I am on the verge of collapse!

I had the busiest weekend I've had in recent memory. 

On Friday, I:
-  Agreed to dogsit for a co-worker.  See, I thought I liked dogs.  I have a dog.  In fairness, my dog is really more like a neurotic toddler in a dog costume.  He's not really a typical dog (lookit that face!):

My co-worker's dog is a Real Dog:

-  Discovered that, while I thought I liked dogs, I don't.  I like my dog.  Other dogs, Real Dogs, are kind of a pain in the ass.
-  Wrangled the Real Dog while the appraiser assessed my house.
-  Took my Neurotic Toddler Dog and the Real Dog for a 3-mile walk.  It felt more like a 3-hour tour.

On Saturday, I:

-  Woke up at 7:30 and went to Cycle.  I like Cycle way better than RPM - the instructor was playing Halloween music, so we cranked it out to "Time Warp" and "Thriller" and I got sweaty in a way that I don't get at RPM.  Then I followed that with Body Pump with a new instructor, who was pretty hardcore.  I liked it.  It was a good way to kick off the weekend. 
-  Went home, showered, dressed and went to early vote.  Now I don't have to stress about voting on election day, *whew*. 
-  Went home and met with Realtor #1.  I liked her.  I had originally requested the realtor who sold me my house a year ago, but she's in Italy (hmph!), so her office sent over this woman instead.  We walked around the house, she commented on some things, we went over comps, she stayed for about an hour.
-  Laid down on the couch for 20 minutes.  Tried to avoid getting licked by the Real Dog.
-  Met with Realtor #2.  I liked her as well, just a little bit less than #1. 
-  After Realtor #2 left, the wife and I went to renew our Texas car inspections.  My car freaking failed.  Apparently, my tires were bald.  Wah! 
-  Got new tires.  I do so enjoy these unplanned expenses, don't you?
-  Went back to renew my Texas car inspection.  Passed this time.  Screw you, Texas.
-  Had Chipotle for dinner.  I get a carnitas bowl, no rice, with black beans, fajita veggies, pico and lettuce and maybe, if I'm feeling mischievous, a bit of green salsa.  370 calories, 37 grams of protein, incredibly filling.  
-  Went to Target to look for a Halloween costume for the wife, who needs to wear a "zoo" themed costume to work today and Wednesday.  Didn't find anything, but bought a lot of yogurt.
-  Went home.  Collapsed.  Was licked by the Real Dog.  A lot.

On Sunday, I:

-  Woke up.  Was kind of sad about it. 
-  Showered, dressed and headed out to Burlington Coat Factory.  Did not find a suitable coat. 
-  Went to the Halloween store.  Found a penguin costume for the wife.
-  Went to Home Depot for supplies.  Ugh.
-  Had Chipotle for lunch.  Nom.
-  Went home and started working on the bathroom/bedroom.  See, my house has settled a bit, leading to some cracks in the walls.  So we had to:

• Spackle some cracks around the archways to the master bath
• Hardcore spackle one corner of the master bedroom and a bit of the wall above the window
• Hardcore spackle three corners of the master bath, along with the top of two of the walls
• Spray texture on the bathroom wall where the wife took down wallpaper only to discover two live junction boxes, which an electrician had to come out and remove, leaving the wall oddly lumpy, so the only solution was to use some spray texture (that made a giant mess, but ended up looking pretty good)
• Paint acoustic texture on the ceiling in the entry way
• Sand down the closet doors in both of the other bedrooms and the entryway

-  Somewhere in there, I made the wife put on the penguin costume.  Nothing says "I love you" like home improvement in a penguin costume.
-  Took the dogs on a 2 mile walk.

After work today, I will:

-  Meet with Realtor #1 again to fill out some paperwork
-  Give the Real Dog back to co-worker.
-  Paint the master bathroom and touch up the master bedroom.
-  Try to fit in some exercise.
-  Collapse.

This morning I weighed in at 205.5.  I am no longer obese!  Now I'm merely overweight!  Holla!  The wife is a little upset by this development, because her weight loss has been stalled at about 30 pounds since August.  I gave her a reassuring talk about how, if she's eating well and exercising, it will happen for her - it's just happening faster for me because I had more to lose and I got a freaking Lap-Band to help me.  She whinged that she's "eating all the same things you are and exercising just as much and not losing!"  And then this morning I found the discarded wrapper of a Kit Kat bar.  Hmph!

