Category: Family

Meeces to Pieces

It’s time for our two new cats to prove their worth to the household. Yesterday we started seeing clear signs that they were stalking something. The hunt was on. Last night Harry got a brief glimpse: a mouse. Later, Jen and I also saw it hiding in a tiny space between a cabinet and a wall. I tried getting it with a broom but failed miserably.

The cats were hyper vigilant throughout the night but haven’t had any success yet. There was a moment this morning where I heard them attacking from the next room, and also heard their prey squeaking in terror. I felt kinda bad, but that’s the price you pay for invading our home.

The cats have two responsibilities in this house. One is to be adorable and let us pet them and snuggle them. The other is to eliminate small furry invaders. It’s time to hold up your end of the bargain, Robin and Lily. I have full confidence in your mousing abilities. Make Daddy proud, girls.

No problems last night as far as stomach pain goes. I was a little nervous before bed. I was a little queasy. Not bad, but just aware that I wasn’t at 100%. I was also so thoroughly exhausted that I couldn’t really think straight. I turned in at about 11:00 but I forgot to clean out my CPAP mask so I went to sleep without it. I woke up at about 3:30. My first thought was, here we go again. Then I realized what woke me up. It wasn’t in my stomach, it was on my stomach. Miss Lily had jumped on me and was very insistent about showing me some affection. I gave her what she wanted. She doesn’t really show me any attention like that, so I wasn’t about to say no.

Once she had her fill I tried going back to sleep, but I was pretty much awake. I just sort of laid there for a while, then I got up and got a new CPAP mask out of my closet. I had to deal with Miss Robin who ran inside while I had the door open and wouldn’t come out. I swapped out the drool’d in mask for the new, clean one and went back to bed. I got to listen to an attack on the mouse before I fell asleep. My alarm was set for 7:00am but I snoozed it until a little before 8:00. So the good news is, no stomach issues or anything health related. The bad news is I didn’t sleep through the night the way I was hoping. The lesser good news is that I did snag about seven hours of sleep that I very much needed, though I am still feeling really tired this morning.

Here’s hoping tonight continues to show improvement.

I was afraid of this. I have fully committed myself to binge watching all of Star Wars The Clone Wars. There are 133 episodes. It’s going to take a while. I know I tried doing this once before but fell off the wagon very early. Why? What stopped me?

During this morning’s faux jog (pronounced, yog) I found out. Season one, episode eight… the entire episode focuses on Jar Jar and it is just as insufferably awful as you would expect. I made it through without vomiting but it did sap my re-watching enthusiasm by about 65%. Oh well. Maybe I’ll go back to the X-Files for a couple of days.

If I don’t get a haircut today I am going to go insane. Just warning you. Ya know, in case I start posting things that are more insane than normal. If I do, you’ll know why.

Weigh Ins and Time Machine

I have been thinking about what to do about weigh ins now that I’ve passed the one year since surgery mark. Once a week suddenly seems gratuitous, especially when I’m not really losing a lot with any degree of regularity anymore. I think I am going to ditch the Wednesday weigh ins. At least in terms of tracking everything. I might step on the scale now and then, but I don’t see myself recording the data like I was in year one.

The monthly weigh ins are another story. I think I am going to continue to do that. Maybe it’s a compromise. The data analyst part of my tiny little pea brain will still have regular data to keep track of, just not quite as often. I think that’s a good plan going forward. I can still obsess about weight, just not as often. Good and good.

My in-laws, Charlotte and Sherman, gave me an Amazon.com gift card for my birthday. Thank you so much. Big smile. Right on queue, the two terabyte USB hard drive I use for my MacBook Pro’s Time Machine back ups sort of bricked itself today. It’s suddenly in read only mode. Guess what I used the gift card for! It’s almost like the disc drive knew today was my birthday so it took full advantage. Timing is everything, kids.

Okay… back to work, Robert. Your customers don’t care that it’s your birthday. You don’t care either, but they care even less, you know? Get to it.

Let’s Get This Sunday Ball Rollin’

It’s Sunday, 8:48am. My exercise for the day is done. My breakfast of protein bars has been eaten without issue. My morning vitamin pills gave me a little stress and I only managed eight ounces of water. I’ll fix that later once my breakfast is good and digested.

We have a lot to do today. We want to clean the kitchen floor, dust and clean the living room, there is a new Playstation to be setup and taken for a test drive (thanks, Jen!). First on my priority list though is to put together this huge tent/shed thing in the back yard. I need it to store a lawn mower, assuming we get a lawn mower. Larry has one he’s looking to get rid of, so I will likely buy that off of him. I need someplace to put it first though, and that’s where the tent/shed thing comes into play. I have no idea if I am going to be able to put this together on my own or not. I may need to call in some Calvary, but I am optimistic it won’t come to that. I just have to get off my blogging ass and do it.

