Finally!

My trip to Detroit was amazing!  The weather was lovely & the presence of team members in downtown is overwhelming.  It's hard to describe it & until one witnesses it firsthand it's incomprehensible.  I was lucky to go with 3 team members that I get along with very well so we had a great time!  While I was there I got a call from my Ops Director letting me know she pushed my promotion through & I'm officially a Team Captain.  Woo!  It feels great to be recognized for hard work.

I have my next appointment Oct 8.  After that we'll set my final appointment and maybe start discussing surgery dates.  After my Nov appointment we can submit to insurance!  The front office staff recommended talking to the surgeon about getting a tentative date set so I can begin my pre-op right after the Nov appointment in hopes of having surgery prior to Thanksgiving.  Otherwise I'll be looking at early Dec.  I'm really hoping for Nov.  It feels like forever but at the same time I can't believe it's nearly here!

I still need to order my protein sampler, get a decent blender, and get an elliptical.  Of course now that it's cooler walking won't be so bad but I do like the idea of having an elliptical readily available.  I'm also on the lookout for a decent multi vitamin + calcium.  I've decided to go with the sleeve & I know these are uber important to avoid deficiencies.  Also, B12.  Does anyone have recommendations?

10. Things. Thursday.

1) I am still here; I have not gone away or died.  I am not in a coma.
2) I started school for the semester so my evenings are spent working on assignments for my 2 online classes: COM100 and CIS110.  Both are fairly simple classes but homework still blows.
3) Last week my sweetie, the kid, and I went to Knott's Berry Farm for a much needed vacation.  We spent Thursday & Friday between the park & the water park (Soak City).  Saturday was just too crowded so we had a lazy day at the hotel pool/spa.  Sunday we hit the beach for a couple of hours before heading home.  Then it was back to work on Tuesday.  Boo!
4) I'm coming up on my 4th (or maybe 5th) nutrition appointment on Tuesday.  I need to call my insurance company to see if they'll count my initial visit as 1 or not.  Hopefully we'll start talking surgery dates & pre-op stuff soon.
5) No promotion at work just yet but I feel it coming soon.  My team lead / director has me running around like crazy, planning training sessions, meetings, etc.  I had my annual review which went really well.
6) I get to go to Detroit for work on 9/16 to see how things are done there with the big boys (our head quarters are there).  Plus our founder owns the casino there so I get to stay in a fancy suite & play roulette all night if I want.
7) I have sucked at walking the past 2 weeks.  I'm just so damn tired (I know, always an excuse).  I've gotta find a way to make more time.  Something has to give.
8) I've become fixated with planning a trip for next summer; my goal is somewhere warm & tropical so I'm hoping for Hawaii.  Maybe I'll be 50+ lighter by then!
9) I have a new daily driver so I can wheel my Jeep without worrying too much about breakage.  My sweetie bought it from an older couple through his shop for $450!
10) My $6 ticket did not get dismissed; the judge continued the hearing to Oct 22.  Silliness.

I have so much reading to catch up on!  I hope everyone is well.

My name is Dotti & I'm a (blog) slacker.

Life has been HECTIC, to say the least.

Last weekend's wheeling trip was a lot of fun & a great success.  We raised $3,000 total for our charities, the weather was nice, and the trail was kind to us.

The past 2 weeks at work have been insane.  I've been in a new role since May 1 (essentially QA) where my objective is to monitor calls for team members.  This is a new role in AZ so I have a lot of freedom in how I'd like it to go.  My counterpart, whom I'm not terribly fond of, was promoted to Team Captain.  That in itself was a huge blow; myself & many others (whom have all voiced their opinions) were shocked about the choice but I was informed later that I'm meant for bigger & better things.  We'll see...

Anyhoots, I've been running around the past 2 weeks because 2 team members were moved to "my" team & I've been given the task of training them.  In the process I will be reviewing calls for another team so I'm trying to "fix" some things I've come across.  It's a good thing innovation is rewarded here!

