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!