TTT!

1.  So, I have a confession to make - I went a little nuts with the food when our friends were here this weekend.  Here's what happened:

On Friday, we went to The Woodshed Smokehouse and I had smoked almonds, the bun from a chopped beef sandwich (I know, you're saying, "The bun?  Aren't you doing it backwards?" but the meat itself was so fatty that I found it really unappetizing, so I just ate the delicious homemade bun) and all of the homemade potato chips that came with the sandwich, plus two bites of something called buttermilk pie.

On Saturday, the wife and I woke up early and went to the gym (more on that in number four).  Then we took our friends to Rise and Shine for breakfast, where I got the omelet with roast beef, cream cheese and asparagus, with a biscuit and hashbrowns.  Well, I ate one bite of the biscuit, which was gummy and gross, a couple of bites of the hashbrowns and two bites of the omelet before... I found two hairs in my eggs.  *gag*  Done with breakfast!  We headed out to the casino and stopped at Starbucks (where I had a tall, skinny iced caramel macchiato) and The Fried Pie Co. on the way and I had a few bites of some bacon cheese fries and the crust from a pecan fried pie (the filling was way too sweet for me).  After the casino, we headed back to town and had dinner at The Italian Inn, where I had some salad and an order of chicken piccata - I ate three bites of the chicken and half of the pasta.  Stuffed!

Sunday was the really bad day.  We headed out to Lucile's where I debated between the lobster roll and the corned beef hash, but finally settled on the hash with two eggs, hashbrowns and a piece of toast.  Carb heaven!  I ate the whole damn thing.  Then we were off to the State Fair of Texas.  This is where things really went downhill for me.  I had nachos, a bit of popcorn, tater twisters (which are, in essence, thick cut potato chips), three fried Oreos and 3/4 of a fried Snickers bar.  So full I could have died.  And yet, our friends wanted dinner at Uncle Julio's, where I had the meat and cheese from two beef soft tacos.  And then I really, really, REALLY felt like crap.

Proof, my friends, that the band will not keep you from eating (an overabundance of) junk.  Lord almighty, I ate so much.

2.  But here's the thing I learned from the weekend:  I feel like ass when I eat that much of those types of food.  I really, really do.  I felt bloated and oogy, and, on top of it, my skin, which had completely cleared up over the last few months, broke out.  I weighed in at 217 on Monday afternoon, a gain of about 5 pounds over just the weekend.  As much as I liked the food in the moment (especially the fried Oreos, OMG, delish), I should have exercised some restraint, especially given how crappy I felt on Sunday night and Monday.  My body definitely gave me some feedback on what I did this weekend, and it wasn't happy with me.  I won't say that I fell off the wagon, because I fully intended to do what I did and eat what I ate, but I won't be doing it again in those quantities.  Ever.  Ugh.

3.  After weighing in at 217 on Monday afternoon, I was down to 211 this morning.  Thank goodness.  I jumped right back into my normal eating and exercising routine, which is another thing I love about my band - it makes it so much easier to course correct than it ever was when I was "dieting" in the past.

4.  On Saturday morning, I ran a 10-minute mile.  Holy shit, you guys.  10 minute mile!  I never thought I'd be here or be able to do that.

5.  I haven't signed with Dream Job yet.  The relocation company is being... difficult to work with, which is not a surprise (I worked with them when I moved here last year, and they were a pain in the ass then, so I didn't expect it to be any different now).  I'm so ready to sign that I could eat my own hair, though - I just want to get this nailed down so that I can start working towards my future.

6.  I already have my resignation letter for current job written.  Oh yes.

7.  I have to go to Chicago for work next week, but not fun Chicago - airport Chicago.  Joy.

8.  I have to have two real estate agents and one appraiser come out to value my house in the next few days.  Did I mention that I'm currently dogsitting for a co-worker's 70 pound, un-crate trained boxer?  Double joy!

9.  Everyone is out of the office traveling for a trade show this week (I didn't have to go, thank jeebus) and we're having a fire drill at 2pm.  I may go home at 1:45 and stay until 3ish.

10.  I started writing this list two hours ago, and in that time, I signed with Dream Job.  It's official!  (Oh god, oh god, now I have to move across the country again.)

TTT!

