9/11/2001 – 10 Years Later – I Remember…
September 11th, 2011 / 2 Comments » / by Greis
I will NEVER forget!
You’ve Got a Friend in Me…
September 7th, 2011 / 7 Comments » / by Greis
You’ve got a friend in me
You’ve got a friend in me
You’ve got troubles, I’ve got ‘em too
There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you
We stick together and can see it through
Cause, you’ve got a friend in me
You’ve got a friend in me
~ Randy Newman
Friends always seem to come in, and out, of my life when I least expect them to. You never expect to lose friends, but sometimes our lives just grow apart. To make up for the growing apart I believe that new friends “appear” at the most appropriate time to help fill a void. Those friends usually “appear” when you need them most.
I met Cindy during BlogHer 2009, in Chicago. I went to Chicago eager to meet so many people, including Cindy, not knowing if any friendships would stick. Thank goodness for BlogHer, because Cindy has become one of my closest friends!
I flew out to visit Cindy last Thursday. I spent the long Labor Day weekend at her house. We both needed the visit. What was supposed to be a “girls weekend” out and about turned in to a “girls weekend” in. We caught up on gossip, she made me watch Hoarders and I made her watch Big Brother, we packed boxes, drank fruity drinks and ate enough cupcakes and Oreo cookies to last us the rest of the year (in moderation of course!). We listened to each other. I snuggled her girls! It was a perfect weekend that ended way too fast.
Thank you Cindy for an amazing weekend!! I miss you and you’re girls already, can’t wait to do it all again…soon!
I know things are crazy for you right now, but I hope you know that You’ve Got a Friend in Me….ALWAYS!
Wordless Wednesday – Weather Envy…
August 10th, 2011 / 8 Comments » / by Greis
Subtitled: I miss San Diego!!
I’ll be moving as soon as I find a place to live and a job!!
BlogHer Bound…
August 3rd, 2011 / 4 Comments » / by Greis
Today is the day. I’m heading to San Diego, by way of LAX, for BlogHer 2011. I’ll be meeting a few friends in Los Angeles and we’ll be road tripping south. So excited!!
Once in San Diego I’ll be shacked up at the Marriott Marquis (one of 2 host hotels) with my roommates Angie and Nanette. Good roomies make a big difference and I’m so excited to be rooming with these 2 ladies.
I look forward to seeing so many friends this weekend and meeting new ones. If you see me please come say hi, I promise I don’t bite (very hard). I’m horrible with names so if I ask for your twitter handle don’t be shocked. 
If you see me today the chances are very good that I’ll be delirious and have huge bags under my eyes, 2 hours of sleep are not good. I plan to be well rested tomorrow, maybe!! Who am I kidding…
If you’ll be in San Diego let me know. If you’re looking for me be sure to DM or @ me on twitter, I have those messages being texted to my phone.
If you’re not at BlogHer this year, I will miss you!
Hope everyone has a great weekend! I’ll catch you all on the flip side.
(I’ve typed this while at the airport on my phone. Sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors!!)
One Year Down, a Lifetime to Go…
July 21st, 2011 / 29 Comments » / by Greis
Yesterday was the ONE YEAR anniversary of my Gastric Bypass Surgery. An entire year has flown by, can you believe it?
Looking back at my pre-surgery self is like looking back at a stranger. I don’t even recognize the person in the pictures. I guess I just never really realized how BIG I actually was. Or maybe I was just in denial.
Here’s a one of many examples. The first picture was taken on April 7, 2010 and the second picture was taken, exactly one year later, on April 7, 2011.
Huge difference, right?
I’ve done some things this year that I never in a million years would have done a year ago. I posed for a picture in my bathing suit and it was posted on the INTERNET, because I’m confident, yo! And then I traveled to New York City and gallivanted around Times Square and various television studios in another swimsuit.
I started my journey at 306 pounds and yesterday I weighed in at 173.2.