My daily challenge (#operationactive365) is going fairly well.  I've missed a day here & there but have been doing pretty good about walking.  I've got my handy dandy FitBit to help motive me towards 10,000 steps per day.

My 4th nutrition appointment is coming up Aug 13 and I'm kind of nervous.  My surgeon told me to lose 5-10lb.  The nutritionist said more like 5-8 to stay "safe".  I'm not sure I've accomplished that, again.  So my eating hasn't been superb but I've improved greatly on the exercise front.  I guess I could fib, but I tend to let it all out when the doc asks me.  Should be interesting...

I hope all is well with everyone; I've got some catching up to do on my reading list!

I'm going wheelin'!

Whew, this week has been busy!  I lost track from Wednesday to today...  I've been a busy bee at work, training 2 newbies to my team.  In addition to that I suffered a small blow to my self esteem when one of my team members was promoted to team captain.  I was shocked, actually.  I've made my career goals here very clear: I want a leadership role.  I've been expressing these objectives from the day I started.  Not only have I stated what I want, I've demonstrated my abilities to excel.  So yeah, it was a tough pill to swallow. Although it was nice when the DVP mentioned that my qualities are far greater than the position that was offered to my counterpart & that for me she's looking at a bigger picture.  I hope that's true.  

End of pity party rant.

This weekend is the 2nd annual charity run to Crown King for the Jeep club.  We take a 4x4 trail from the back of Lake Pleasant up to a cute little town in the pines.  The trail takes about 4-5 hours & we have 60+ rigs signed up.  Not to shabby for a club that only has 15 or so active members!  The proceeds are benefiting 2 charities: the Granite Mountain Hotshots & Project H3 which helps homeless vets get off the streets.  We're also hosting a separate raffle & 100% of the proceeds are going to Baby Rose, one of the Hotshots' unborn baby.  So we wheel all day then hang out at the bar in Crown King among friends. Afterward we'll camp then come back down Sunday.  I'm really looking forward to it but I'm also nervous at the same time.  I drive a manual & it's the first I've ever had.  I started wheelin' just over a year ago but I learned on an automatic.  It'll be interesting, especially if the rain keeps up & we're trolling through mud.  I'll be sure to share pictures.  Btw, that's my Jeep!

I've been keeping up pretty well with my walking.  I did skip Wednesday this week because I was just so tired & couldn't wake up!  That night I went to Four Peaks to have a beer with my friend for her birthday.  I may not walk today either; again I was super tired this morning after having bad dreams all night.  Tonight I won't have time since we'll be getting everything ready for tomorrow.  We have to be at our meeting spot by 8:00.  I'm not sure if I've lost or maintained.  I didn't really pay attention to my weight on the day of my last nutrition appointment so I'm just going to wait until my next one to see what the scale says.  My eating has been okay; I bought My Fit Foods this week & have been eating them for breakfast & lunch, except yesterday I ate from our potluck.  My next appointment is Aug 13, then I only have 2 left before it can be submitted to insurance!  I guess I should really acquaint myself with a new PCP so I can get my letter done.

Back to work!  Happy Friday, everyone.

Somebody has a case of the Monday (eves)...

My IV bruise is looking darker as it heals but it's no longer sore.  And I'm not excited about going back to work tomorrow.  Weekends never feel long enough.

I decided to try yoga on Saturday morning.  I recorded some shows I found on DirecTV.  That lasted all of 10 minutes!  It was really tough as a beginner.  The workouts I'd recorded weren't really for beginners & it was hard to do the poses while watching to see if I was getting them right.  So, after I picked up my Bountiful Basket I came home & did 45 minutes on the XBox Kinect.  Go me!  

My surgery center has a Facebook forum.  One of the girls has started a fitness challenge called #operationactive365.  So I've been working at it & today marks my 5th day.  I also ordered a FitBit to keep track of my steps just like Dr. D recommended.  Hopefully these efforts will get me to my 5-8 lb loss he wants to see from me.  Plus, I feel good about it & am actually excited to keep up with it every day.

My next nutrition appointment is August 13th.  So close, yet still so far.  I am happy to say that I'm halfway through this process.  That's a nice thought!