1.  So far, Dream Job is earning the name, and I haven't even signed my contract yet.  I feel like I'm in the very beginning stages of a romantic relationship - I get good butterflies every time I think about it.  They're doing *everything* they can on their end to make sure that the transition goes as smoothly for me as possible, including accommodating without question one request that I was honestly concerned would be a little outlandish.  We've agreed on a start date at the beginning of December, so it's almost settled.  The relocation process is about to begin! 

2.  I'm leaving my current job for a lot of reasons, and I've been letting those reasons build up inside of me for about a year now.  I've been getting really bitter.  But now that I have Dream Job lined up, I find myself not nearly as bitter as I was a few weeks ago.  I feel like I can see things a little more clearly, a little more objectively.  But damn, guys - I CANNOT WAIT to turn in my resignation letter.  Especially because current job?  Is in a hiring freeze.  *insert evil laugh here*

3.  I'm gonna need a winter coat.  I kind of love this one...  Ooooh, or this one, except the only size they have available is 3X and I'M NOT A 3X ANYMORE, wheeeee!

4.  I'm going to be able to walk to work in my new city.  I cannot even express how happy that makes me.  Which begs the question - who have I become, that I'm looking *forward* to walking to work?  Let me tell you a story:  A few years ago, my wife and I went to a cute little neighborhood to get a Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone.  Once we had our cones, my wife begged me to walk around the block with her, all romantic, holding hands, eating ice cream.  But I didn't want to walk around the block.  It was too far.  I wanted to take my ice cream and drive home.  I bitched.  And moaned.  And complained.  About walking around the block.  Seriously.  And now I want to walk to work?  I love you, Lap-Band!

5.  We have friends coming in to visit us this weekend, so we are planning trips to the State Fair and the casino.  This will be the last weekend of fun before the frantic home improvement begins so that we can sell the house!

6.  We are not buying a house in new city.  I need some recovery from the stress of being a homeowner.

7.  My official wedding band is a plain, polished band.  It matches my wife's.  Mine is a size 11.  It doesn't fit anymore.  Not even a little bit.  It flies off of my hand if I try to wear it.  So I tried on my wife's.  Hers is a 9.  It also doesn't fit - it's way too loose on my finger, though obviously not as bad as the 11.  So then I tried on a cocktail ring that used to belong to my grandmother - it's a giant aquamarine set in platinum, and it has never fit me, but because it's set in platinum, I never wanted to pay to get it sized up (and also, sizing up rings tends to make them a lot more fragile).  I've never worn it in my life - it barely fit over my pinky knuckle when I tried it on in the spring.  Now - it fits.  Holy smokes. 

8.  I have a confession to make - aside from the suit that I had to buy to wear to my interview last week, I don't own a pair of dress slacks.  There are several reasons - I've been going down in pants sizes very quickly, and I'm tall, so I generally need long inseams, which are harder to find (and sometimes a little more expensive, especially in larger sizes).  If I'd bought just one pair of work slacks in every size I've been in since May, I'd have had to buy 6 pairs of pants.  Not an investment I'm willing to make for pants I can wear, on average, for a month.  So I've been wearing a lot of dresses, because my work wardrobe before weight loss mainly consisted of dresses, and I haven't been sizing out of dresses as fast (thanks, giant boobies).  But yesterday my boss said to me, "I think it's time you buy some pants.  Banana Republic is having a sale."  And my first reaction was, "You loon, I can't fit into anything at Banana Republic."  And then I realized - yes, I can.  Oh my god, I can fit into things at Banana Republic! 

I'm still not buying slacks, though.

9.  I have to find a fill doctor in the new city.  This makes me nervous, because I so love my doctor, and everything has been going so smoothly.

10.  I have so much food in my chest freezer that I'm thinking about having a frozen food giveaway party.  Any Texas locals want to come over and claim some frozen steaks? 

Breaking News

My wife is going to kill me for telling you guys first, but...

I got the offer from Dream Job!

Size 12 jeans AND a job offer?  I'm the happiest girl in the world right now.

Two Victories Today!

I have a scale victory and a non-scale victory to report on this Monday morning:

Scale Victory:  I was at 214.5 when I weighed in this morning.  This means that I have lost

100.5 pounds

since I started on the pre-op diet on May 2nd.  I remember when I went to my required psych appointment in the spring, she asked me what my goal was, and I told her I didn't have an end number in mind, but I didn't think it was unreasonable to lose 100 pounds in the first year.  Baby, I will take 100 pounds in the first 5-1/2 months.  I will take it and run away laughing.  I still have 41-55 pounds to go, depending on where I decide my ultimate goal weight is, but 100 pounds feels amazeballs.  That's a two-month-old horse!

