Wearing a dress...

I have a new goal, to wear dresses as much as possible. This is especially for my days off. I don't like to spend a lot if money on a single clothing item since having gastric bypass surgery, so many of my clothes come from goodwill. I typically buy only name brand items... And yes from goodwill.


Today I wore a goodwill find. I didn't recognize the designer but just loved the fit and the color of the jersey maxi dress. I got so many compliments from strangers. My $5 find was a hit. ( which I researched on line and found that they have two boutiques... One in LA & one in NYC). Keep in mind, jersey is just a stretchy tshirt material.


Let us goe back to my personal version of Stepford post. Ladies should be ladies.

This dress is one o the most comfortable things I have ever worn. It is extremely easy to take on and off. Since it is a maxi dress if I didn't want to, I wouldn't have had to shave my legs. SO...

Ladies, think about this... My dress cost less than a pair or pjs or sweat pants. You don't have to spend a lot to look fabulous. You don't have to work hard to look fabulous. Find yourself a jersey knit dress, long, short... It doesn't matter. You CAN LOOK FABULOUS WITH LESS EFFORT THAN IT TAKES TO PUT ON A PAIR OF SWEATS AND A TSHIRT!

Still juicing

Day 6 of my juice fast is almost over. This means that I'm over half way through my journey. I can not wait! Really, has been harder than I anticipated. I didn't really prepare myself for this. I should have known better.

I had to be on a liquid diet before weightloss surgery. I assumed this would be similar. With that I just started one morning. Period end of story. That liquid diet consisted of things that were all milk based and I added extra protein powder. I didn't have a choice. I had to go on a liquid diet before surgery to prepare my body. If I had not I couldn't have surgery. I would most likely Die on the operating table if I lied about it.

Not having the option to give up, cheat, or just stop made me keep going. A juice fast has been a test of my willpower and my ability to stick with something. I am on a juice fast for health reasons. I have had stomach issues off & on since August. It is an ulcer ( and I think I may have developed ibs) that flares up off & on. I did some research and found that juice fasting should help my body heal itself because when produce is juiced correctly you lose much of the fiber so your stomach doesn't have to work so hard to process nutrients. It also helps rid the body of toxins.

Let's talk about fiber and ridding the body of toxins. Simply, no fiber, means no popping... Which means it is harder to rid your body of toxins. Easy way to aid in the passing of solid toxins, magnesium. Not too much, or you might want to put a blanket and pillow in your bathroom. Thank goodness I DID heed that warning!!!

I still really want Velveeta Mac & Cheese with bacon bits.

At the end of my juice fast I hope I will be smart and ease my body into food. I've done that before after weightloss. Again, I didn't have a choice or I could get sick and end up in the hospital.

I'm hoping that I actually learn something by the end of this!

Beets

To not get bored of juicing I’m being open minded to different veggies and fruits. This is similar to what happened after I had gastric bypass surgery. Trying new foods will help keep me away from “bad foods” or in this case food all together.

Today I tried a beet juice cocktail. (Pinned here http://pinterest.com/pin/38702878020458189/). This is also a detox juice mix. I’m not sure what might happen to me.  I’m sure that there are so many toxins in my system still I might just explode. We’ll see.

On the upside I’m feeling much better than I was a few days ago. Today is the halfway point of my juice fast… Day 5 of my 10 day challenge.

Back to beets. Beets are an interesting root. It is very “earthy” aka.. It tastes like dirt. I mixed my beet as the recipe said; with carrots, apple and ginger… yeah all I taste is dirt. The other interesting fact about beets, when you chop into a beet it makes a mess... a mess that looks like you have committed mass murder… beets are very “juicy” aka bloody. It is slightly unnerving.

I am glad I only bought two beets… 

Juice fasting and me

So... Since I've been having stomach issues since August I decided that I would try anything to help ease my stomach upset. I decided that a juice fast may just be the key. I did research and found out that yes, a juice fast was ok and even sometimes encouraged for those who have had gastric bypass surgery. I bought a juicer & found a bunch of juice Recipes. Almost all of them have been good.

There was a slight flaw in my plan. I did not prepare for a juice fast. I saw the things that said "how to prepare for a juice fast"& thought to myself " duh, buy a juicer & some produce. How hard can this be?" Well... The day before my juice fast I ate Mac & cheese, cheese, cheese covered fries, a portobello burger with (you guessed it) cheese, and chocolate. Had I read the "how to prepare for a juice fast" before starting, I would have found out that 1) you should cut out meat & dairy in preparation to the juice fast. 2) cut out processed food, such as pasta. 3) cut out all caffeine including chocolate. I only decided to read what in should have done after a co worker was discussing it with me. I assume that is why I feel like crap is slothing off through my entire digestive system.

