Time to digest

So my trip to see my guy in Phoenix was a total disaster. Not him and I , but his mother. Oh, I don't even know where to start with this one. I just got back home, and I think I need time to mull it all over in my head before divulging it to cyber space. I hope you all understand.

As far as my weight, I am still losing and I am now down to 260 lbs. However, my hair is starting to fall out. I have pretty thick hair, but I think I am noticing more hair in my drain than normal. I am a little worried about that. I am also having trouble eating. I go to the Dr tomorrow, so I will let him know. I think it might just be stress, but I have never had stress make me lose my appetite before. Before wls, I would tuck into a bowl of ice cream to feel better. Now eating has become somewhat of a nuisance. I have no urge to do it and when I actually try to eat, I get two or three bites down before my stomach tells me to stop. I don't know, i do feel like it is just me being stressed though. I start my new job next week, my mom is really sick, my boy's mom is crazy and hateful, my boy thinks he is sick, I am dropping weight like crazy and on top of it all I am moving. So I have just a couple things on my mind.

On a brighter note, Phoenix was hot, but beautiful. I posted a pic of me in the Superstition Mountains. My boy is beautiful. I miss him terribly though. Oh here I go again. I guess I am not ready to write about this yet. I promise as soon as I can I will.

Long time no blog

Well hello all three of you who read this blog. I am sorry for the prolonged absense. I have been flitting from town to town and have not had a lot of time to document anything.

I start my job on June 30 and until then I am traveling as much as possible. I went to New York and St. Louis already and next is Chicago and then Phoenix and then the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. WOO! I am one tired chica. BUT, i love to travel and take pics, so I am having a blast blast blast.

On the WLS front. I am managing well. Since I am traveling, I am almost exclusively eating in restaurants. But I am sticking to the rules and eating lean proteins and my protein powder and vitamins are getting toted around the country. So all in all things are good. I am down 75 lbs from my highest weight (at surgery consult) and 55 lbs since surgery. I feel really good and my energy levels are fine. I even rode a bicycle all the way around Central Park in New York (6.7 miles total thank you very much!)

My clothes are all way too big now, so some went to my mom, and the rest went to the Salvation Army and Dress for Success. Now however, I can fit my entire wardrobe into one medium suitcase, so I need clothes badly! I don't want to start my new job naked :) (I'm sure no else wants that either) So send me some suggestions smart ladies!

Big City Girl

So I went to New York City this week to visit a friend that I went to high school with. She is a lovely girl who lives on the lower east side of Manhattan. She has lived here for almost 5 years now.

We went all over the city. I saw all of the quintessential New York sights. But better than that, I reconnected with a great person. And I got to meet her boyfriend who is just lovely, and a fabulous cook to boot.

Here is a pic of me in Central Park. I will blog more soon.

Big Apple (bottom)

So I am not missing in action, I am merely vacationing in New York City. I have very sporadic internet access, so I will have to blog about the trip later. I will be back early next week with a full report.

What now?

So I graduated from grad school. But that doesn't tell you the whole story. I was a bit of a late bloomer education wise. I dropped out of undergrad when I was 20 and didn't go back until I was 25. I had a bit of a personal tragedy and I decided that life was too short for regrets and I moved back in with my lovely parents and dove head first into school. In two and a half years, I got my 4 year degree. Then since I already have the momentum, I decided to go on to grad school. So here I am 4.5 years later and I am done. I have a job lined up that I start on July 1. but for some reason I feel so weird. I wake up every morning nervous as all hell. These butterflies are worse than my pre-surgery butterflies.

Maybe it is the combination of the new job and the new body that is leaving me uneasy. I should be happy, but instead I am worried. I wish my boy was here full time. He always knows how to calm me down.

Maybe my nerves are on edge because I am scared shitless of my new job. Not exactly the job itself, but mostly the living situation. I am moving to a small town in Iowa of only 30,000 people and 1 hour from any other towns with more than a few thousand people. And I know no one. I am not a solitary person. I like others to be around. I have a great roommate and she is moving to London, my boy is in Arizona and my family is a five hour drive in St Louis. I don't want to be the lonely cat lady. I want friends and I want my boy here. I am sad today. I am scared today.

Graduated!

So I graduated from grad school yesterday! It was a whirlwind to say the least.

My boy flew in from Arizona for the event. He hadn't seen me since two days after my surgery and 48 lbs ago. So needless to say he was impressed by my progress. He was very sweet and worried constantly about whether I had my vitamins, whether there was any food that was good for me to eat at the various functions, etc. Ever since he moved to Arizona to take care of his mother, he has become very much a nurturer. It is pretty funny, but very sweet. Now if we could only figure out how to live in the same city again. I am afraid this may never happen. His mother is very needy and high maintenance. She is really not able to take care of herself. I just need to be able to get a job in AZ. But I am just starting with a company here in Iowa. My dream job really, so I want to give it a chance. Oh well, I guess I just have to see where life takes me.

So a funny thing happened during graduation festivities. First, the fiance of one of my classmates who I've only met a couple of times said to me, "You're Amber right? I wasn't sure because you look so different...did you dye your hair?" I haven't dyed my hair at all. I just said yeah, its a new cut. Then the wife of another classmate who I haven't seen since before surgery kept going on and on about how "pulled together" I look. She was like I don't know what you've done but you look great. So needless to say I felt really flattered and proud. All in all Graduation was a good experience.

My stall is officially over!

Wow! I hopped on the scale this morning and I lost three more pounds in two days. I was worried that I had the only body on the planet that could stay humongous after wls. But, Iwas just being a drama queen. Thank God for other blogs and bulletin boards. They really helped me stay in perspective!

I am now 5 lbs higher than my lowest ever adult weight, which was achieved by mixing a bad break up, crack fiend like exercise habits, and starvation techniques. Needless to say, that weight did not last long. But I do look at my 25th birthday pics and like the much slimmer face I see in them and to think I am only 5 lbs heavier than that! I sort of blows my mind.

So, I have set a new mini-goal (I hear these are all the rage in the wls circles) and it is my 50lb mark. Which puts me exactly 7.6 lbs from my first goal. I don't know what i will do when I get there, any have any ides or things you did for yourself as you went along?