Plus?  TOM came yesterday, with all of the bloating and ooginess that entails.  I'm down 100 pounds even with TOM in town.

Non-Scale Victory:  Jeans are on sale at Target this week for $15.  I like Target jeans for what they are - they're cheap, but they fit well (I like Fit 4) and they come in long inseams (I'm a tall gal).  I like cheap jeans these days because I've been through 6 sizes so far.  I'm not at a place where I'm looking to make a commitment to expensive jeans.  So I'm a few weeks away from fitting into a size 12 yesterday when I read in the Target flyer that jeans are on sale.  I figure, "What the hell, I might as well buy them when they're on sale and hold onto them until they fit."  So I bought the size 12 long, fit 4 jeans (possibly the only ones they had - the selection was a little picked over yesterday).  I got them home and the wife says, "Try them on.  Just to see how far you have to go." 

They fit.  They fit perfectly. 

I almost cried.  I haven't been lower than a size 14 in my entire adult life, and those size 12 jeans went right on and buttoned without a struggle and looked DAMN GOOD. 

I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Ten Things Friday!

One of my favorite parts of blogging is Ten Things Thursday.  Looking back through my blog, I notice that I've missed very few of them.  But owing to being at a three-hour job interview and then on a plane back home for most of the day yesterday, I didn't get a chance to do TTT this week, so I'm doing TTFriday.  You'll live, I trust.

1.  I haven't been terribly commenty on other blogs recently, and I feel like an ass about that, because I know how much I like comments.  I resolve to comment more, starting immediately!

2.  My interviews yesterday went pretty well, I think.  Thing is...  I'm starting to feel a bit ambivalent about making a job change.  I'm pretty change averse, and for me a lot of the times it's about the devil you know - I'm scared of leaving my current hellhole because at least I know how it works.  What if I get this job, move across the country again and end up just as miserable as I am right now?  So I don't know if I'm just being a chickenshit or if my conservatism is warranted.  

3.  While sitting at the airport yesterday waiting to board my flight home, I got a phone call from a large company wanting to talk to me about a job I'd applied to with them a while ago.  A large candy company.  A bandster with a sweet tooth working at a candy company?  What was I thinking?  I'm talking to them this afternoon anyway.  We'll see where this goes. 

4.  I get so tired of talking about myself during and after the job interviewing process.  Like, there are only so many different ways that I can tell the same story about "A time I led a team to success despite obstacles."

5.  I find that no matter how hard I prep for interviews, there's always at least one question that I could never have anticipated.  Yesterday's curve ball involved dried soup.  Yeah, didn't see that one coming.

6.  It's nice to be wanted, or at least to have my resume spark some interest.  I went into grad school to get my MBA thinking that I was going to graduate and go right back to the career path I'd had before.  Then, in the middle of school, I made a decision to change the career I was pursuing.  I didn't have an internship or any experience in my field, and it was incredibly difficult to get interviews in my desired field, much less offers.  I got two job offers out of grad school - one was with my current company, and one was with a company doing the same work I'd done before school.  So it's gratifying now to see that I can at least get interviews and have conversations with prospective employers.  It's far less difficult now that I have some experience under my belt.

7a.  I must confess - I didn't do any work on the kitchen last weekend.  I do have a good reason - the wife and I needed to buy a new mattress for our guest bedroom.  We needed to do it pretty urgently, as we have guests coming next weekend.  So on Friday, when we were out suit shopping for me, we spotted a brand new Rooms To Go outlet and ended up buying a deeply discounted, Columbus-Day-sale mattress from them.  But because it was an outlet, we had to take delivery the next morning, sometime within a very large delivery window.  So I couldn't go to the hardware store to gather supplies, because I was waiting.  And I missed my Body Pump and Zumba classes, because I was waiting.  And they showed up an hour late.  So then by the time the mattress was delivered and I was free to leave the house, it was mid-afternoon and I still hadn't been to the gym.  So I had to ditch the kitchen idea. 