This feeling will hopefully not last more than three days. I am hoping that it does not aggravate my ulcer. It seems that it may be. The next option is to start juicing cabbage. Supposedly people who drank a quart of cabbage juice in a blind study almost completely healed ulcers within 10 days of drinking cabbage juice. Like I typed earlier, I'm about willing to try anything.

Fortunately, I did read about what to do when coming off a juice fast... And that is to slowly introduce healthy foods back into my diet. I should continue to avoid meats, dairy, processed foods, caffeine & alcohol. So I will feel better but be very boring.

The real test for me is that I have two days off in a row. I eat Mac & cheese when I have two days off in a row. I love Mac & cheese. Processed cheesy goodness is what they should rename it. Oh, that is right folks, I LOVE VELVEETA MAC&CHEESE. Hubby hates it, so when I have two days off I make myself velveeta Mac & cheese. No, I will not liquefy it and attempt to eat it! I like to chew it. Sometimes I even eat it with Hot Dogs ( more over processed byproduct meal).

So, wish me luck Wednesday & Thursday this week. I will need it! If I can stay away from the Mac & cheese the rest will be easy.

Night before juice fast

So... I have decided that tomorrow will begin a juice fast for me. With all the belly issues is been having since August I'm going to try anything.

For my "last meal" we decided to try the Ellsworth Ale House. I ordered the Alice in Wonderland which is a portobello "burger" and mozzarella cheese. It was very tasty. The hubby had Hawaiian burger. The food was pretty good actually. The problems 1) we could barely hear each other 2)it was a bit over priced. 3) it appeared unfinished. Sadly, I think we may be looking at another Restaurant in that location that wi be short lived.

Juicing (and not with drugs)

Today I had to call out sick from work. I was doubled over in pain and wasn't sure if I was going to vomit or shit (it's a blog.. And I'm all about honesty here). Needless to say it was not a fun filled day.

The only thing I could seem to eat was ramen noodles ( not the most healthy food choice since it has no nutritionally value). It was a pretty wretched way to spend a beautiful day... Let alone a sick day (even though I am not the type to call out when I'm not sick. On a beautiful day I would like to do that just once... But I would feel guilty).

I was doing some research on line to find out if after gastric bypass I could do a juice fast. I was surprised to see that it was actually encouraged. I had it drilled into my head that I needed protein protein protein and veggies were just an after thought if I had room. I found some juice combos that are specifically for stomach issues.

I had my loving hubby pick up some produce for me to try it. I almost instantly felt better.

So the decision has been made, that I'm going to attempt a 10 day juice fast to help my stomach feel better. I pretty sure that I have an ulcer and I'm starting to wonder if I may suffer from ibs. Hopefully this will help me get my tummy under control and maybe lose the last 20/25 pounds at the same time. I have a feeling that my current weight gain may be related to my stomach pains.

Wish me luck.

I'm Looking For My Own Version of Stepford

Today I found myself depressed. Why? The sun is shining and I have the day off from work.

I got ready to hit Goodwill… got out to my car. As soon as I walked into Goodwill sadness came over me… I see people wearing sweats in public, people who haven’t washed or brushed their hair… and here I am hair strait, makeup perfect and even wearing false eyelashes. I felt extremely out of place.

Just last week, I was walking around Las Vegas wearing a fabulous dress, makeup perfection and I felt like I belonged there… Ladies were wearing dresses. People had hair done. I don’t remember seeing ONE lady walking around in sweats, hair a mess, oh and there were showgirls posing for pictures.

I’m not as conceded as one may think, but I enjoy being a lady, I enjoy being fabulous, and I enjoy being surrounded by other people who take pride in the fact that they are also fabulous. I think that ladies should look like ladies, be free to express themselves in any fabulous way they see fit. If you want have fabulous tattoos, show your fabulous tattoos!  If you have piercings, be PROUD of your piercings! If you want to have rainbow colored hair, have it as bright and as loud as you choose! If you want to wear false eyelashes and glitter make up at 10am, I will join you!

