cheese or maybe a small helping of hamburger, sans bun of course, but I am not about to jeopardize what I've worked for to this point for that. Is eating a piece of brisket right now more important than walking my daughters down the aisle?

The answer is a resounding NO!

Home Again. Home Again...

as my mom would say.

I arrived at the hospital early Monday morning at 7:00. Bright eyed and bushy tailed. Ready, willing and able...Then proceeded to wait 3 hours until they finally called me back. Apparently some guy before me had a lot of scar tissue and he was a tough surgery. Knocked everythng back about 2 hours.

The first thing they did was weigh me. I was looking forward to that because I know where I started but had no clue how much I had lost on the liquid diet. They weighed me in kilograms. D'OH! I did the 2.2 conversion in my head but just gave me a rough estimate. Turns out I lost 23 lbs in those 2 1/2 weeks on the liquid. WOOHOO!

The guy came in to give me the IV. He asked where I have had my other IVs and I told him my hands. Blood taken, IVs all in my hands. He then proceeded to needle me in the forearm and poke around for what seemed 5 minutes. After not being able to find the vein, he put one in my hand. I asked him why he bothered to ask me where my IVs go when it was clear he had an agenda. He was very apologetic and we left on good terms.

Is it prejudice or racism when I say I prefer my Drs Asian-American? Dr Kim who performed my surgery as well as Nate Newtons by the way is Asian. He did a bang up job. I was his 8th surgery that day. In and out in 45 minutes. Took 75% of my stomach with him.

The day of surgery you can't drink anything. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. The first thing you get to drink is barium on day 2. 24 hours after surgery. Ever had barium? Nasty, Nasty stuff. And when I say nasty, think of me saying it as a home girl eyes wide open shifting my head back and forth across my shoulders.

Started to drink water and protein drinks on Tuesday. Felt a little nauseated after that I must say. Gradually though, my ounce filled cups have been going down easier and faster. I am right on track so all is well.

The treadmill is here. I have been on a few times. I am ready to burn out the motor. Baby steps though. Baby steps.

Liquids until Monday then eggs and cream soups. I can't wait.

I'll keep you posted.

Tomorrow is the big day...

under the knife.

I am ready. Not nervous. Ready to get on with this chapter of my life.

If you're thinking of me tomorrow at 9:00, I could use a prayer. (The surgery was moved up 1/2 hour)

Don't know when I will get back to the blog but I will make it ASAP.

Surgery is scheduled...

Monday at 9:30 at Forest Park Medical Center on 75 and Forest.

Counting the days. Never thought I would be so excited to eat broth. You see after the surgery I am still on a liquid diet but I can have broth. Sweet broth. Sweet wonderful broth.

I am still not hungry. I get pangs of wanting to chew periodically but I have a sugar free popsicle and all is well. Knowing I will eventually get back to normal is the thought that keeps me going. I say normal but I mean fractions of what I used to eat. There are some things I can never eat again but that's OK. Again, I've had a good run.

I thought of a way to prove Obama is a citizen. Someone steal his wallet. I lost my wallet and trying to get a replacement drivers license is not an easy task.

While sitting at the DPS as the number 025 was called while I held 048 in a room full of sadsacks, one thought warmed my heart. The people responsible for this room will soon be responsible for our entire health care system.

Happy days!

If I were the Governor of Wisconsin, I would tell the protesting teachers, who are doing it illegally by the way, they have 3 days to get back to work. If they do not go back, fire them all ala Reagan and the Air Traffic controllers.

They'd have those jobs filled in a week.

T minus one week and counting...

My surgery is a week from tomorrow. I can't wait.

I am flying through this thing now. I am not hungry. Ice and gum are enough to get me through my chewing need. It's all down hill from here.

As a part of the new exercise pledge, we walked the kids down to the park. While we were there, Ian was climbing a tree. He was straddling the branch between his legs when he broke into song loud and clear for all to hear;

Oh, Oh my teetee hurts.
Oh, Oh my teetee hurts oh yea!

At least he made up his own tune and was on key. That's my boy.

Signed Ian up for his first tee ball team. He will be playing with 3 cousins and a neighbor. It will be a blast. Mike, Steve and I are coaching. Reed, Mike's son, Patrick and Christian, Steve's sons and Ian are all playing. We are the Dodgers. We will be going out today to practice a bit. I hope he has fun. I think he will.

I think perhaps Ian's foray into organized sports may be a catalyst for this surgery. I have always wanted to coach him. In my present state, it would be very difficult.

That is soon to change.

The dreaded before picture...

...And he's large!

Thought I should throw one up here so I have something to look back on.

Not sure what prompted this new mindset. I have been skating along status quo for quite a while. Perhaps it was the traveling I've been doing to Chicago. There are a lot of mirrors in hotel rooms. A lot. Brush your teeth; mirror. Go to the bathroom; mirror. Take a shower; EEEEEEK! mirror.