7b.  Speaking of suit shopping - we went to Macy's and I tried on a bunch of suits in the Ladies (not Women's) section.  I bought a suit in a size that does not have a "W" after it.  Victory!  I bought this pretty black pantsuit with a jacket that cinched my waist just so and made me think I looked so slim.  It was very nice.  Then I went and bought a pair of new black shoes to go with it (after spending 45 minutes in the DSW trying on every single pair of black shoes they had in my size).  And then I went home and hung the suit up in my closet.  Where I promptly realized that the suit was BROWN, not BLACK.  Sonofabitch.  Now I have to return the black shoes this weekend (I already had a pair of brown shoes).  And apparently I need to have my vision tested, though my wife swears the suit was black in the store.

7c.  Yesterday, I walked from my hotel to the interview, because it was only half a mile and cabs were taking forever.  Yesterday was the first time I really realized how much my body has changed, because I walked that half mile in my brown heels, wearing a 30 pound backpack and rolling a suitcase behind me, and NOT ONCE did my feet, legs, or any other part of my body hurt me.  I couldn't have (and wouldn't have) done that pre-band.

8.  I got my hair cut.  I took in this picture of Ashley Greene:

I had really long hair before, so I ended up getting 8" cut off.  It took some adjusting, but I think I really like it now.  You'll just have to use your imagination.

9.  My wife is staying home with me for Thanksgiving, rather than going home to visit her family (in fairness, she was just there last weekend and two weeks before that).  I am so excited for us to start our own little family traditions - like maybe going to the Thanksgiving buffet at the local Indian casino.

10.  I think we might go see the $5 matinee of Argo on Sunday.  Yay, $5 matinee!

10 Things Thursday

1.  I've been absent for a while, though I've been reading blogs daily.  I just haven't felt much like posting lately, because most of my days are pretty similar, when you look at them - wake up, shower, dress, go to work, go home, change, gym, shower, dinner, bed.  I don't really mind the routine, honestly, but it doesn't make for interesting posts.

2.  My Dream Job called me back for a second phone interview, which I had on Wednesday morning.  At the end of the interview, the interviewer told me that I was one of the first that they're interviewing (there are three open positions), so I shouldn't expect to hear anything for two weeks.  But then the next afternoon, HR from the company called me, told me that my interviewer really enjoyed talking to me and invited me out to the final round interview next Thursday.  Squee!  So I'll be flying out there some time on Wednesday.  I'm really, really hoping that this goes well, because I'd give my left arm for this job...

3.  I am trying not to get my hopes up and/or count my chickens before they're hatched, but I've been looking at neighborhoods in the new city where Dream Job is located (1,200 miles away from here) and getting really excited.  Oh, I miss being on Eastern time...

4.  I have to buy a suit.  The only suit that I have, a grey Calvin Klein pantsuit, is a size 20.  I'm currently in size 14.  So my suit looks ridic.  Sad panda!  I'm a little irritated that I'm going to have to buy a suit that I may only wear once.  But it's all in the name of getting out of the hellhole that is my current job, so I shouldn't complain too much.  That said, I welcome all recommendations for where to get a relatively affordable (read: cheap) but fashionable (read: not schlumpy) size 14 suit. 

5.  I had my fifth fill yesterday, putting me at 8.8ccs in my band (I finally asked).  I really, really hate getting fills - not the fill itself, mind, but the other patients waiting with me.  I just want to shake them all.

6.  I have been taking a step aerobics class for the last two weeks, and I am in major love it with.  I sweat like a beast and it keeps me entertained the entire time - I don't even look at the clock while I'm doing it.  I just wish that my gym offered it more than once a week.

7.  My wife is going out of town this weekend to help her sister pick out a wedding dress.  I am thinking about doing some light remodeling on the kitchen while she's gone - painting the cabinets, changing their hardware (and filling in the cutout design with wood filler), painting the walls and removing some of the Holly Hobby-ish wooden trim, changing out a light fixture.  And maybe doing some vinyl tile over our horrible, sun-stained floor.  I wonder how much I can get done in four days on a limited budget...

8.  I am wearing leggings (under a dress, because I am a firm believer that leggings are not and should never be treated as pants) with boots today.  Screw the fact that it's 86 degrees outside today.  It's October 4th, dammit, I want to dress like fall!

9.  I am 12 pounds away from being overweight on the BMI scale.  I know that the merits of that chart are debatable, but man, how good will it feel to once, just once, step onto my Wii Fit and have it say, "That's overweight!" rather than "That's obese!"?  I've lost 14 points from my BMI so far.

10.  I am so jealous of those of you who lose shoe sizes.  I am still firmly in a size 11.  I hate being tall.