In one year I’ve lost 132.8 pounds and my BMI (Body Mass Index) has dropped from 52.5 to 29.7. I’m no longer in the “obese” BMI range, now I’m just considered “overweight”. We’ll discuss the craziness of the BMI scale in another post.
I feel amazing. I’m happier, more confident and in such a better place now than I was last year. You don’t realize how un-happy you are until you’re happy and I’m definitely HAPPY. My journey is far from over, and I look forward to everything that lies ahead.
Thank you all for your continued love and support. I am forever grateful!
****************************************************************************
Where else can you find me?
I’m sharing my Weight Loss Surgery story with the Curvy Girl Guide today.
I was a little annoyed with a former Biggest Loser contestant a few days ago, I may have gotten a little ranty.
Fear of Failing…
July 13th, 2011 / 2 Comments » / by Greis
It’s been 51 weeks since my surgery.
Looking back it still amazes me that I’m ONE week away from my ONE year post-op anniversary. The strides I’ve made to a better me, a healthier me, are beyond my own comprehension. I’m a happier person. The person that I know I’ve always been on the inside now radiates to the outside. People can see the “real” me. I’m more confident in myself and in my ability to succeed at things that I put my heart and soul in to. It’s as if a piece of me has been missing for the past 10 years and I’ve finally found it. I’ve found me.
With all the good in the past year there have still been some little bits and pieces of not so good. The parts that worry me most are the bits and pieces of the old me that I still see in the new me. These worrisome pieces of me are nowhere near the surface, they’re all still very deep down within, but they are there nonetheless. The fear still lies within me.
My biggest fear is failure. In between all the great moments I find myself thinking about the “what ifs”. What if I gain the weight back? What if I fail my surgery and myself? What if…what if….what if? The what ifs are still there, I’m sure they will always be there, but for now I’m focusing on the good.
I’ve worked hard to get to where I am today.
I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and I’m looking forward to the many more milestones ahead.
Not Guilty and Innocent are NOT the Same…
July 6th, 2011 / 12 Comments » / by Greis
Confession…I was an avid Casey Anthony murder trial viewer. I live streamed the trial, through my iPhone, so that I could listen while I was working. I watched the re-caps on the news while at home. I’ve been very invested in all the goings on for weeks. You don’t get to go inside a courtroom to experience a trial of this caliber very often and there’s just something about our legal system at work that really intrigues me.
Many of you know where I stand on the case, but for those of you that don’t, I believe that she (Casey) was responsible for the death of her daughter Caylee. For weeks I’ve told people that I wasn’t (and I’m still not) 100% sure that she killed her intentionally, but I do believe that she did it and then proceeded to hide the body while lying to her family for 31 days.
The jury returned a verdict, yesterday, after less than 11 hours of deliberations. They found Casey not guilty of murder, child abuse and manslaughter, while finding her guilty of 4 counts of lying to investigators.
After the verdict was announced Twitter and Facebook erupted with dismay. Everyone had their own thoughts on the case. Some people criticized the jury. Others criticized our legal system. Everyone is allowed their own thoughts and feelings and here are mine…
The jury may have found her (Casey Anthony) NOT GUILTY, but I believe that she is in no way innocent. Do I disagree with the verdict, yes, do I believe the jury did their job with the evidence presented, YES.
We (the United States of America) have a legal system in place for a reason. Everyone is entitled to a defense and a trial by a jury of their peers. The jury was instructed to reach a verdict with the evidence that was presented to them. This case was based on very circumstantial evidence.
For days I’ve told friends and family, when asked about the case, that the jury could go either way. Do I believe that with the evidence presented they could have convicted her on any of the charges? Yes, yes I do. But do I think they (the jury) failed because they did not? No!
For the record, I don’t believe that the prosecution failed either. I think that the state (Linda Drane Burdick and Jeff Ashton) presented their case well. I believe that they presented all of the evidence that they had available to them and that’s all that anyone can ask them to do.