I think it is time to create an updated version of Stepford… Yeah, I said it. I think ladies should be ladies and men should be men (unless they want to be ladies and happen to look fabulous in a dress), BUT only if they choose. My version of Stepford would bring back Martini Lunches, and ladies asses being slapped in the workplace (because frankly, some days I would like a smack on the ass), and everyone would work 9 to 5, and have neighborhood BBQs on the weekend, and galas once a month!

Ladies would wear fabulous dresses; corsets, pencil skirts and matchstick pants, and their buffonts would be in colors like Pink, Blue, Purple, and green (if they choose). Men would not wear saggy ass jeans or ripped pants! If a man wants to wear a tie all day, he can wear them in ANY pattern or color he chooses. If he wants to wear an ascot, that would be fabulous. If any many wants to rock a little 70s style chest hair, have at it!!! Hats (not baseball caps) would be encouraged.

You could paint your house any way you want!! None of the cookie cutter Stepford here! If you want to paint polka dots on your house, we would throw a painting party! If you want a white-washed house that is your choice, and we will be there with rollers to help!

You would be encouraged to have pets (but required to pick up his or her poop)… There would be no breed specific legislation! The vet would make house calls! My Pomeranian would be chasing your pit bull!

Ok… So I may be getting a little sidetracked here…

Long story short, who would like to help me build a gated community that feels like an updated version of the 1950s & 1960s where we all live in harmony?

Interesting Development in music

Many know that I'm not a fan or Country Music or Rap music... So my interest in Accidental Racist with Brad Paisley and LL Cool J came as a surprise. ( frankly I've always though LL Cool J was nice to look at, but I have never been a fan of his music).

Controversy is brewing around this song. Since I really do love a little controversy, I had to know more. I looked up the lyrics and watched a couple of news spots about this song. Brad Paisley was on Ellen talking about his song.

As a collective we never want to admit thy we are all a little racist without realizing it. Every person will swear that a racist none doesn't exist in his or her body. This song calls bull shit. We may not hate other races and may have a best friend of another race that doesn't mean that we don't make choice that are racially insensitive.

We have all said or at least thought that we are tired of paying for the mistakes of our ancestors. We have all thought about how we have been treated because of our ancestors. We have all thought about our gender and sexual orientation affects our treatment even today.

I'm not saying that racism is right. I am saying that we ALL need to learn a little more acceptance. We all need to look forward, not backward. Our present does not have to marred by events of our past.

We could learn a lot from this collaboration of a country musician and rap icon.

Vacation is almost over

Nothing too exciting happened the last night we were in Las Vegas. We packed our bags, had some dinner and did a little gambling. We went to bed early so we could be up at 5am.

Last day of vacation, we got up early. We had difficulty finding anything open for breakfast. Dunkin’ Donuts it was. Not our first or even second choice, but it was what was available that early in the morning.

We got on our shuttle right on time. We got to the airport and through security quickly. Our flight from Las Vegas to Phoenix was uneventful.

…When we got to Phoenix we found that our flight to Philadelphia was canceled because of a mechanical issue. We had the most amazing travel agent who was trying to contact us as soon as we landed. When I called her she was all ready on the phone with the airline making alternate flight arrangements for us. We were able to get on a flight to Washington DC, and were booked for a flight the next day to Bangor. The representative she spoke with at the airline suggested we attempted to get on an earlier flight, but we could not be booked for it because the transfer was only 20 minutes.

Our flight from Phoenix to Washington DC had Wi-Fi access. It was not free UNLESS checking the airline’s website. That was exactly what I needed. Throughout the flight I was checking our flight’s arrival information including gate and the information for the illegal transfer flight. When we landed we had next to no time to get on the flight. We arrived at gate 38, and the flight to Bangor was leaving from gate 35A. We were in luck! We got to the gate and were told that the flight had just left. We didn’t realize that we had to take a bus to the plane. We headed back up the stairs when we heard “wait, the plane HASN’T left yet.” Ernie tried to walk DOWN the up escalator. That was amusing.

The representative got us to the plane before the other passengers and we were on the flight to Bangor!!!!

When we got to Bangor, our luggage wasn’t there (there was no way it could have been). The next morning it was at the airport waiting for us. We only had ONE item damaged. It was slightly our fault for not wrapping it properly.

We have made several decisions during our vacation: 1) we will be going back to Las Vegas again next year. 2) We WILL work with our travel agent again (none of the online travel site could have taken such good care of us. 3) we WILL fly US Airways again. 4) In spite of some slight inconveniences, this has been our best vacation (SO FAR)!

