Rose's Ramblings

Misc. News

What a beautiful weekend we had.  Did some really wonderful things with the family.  First off, last weekend we sat in the freezing cold and watched two football games.  First in the morning was Anthony's last flag football game then at 4 it was David's game. 

David's team won which means they were in the playoffs for this Saturday.  Only for my grandchildren would I sit in the frigid weather to watch a football game.  But they count on us being there.

This Saturday was Halloween and we went to see David play again and they actually won which means they play for the championship on Saturday.  Unfortunately we had made plans to go visit John down at Hocking College so we will not be able to attend that game.  Dave will video tape it for us.

On Saturday evening we went to Valley City's Halloween.  They do such a wonderful job for the kids.  They all line up at the depot by grades from Pre-School up through sixth grade.  Then march down to the fire house where the fire department puts out very nice treats for them and the adults as well.  Plus this is where the town congregates to chat and catch up on the latest news.  Then of course you can't miss the famous haunted house put on by Jean Brandt and Magnificuts Beauty Salon.  She does a wonderful job every year.  The kids go to the houses right in town and Trick or Treat.  What a wonderful memory they will have of these Halloween's to tell their children.  There is something to be said about growing up in a small town. 

Enjoying the Last Few Days of Indian Summer

David and Anthony were over after school yesterday and decided it was time to winterize their tree house that they have in our woods.  Oh the imagination of children!!!!  I decided to practice taking some pictures with our camera and what perfect conditions.  Two imaginative boys, fall colors and beautiful weather. 

 




  

 
 
 

Three Month Progress Report

 
On July 15, 2009 I had Gastric Bypass surgery.  I went for my three month checkup and am at 39% of my weight loss which is about 10% ahead of schedule.  As of today I have lost 46 pounds.  I cannot emphasize enough about how great I feel.  In addition to the weight loss I am off cholesterol and one blood pressure medication and plan to be off all medication within one year of surgery. 

Granted it has not been easy for me.  I still get sick with certain foods but the benefits certainly outweigh those times and I would do it all over again if I had to make the choice again.  I just feel great, physically and emotionally.

   
   
 
 
 
 
  
  

HALLOWEEN TREATS

We had such a nice Saturday evening.  Lisa, Norma, Rich and I got together to make Halloween treats for David and Anthony's first and fourth grade class for Halloween.  I seen these boxes in my Stamp n Up catalog and we kind of duplicated them.  Norma will put candy in them and pass them out to the kids at their school party.  We gave Rich the tedious job of gluing them together.  That's because out of all of us, he has more patience.

  

 
  

 
 
 
 
 

 

Finished Product

Progress Report

It will be nine weeks on Wednesday since my surgery so I thought I would post my progress report.  I can't tell you how wonderful I am feeling.  I have more energy then I've had in years, sleep great and I have lost 35 pounds.  My blood pressure is the best it's been in twelve years and my BMI is finally down to a respectable number.  I have no regrets about having the WLS.  I am wearing clothes in my closet that I haven't been able to wear in five years.  That's a great feeling.

Yesterday Rich and I took a 14 mile bike ride. I have wanted to do this all summer but had to wait until I healed.  We equipped ourselves with new bikes and gear back in June and decided to really take a nice long ride yesterday.  We started off in Brecksville where we met my friend Jan and road the towpath to Peninsula.  Once we arrived in Peninsula we had lunch and headed back to Brecksville.  It was seven miles one way.  We could have taken the train back but didn't.  It was the perfect day for a bike ride but unfortunately it was also a perfect day for hundreds of other bikers.  It was very crowded which makes me nervous since I am not a good bike rider.  But I made it without running into anyone or falling.  We are going to do this on a  weekday when it will be less crowded so we can enjoy the beautiful scenery and take pictures. 

Clay Balls

A friend of mine sent me this in an email and I wanted to share it with everyone who reads my blog:

Clay  Balls        
A man was exploring caves by the Seashore.  In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls.  It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.   They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him.  As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.  

He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock .  Inside was a beautiful, precious stone! 

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls.  Each contained a similar treasure.  He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.   

Then it struck him.  He had been on the beach a long time.. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves.  Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!  

It's like that with people.  We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel..  It doesn't look like much from the outside.  It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.  

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy.  But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.  

There is a treasure in each and every one of us.  If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. 

  
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.   
  
I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with you..  Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel. 

APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE

THING YOU HAVE, ESPECIALLY YOUR FRIENDS!

LIFE IS TOO SHORT AND FRIENDS ARE TOO FEW!

Pass this on to another Clay Ball!!! 

Do not ask the Lord to Guide your Footsteps if you are not willing to MOVE your Feet'

So Young to Have These Problems

Anthony who just turned seven this past August has been having stomach issues for the last couple of years.  It is now getting progressivly worse.  At first when Norma took him he was misdiagnosed with Celiac which is an intollerance to glutten.  As time went by and he got retested that was not his problem. 

A few weeks ago Norma took him in and told them she wanted a whole list of tests done which they did and they determined that he had a spot on his Kidney that they thought might be an old kidney or gall stone.  So they scheduled him for a Cat Scan.  Last night they took him to the emergency room because he was in so much pain.  After giving him medication and a prescription they have now decided to do the scope on him to see if they can determine once and for all what the problem really is. 

Hopefully it is something that can easily be taken care of.  It's one thing when you see an adult suffer but nothing is more heart wretching then to see a child suffer no matter how small it may seem at the time.  This has been going on far too long for Anthony. 

Anthony's Birthday

Anthony was in his glory on his birthday this year.  His request for his birthday this year was a dirt bike.  His parents decided to get him a used one from a friend of theirs who works on bikes.  So when he came home from Dayton after a two day visit with his Aunt his little bike was waiting for him and he was just so excited.  Hopefully we can get through it without any broken bones,

Rough Truck

For the first time in my live I went to a Rough Truck competition.  Only because Ben and several of his friends had vehicles they were racing.  Although he didn't win Ben did really well.  He completed the race without incident.  I was hesitant in watching for fear there would be an accident but everything went well.  Justin also raced and did well. 
Their friend Ryan won first place and won $2000.  Have to give all of these young men and one woman credit for even trying this.

Three Week Followup

Yesterday I had my three week followup with the surgeon, nurses and dietician.  It was an "all afternoon" affair but the results were wonderful.  Fisrt of all I lost 18 pounds.  I couldn't believe it.  Although I am fitting into some of my clothes that I outgrew I was still shocked to have that large of a weight loss.  Rich says he can see the big difference and my kids definitely notice.  My Dr. said that everything is looking good from the surgery.  They took me off of my Lipitor for cholesterol and one of my blood pressure medications. 

I am very happy with all of this but what makes me even more happy and what is more important to me is how I feel.  I feel wonderful.  I seem to have so much more energy, not feeling tired anymore when I get up and I feel so much more healthy.  That was my goal in doing all of this.  Next week I start introducing regular food (non pureed) back into my diet.  I am certainly looking forward to that.  Although I still have a long road ahead of me, I am quite satisfied with how I am starting out.  This will be a lifetime committment and I will always have to work at it but I am mentally and physically prepared for it.