There are no “winners” in this case. At the end of the day there is still a dead child and neither GUILTY or NOT GUILTY would have changed that. What saddens me is that the truth will likely never be known. I’m sad for the Anthony family. I’m sad that “closure” will be hard without real answers.
RIP Caylee
photo credit: Google Images
Fridays Make Me Happy…
July 1st, 2011 / 2 Comments » / by Greis
Apparently Fridays make my niece happy too!
Happy Friday y’all!
Follow Up…
June 29th, 2011 / 2 Comments » / by Greis
So, remember when I was diagnosed with a sinus infection after a night in the hospital? What, you missed that? Well, go catch up here and here, I’ll wait.
Are you all caught up now? Good.
One of my main symptoms during the hospital visit was my blurred vision. It turns out blurry vision can occur because of a sinus infection, who knew? Obviously not me.
After a month of wonky vision and not knowing if I was losing my eye sight (I’m too young for that!) I decided that it was time to call a professional. I finally made an appointment to see a local ophthalmologist.
I explained my situation to the doctor over the phone and she suggested that I bring the hospital reports and the CT and MRI scans with me to my appointment for her reference. I acquired all of my reports/scans on Monday afternoon in preparation for my appointment yesterday. Such an easy process with the hospital and not too pricey either.
I went to my appointment yesterday and was very pleased with my doctor. She was very friendly and knowledgeable, she looked over all of the hospital reports and scans and did a few tests to be sure she didn’t miss anything.
One of the tests was dilating my eyes so that she could get a better look at the back. The doctor made a few comments about how amazingly my eyes dilated. Apparently my eyes dilate well. I can only hope that my nether regions do the same thing when/if I ever have a child. The dilation was very uncomfortable and my vision was blurrier for a good 2 hours after, but check out my pupils, aren’t they BIG?
The doctor’s final diagnosis is that my eyes are perfect. She’s a little concerned about the blood vessels trying to grow in to the cornea, most likely due to my long term contact lens use. She recommended that I try to keep my daily use down to 10 hours or less per day. She believes that the sinus infection caused the blurriness to begin and says that at times dilating the eyes will help correct the issue on its own.
If the problem persists she believes that it could be Computer Vision Syndrome and that my current prescription is not enough for computer viewing and reading. If this is the case she will refer me to an optometrist that can prescribe me “reading” glasses to use with my contacts while viewing a computer. Sexy, right?!?
I’m really hoping that the dilation helps correct the blurriness issue on its own, because I really hate glasses and having to wear contacts and reading glasses together would be nuts!!! I’ll keep you posted.
Running…
June 27th, 2011 / 7 Comments » / by Greis
I’ve never been a runner. In fact, I’d even venture to say that I hate running. I’ve always hated running. And until recently (last week) I would have bet money on the fact that I would never enjoy running EVER!!
With my hate of running you’d be surprised to learn that last Thursday I started the Couch to 5K program (C25K). Yes, go ahead and soak that little tidbit of information in for a minute, I’ll wait.
Are you back? No worries, I’m just as surprised as you are.
For the past year or so I’ve heard friends on Twitter, Facebook and blogs praise the C25K program a LOT. With my hate of running I never in a million years even considered starting the program, because HELLO, it’s all about running. Well, on Thursday something changed. I decided that I needed to step up my workout routine and thought C25K might be just what I needed so I downloaded the C25K app on to my iPhone and decided I’d give it a go at the gym that evening.
I’m happy to report that I did Week 1 – Day 1 of the C25K program and LOVED it. I know, I know it was just day 1, but loving it after ONE day is pretty amazing in my book. I enjoyed it so much so that I have been looking forward to doing Day 2, but it was the weekend, and the busyness of it all took over and Day 2 has been put off until after work today. I can’t wait! (Did I just say I can’t wait to workout, really?!? Who am I?)
I’m hoping that my enthusiasm for running continues for a long time to come. Running is such a great cardio workout and I’m hoping that it will be the change in my routine that I’m looking for. I’ll be sure to report back in a few weeks and let you know how I’m doing.
Wish me luck, I might need it!