Where did the time go?

Busy...busy...busy.

Where did our time go???

Yesterday we went out to the Palms.  We had a great sushi lunch and I won a couple hundred dollars. We did a little more shopping. We hung out down town for the evening.  We really hadn't spent a lot of time downtown since we got here.

We had a fabulous dinner at the Grotto. Food there is AMAZING. I won another hundred.

We bought showgirl drink containers... they are amazing & have boobies...hahahaha

I lost a hundred ( I lost my gambeling sense with the intake of alcohol).

Today is our last real day in Las Vegas... so we did some more shopping. We we not so happy with the Fashion Mall as we have been in the past... my biggest sadness....the Sanrio store was  closed!!! I honestly was only interested in that one thing in the mall.

We found the most amazing Sephora ever... We thought it may have closed since the last time we were in Las Vegas... but luckily we found it today. I had the most amazing makeover from Brandon with Makeup Forever...I havent worn neutrals in the past because they were so boring. He showed me how to make it look unbelievably fabulous & actually makes me look younger.... and how to add a pop of  color to it to make it even more AMAZING!!!

We had lunch at the  Cheesecake Factory. Sadly the waitress forgot to put in our orser for fried mac & cheese. The food & drinks were still amazing.

We then decided it was time to head back downtown... we grabbwd some dried fruit & jerkey for the trip home.

Not sure what the plsn is tonight... tomorrow we leave the hotel at 730am to head back to Maine.

First full day in Vegas was amazing!

Yesterday was FABULOUS!!! We started the day with me having my photo taken with a show girl.

We went into a toy store that had a REAL Bild Lily Doll!!!

We FINALLY had our photos taken at the Las Vegas Sign. This was a huge deal. First of all, we had to walk forever to get thee. The bus doesn't go far enough. We had to risk our lives to get there because it is in the middle of the highway!!! We met a sweet couple from the UK who took our pics for us. Too bad they were leaving, they would have been so fun to party with.

On our way back we stopped at Tacos & Tequilla in the Luxor for lunch. (I had a resturants.cim certificate). It was amazing!!! Our waitress was honest with me about a drink unordered ( it sounded fabulous, but evidently sucked). Her recommendation (not more expensive so she wasn't trying to make more money) was AMAZING!!!

We went to several other hotels on the side of the strip before I was just exhausted! Ernie picked up his free tickets to Zarkana. Let me just say how awesome it is to get over $300 worth of tickets for FREE!! We can't we can't wait to see our first Cirque du Soleil show tonight!!!

We went back to our room to take a nap. Unfortunately I am fighting being sick, so it has been a bit tough.

After our nap we headed to Drink & Drag. We were just going for a couple of drinks... But Coco Montrese was hosting a viewing of the latest episode of Ru Paul's Drag Race!!! I had my photo taken with he & got a signed button. We also had am amazing bartender that made axing drinks.

We went to dinner at Hennesy's. Dinner was pretty good. I will say, I enjoy the foo at Finn's much better. Our waitress took a break in the middle of our service.

We did a little gambling & decided that it was nap time.

Can't wait to see what today brings!!!

Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas.

So... This blog post is coming to you from fabulous Las Vegas,NV.

Our trip here was a little bumpy (literally and figuratively). Last night I had half composed a blog that was more a tantrum than a blog. I'm glad that I inadvertently deleted it. It really made me look like more of a spoiled princess than one of the luckiest women on the planet.

We did have an interesting adventure. The first part of our flight was uneventful. I actually feel like TSA has gotten more friendly. The body scan wasn't really that big of a deal. Our flight was not even Hal full. That was wonderful because that meant we were able to change seats with no problem.

I DID wear a mask on the flight. It was initially to avoid getting sick, but I was the sicky and it really became more of a service to other passengers since I was coughing the who flight.

The second part of our trip was more interesting. We has a group of cackling teens that ended up having to be spoken to by the flight attendant I shut up during the in flight instructions.

THEN the woman in our row got drunk & kept grabbing poor Ernie in her sleep. Her friend across the isle was so waisted that she FELL OVER INTO THE ISLE!!! It wa crazy to say the least.

We had a bit of an issue with the shuttle to our hotel. But we got here!!! :-)

We had a good dinner/ breakfast ( at 230 local time). We slept for a few hours... And now it is time to start a new day. I wonder what adventure today will bring.

No matter what type of day it will be... It we be fabulous!!!!