Tomorrow is my birthday. How fucking depressing is that? Today is my last day as a 51 year old. I am listening to some Nirvana right now. Think of it as mood music. Remember the CD Single for Smells Like Teen Spirit? There were two b-sides. Even in His Youth and Aneurysm. To this day I still see that single as the best single ever released by anyone. The b-sides were better than every other band’s a-sides. I always forget how colossally brutal that band was. Just friggin’ amazing. Even after all these years, it all still holds up.

I am planning on borrowing Jen’s little Bose bluetooth speaker when I go outside but I’ll probably listen to something less sledge-hammer-to-the-skull while I’m outside. You know, something more family friendly like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis. You know, weird and genius rather than freight train and genius.

Okay. Stop stalling. Go change your clothes and get your ass in gear. Let’s go, Robert! Let’s get that shed/tent thing up before you turn 52!

Week 52 Weigh In

It is Wednesday today so it’s time for a weekly weigh in. After being way down last week I figured I would probably creep back up a smidge this week and sure enough I did.

Last week I was 205.6 and today I am 206.6, up one full pound. Oh well. I was hoping I would get below 205 by tomorrow’s one year anniversary but now that seems incredibly unlikely. I’m sure I will dip below 205 at some point, meaning my BMI will dip below 25 and I will go from being overweight to being normal weight. It’s a goal, but who said I had to get there in the first year. I mean, sure it would be nice but I’m not stressing over it.

Weight loss since surgery (approximate) is 224.8. Weight loss since the first weigh in is 245.4. Current BMI is 25.1. It was about 52.5 on the surgery date and 55 on the first weigh in date.

Tomorrow is the actual one year anniversary so I will step on the scale again and I will likely be up again. No worries. No complaints. I am so thankful that I’ve had this experience, even when it’s been painful and difficult. I’ll probably reiterate this tomorrow, but I could not have done this without the support and love of my amazing wife Jen. She’s my rock. She’s my heart and soul. I love her so much and I am so thankful for all she’s done for me through all of this insanity and upheaval. She’s incredible.

Who knows, maybe I’ll magically lose 1.7 pounds over night tonight. Stranger things have happened, right?

Happy Thoughts: Follow Up

This is a follow up to the previous post. I don’t have any details but I am hoping I will get to learn more when I get home tonight.

Here’s what I do know…

Bellana defended her senior thesis paper this morning and it went well. How well did it go? The one specific piece of information I have is that she got an A.

Kick ass! Damn, my step daughter is brilliant! There was never a doubt that she would excel in this regard. I had full confidence that she would slay the review board.

If you were kind enough to send her your happy thoughts this morning, I thank you. Though really… she didn’t need it. She’s a freakin’ genius after all.

Graduation is a little more than two weeks away. I am so proud. I can’t even put it into words, I am so proud.

Excellent job, Bellana.

Positive Vibes Needed

Hey internet, can you spare some positivity? My step daughter is defending her senior thesis this morning. Send her some happy thoughts.

She doesn’t actually need them, of course. She’s freakin’ brilliant, just like her mother and her brother. She’s got this thing locked down. She’s going to dazzle everyone hearing her defense with her academic brilliance. Still, a little lucky thinking never hurt anyone, right?

Go Bellana! Show those reviewers who’s boss! You’ve got this!

May Music

I’m super tired tonight but I hit all of my food and exercise goals without any stomach issues and I managed to find a little time to start working on a song idea. The May music goal is 10 songs. Think of it as a music project to honor my birthday, my surgery anniversary, my and Jen’s wedding anniversary, our first Mother’s Day without my mother, and Bellana’s graduation.

There’s a lot to celebrate this month. There is a ton to be thankful for. There’s one thing to be sad about, but I can also be thankful for that day too if I look at it as celebrating my step kids’ mother instead of focusing the loss of my mother.

It’s all worth some new music. I just wish I had talent so I could come up with something worthy of it all.

ADDENDUM: I knew I was forgetting an event. May is also my step daughter, Bellana’s birthday month! Add her turning 22 to the list of things to celebrate this month.

Bad Streak

Saturday turned into a bad night for my stomach and for my migraine-brain. Sunday was a bad day for my stomach too, and Sunday night ended up especially bad. Today was a touch better, but still a bad day for my stomach and also for my soul.

That bad string of days is likely to get worse as the next three days are looking like they are going to royally suck.

Oh, goodie.