TTT

1.  I had my psych eval, ultrasound and EGD today.  I think the psych eval went well considering they didn't cart me away in a straight jacket.

2.  The EGD taught me to never let anyone aside from the anesthesiologist attempt to insert an IV.  I have 4 battle scars to support that!

3.  General anesthesia makes me talk A LOT.  I chatted with everyone.

4.  McDonald's never tasted so good after fasting for half a day.

5.  I have a small hiatal hernia.  The doc said this is no big deal & it can be repaired with 1-2 stitches.

6.  I ordered my FitBit yesterday & it arrived today!  If you have one & want to be on my friends list let me know.  It's just the cutest little thing I've ever seen!

7.  Yesterday I pulled my happy butt out of bed & walked 30 minutes.  I did not do that today, however, because I wasn't allowed to drink anything.  Even at 5:30AM it's still 85º here!

8.  I had my 3rd nutrition appointment on Tuesday.  I did not lose but I did maintain.  My surgeon insisted I step it up, literally.  He told me get a pedometer or use a phone app & get in 10,000 steps per day.  (refer to #6)

9.  I've been dealing with sick pups all week long so I haven't been getting great sleep.

10.  I think I'm going to take a nap (see #9)

I hope everyone is doing well.  Ooooh sidenote, I got to meet my FIRST blog follower on Tuesday at the doctor's office.  She just happened to be in for a fill.  :)

9.

1.)  That's how many days since my last post.  Every day few days I thought about blogging but I just didn't have much to say or was just too tired.  This past week has been hectic.  

2.)  Sunday we drove to Wickenburg to drop off donations for the fire evacuees.  We stayed there to watch the funeral procession for the 19 fallen firefighters.  Talk about sullen...

The support of the locals along the roadside from Phoenix all the way to Wickenburg & beyond was amazing & heart wrenching at the same time.

3.)  Tuesday night we had an awards ceremony at work so most of the "work" day was spent primping & prepping for that since we didn't get off early to have time to prepare.  It was quite an affair, held at the Scottsdale Princess resort.  Although, the big dudes in Detroit should really try to remember that it reaches 150,000° here in July.  Needless to say I felt like a sweaty mess but it was fun to dress up.  One of the girls here does hair/makeup so she did a super cute pin up style for me.  I wore a green dress with white polka dots (yep, that's how I roll) along with brown strappy sandals.  I didn't win any awards but it was still fun to dress up.  I'm lucky enough to work with my BFF so we got to be girly together that day.

4.)  Yesterday we had ISMs day at work (ISMs are the principles we live by here at work).  200+ team members & affiliates hung out at Westworld, stuffing our faces with breakfast, lunch & snacks all day while our CEO spoke about our culture, beliefs & why we're such an awesome company.  I love my job!

So today it's back to business.  Time to refocus.

5.)  I haven't been making great food choices lately.  I didn't order Bountiful Baskets this week or last.  Last week I ended up throwing several things away that went bad before we used them & this week I just ran out of time.  Aunt Flo should be arriving shortly so that hasn't helped spark my desire for nutritious, wholesome foods either.

6.)  I'm hoping to have enough leftover cash with this paycheck to pick up an elliptical machine.  It's WAY too hot to walk, even in the morning.  The humidity lately has been ridiculous, too.  Yeah, 51% humidity may not seem like a lot to some of you but for us Phoenicians used to "dry heat" this is INSANITY.

7.)  My 3rd nutrition appointment is on Tuesday then I have my ultrasound, EGD and psych appointments on Thursday.  Wow (nearly) 3 down with 3 to go.  I know when school starts it will go by even faster which is nice.  

8.)  I actually feel worse lately.  My body aches, I've been waking up more because I "snore" myself awake - I'm told this is due to the sleep apnea, something I would have never known.  It just seems like this can't come soon enough!

9.)  I forgot this was TTT until this point so I just went back & numbered my paragraphs!

10.)  John & I figured out our vacation plans: we're going to Knott's Berry Farm at the end of August.  It'll be so much fun!