Geez Louise, I'm sorry, Kelly.

I am starting to feel for the first time that this is very doable. I am looking forward to solid food of course but it is not driving my thoughts. I am not having the all consuming urge to drive into Quick Trip and get a candy bar. As a matter of fact I did pull into Quick Trip the other day and came out with skim milk for my protein shakes and a bottled water. Yea me!

One step at a time. One day at a time.

43 years. I had a good run.

Day by Day...

Day by Day...Oh Dear Lord...3 things I pray

To have a plate of baked ziti
To have a diet coke and CC
To have a slice of pi...zza

Day by Day

It actually is getting easier. I have not had half as many wanting to quit moments and the hunger pains have pretty much subsided. Every day is one step closer to healthy-ville. Population: me.

I bought a treadmill. Not one of the Sears specials either. A heavy duty one for a heavy duty dude. I am looking forward to wearing it out.

It has 20 pre-programmed routines on it. You can hook your mp3 player up to it. It inclines up to 15 degrees. And a bunch of stuff that I will probably never use. But it's there if I need it.

My goal is to run a 5K. I don't know how long it will take me to get to a point where I can actually run one but as I get closer I'll let you know. I have been promised by my good friend Jim he will run with me. I am excited about this challenge. Maybe I can get Kelly to go with me? Honey?

Not that she needs to exercise because she is pretty much a babe but for moral support. I can use all of that I can get.

Surgery is less than 2 weeks away. Have been on the liquid for a week. Pants feel a little looser already. Don't know if that's just mental but regardless, I am feeling better about myself. Which is huge.

I don't have a lot of self-confidence when it comes to my looks. When I am a lean mean fighting machine I hope I gain some.

Thanks for reading.

It actually is getting easier...

thank the Good Lord Almighty.

It's amazing how seriously you entertain the thought of jeopardizing your longevity by eating a slice of pizza or a chicken wing. I keep telling myself one day I can have a bite of pizza or a chicken wing or even a cookie. I'll have that taste again. I just won't have half a pizza or 15 wings or 6 cookies.

I went to my Bariatric University class yesterday. That is simply the introduction class to what I will be going through. For those of you that don't know I will be having the gastric sleeve surgery. There are 3 types of weight loss surgery: 1. Gastric bypass - where they cut out most of the stomach and re-plumb you 2. Lap Band - where they tie a belt around your stomach and tighten it periodically and 3. Gastric sleeve - they make your stomach into the size of a banana cutting away about 75% of it. There is no re-plumbing and the vitamin absorption rate is normal.

If the classes objective was to scare the crap out of you, mission accomplished. There are a lot of rules and new habits to put in place. Most of it mental. But if that doesn't translate to the physical, you pretty much are relegated to a quivering vomiting mass of sugar-feee food stuffs.

I get the point.

This is a big step. No turning back. Non-reversible. All that doesn't matter to me anymore; extending my stay on this sacred wet-green one that we live on, is.

I went sledding with the kids yesterday on the one hill in Farmers Branch. Other dads were sliding down the hill with the kids. Not me. Too big. Mark my words; my kids will never have a day where their dad won't be able to sled with them down the hill.

Never.

You can't make this stuff up...

Evil, Evil Ronald!

One day down...

the rest of my life to go.

For the most part, I am doing pretty well. I have had a few moments of wanting to turn back but I have muddled through. I realize it's only day 2 but I presume things will get easier as I go along.

Yesterday morning I walked into the kitchen and picked up a piece of sausage Kelly had made for the kids and just about took a bite. Old habits die hard I guess. Luckily, I remembered my lifestyle change and did not cheat before I even started.

Have you realized how many food commercials there are on TV? Holy moley, from apples to ziti I must have seen them all. I was stalwart however and came out on top. Hungry; but on top.

How is it I haven't had solid food in over 36 hours and yet I am still camped out in the hopper? TMI I know but I want to give you every aspect of what I am going through.

I go to my orientation class tomorrow. I guess they'll tell me what to expect and all that. I expect to be thin, not take any pills and not dread dropping things on the floor for fear of having to bend over to pick it up.

Being fat sucks. I guess I could blame it on McDonalds or chocolate producers or cattle ranchers. But I figure they didn't force me to eat the food. I did this to myself. I'll get myself out of it.

Then I'll sue their asses off.

Big changes...

tomorrow starts a new chapter in my life. I am going to call it the "Little John" era.

Tomorrow I start on my all liquid diet in preparation for my gastric sleeve surgery. I am having 3/4 of my stomach made inoperable.

I have pondered this decision for quite some time. It all boils down to 4 things; Kelly, Madison, Ian and Reagan. If I were to keep my current eating habits up, I probably would not be around too much longer.

I don't want that.

So tomorrow I start my journey to health. It is not going to be easy. I know that. But I have mentally prepared myself for that and I am very excited about the new path.

I will keep you posted on the progress.

I've had a pretty good run. It's time to suck it up and pay the piper.