Hi everyone! 

Well, it's been FIVE long years and the time has really flown by.  I can honestly say I can't remember at all what it's like to be morbidly obese now.  I can remember things such as not being able to paint my toenails or scrub my feet (shoot I couldn't even SEE my feet!).  I remember my feet always being purple and REALLY puffy and looked like marshmellows and felt like them too!  I remember barely being able to keep myself clean because my arms are too short.  I remember always having to lean backward when I walked because my chest was so large it would weigh me down in the front.  I had to RELEARN how to walk after the weight started falling off! 

I remember what I looked like in the mirror naked - oooooohhhhh what a nasty site!  I tried my best to spare my hubby from the shock but things have definitely changed now that I'm much smaller! *wink*   I remember not being able to use my seat belt in my car because I was too large for it.  I remember having to have a seat belt extension in the airplane when I flew.  I remember i couldn't do the grocery shopping or shopping of any kind and I had to let my hubby do it because I couldn't walk very far.  And lastly, I remember that crossing my legs was only a dream!

Now that I've weighed between 165 to 170 for so long, I think I've taken this new weight for granted.  I get around like a normal person now but I'm having trouble with my hips for some reason and my feet have different areas of pain.  I guess it's from carrying all that extra weight for so long.  I can't exercise as much as I would if I didn't have these problems, but I do exercise when I have energy and I'm not hurting anywhere.

I take all my required supplements plus all kinds of herbal ones.  I think I must take around 25 pills a day or so!  LOL!  I do have to WORK at keeping at this weight.  I've gotten as high as 182 back a few years ago and this year I got up to 177.  I've also gotten as low as 147 back in 2003 a week after my tummy tuck but that lasted about a 'minute' at the most.  LOL! I did stay at 155 for about six months while I was on Weight Watchers that same year, but my 'average' weight for these five years, is between 165-170.  I guess my body really likes this weight and it was what I weighed when I graduated from high school so that's not SO bad anyway!

My children tell me that I am a NORMAL weight for a woman my AGE so I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult!  I will be 48 in a few days and that is a KILLER!  I don't feel 48 most of the time and I love being where I am in life.  I don't like going through menopause and I don't like raising two teenage girls at the same time but I somehow manage from day to day.  I miss my son and I'd give anything if he lived with me again, but that's only a dream.  He loves Kansas City with all his Christian friends and I'm happy that he's making wise decisions now that he is 21! 

Anyway, I'll post some pictures here for you to see.  I doubt I'll be posting anymore unless I have more plastic surgery, or really great news or it's my 10th anniversary or something.  Life is normal now and I am just not 'into' myself physically like I was at the beginning.  I am raising Shih Tzu puppies and selling them and keeping busy with my family and being a NORMAL mom!  LOL!

Thanks for stopping by and write me a note if you can to my email address on the last page!