**FIRST VLOG**

Hi Everyone, I had lunch with Breanne today and it was amazing as always! Here is a pic of the 2 of us. Also above is my first vlog, try not to judge too much I had to keep re-shooting it like 8 times because I felt stupid in all of them lol. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Bandit Get-Together and NSV

Yay for bandit get togethers! Tomorrow Breanne and I are getting together for lunch and to catch up, I haven't seen her since October and her un-fill so I can't wait! We'll make sure to take a pic for everyone! :)

Also, today I went shopping and had an awesome NSV! I went to the mall and bought a pair of pants that were size 18 petites from New York & Company. I haven't fit into a pair of pants from there FOREVER! I remember going into that store when I was in high school and trying pants on and they never fit. I looked up the size chart online to see how they ran and it said waist 34 1/2 and hips 45 1/2, not too shabby! When compared to Gap this is right between a size 16 and 18, which is right about where I am. I also went into Nordstroms and looked at all the designer jeans and got excited....I can't wait till I can get into those size 32 premium jeans! Only a couple more inches!

Christmas and Etc.

Hi Everyone! I just got back from having Christmas @ Rick's dad's house, my Christmas(s) are finally over! We had 3 different one's this year, my parents, his mom's, and his dad's....very hectic! My food choices weren't the best, but not the worst..I am up 3lbs but it is also my TOM so i'm blaming some on that :)

I had an amazing time at home in Maine with my family, I miss them so much! I got amazing presents, some Ugg clogs, Victoria's Secret undies and PJ's, a gift card for nordstroms for when I'm skinny enough for designer jeans, and one of the best gifts of all....A WEBCAM! I get to be an official vlogger! I need to open it up and set it up and then I will do my first offical vlog, I can't wait! I opened it up @ Rick's mom's Christmas yesterday, it was a gift from his sister. Everyone was interested in why I wanted it, Rick took the liberty of explaining my blog and support system, and how I was jealous of all the vloggers and wanted one of my own. Everyone was just as excited as I was.

Tomorrow Rick is going to the Patriots vs. Jacksonville football game, and his sisters and I are heading to the outlets to find some good deals and also do some exchanges. I can't wait, there is an awesome Gap outlet there and also a great Banana Republic. I can't wait till I can fit into a pair of pants at any store I want....I'm guessing 20 more lbs or so until I'm a 16.

I hope everyone else had an amazing holiday. We're almost past all the holiday temptation food, only new years and we all should be good! xxoo

6.5CC's is doing the trick!

I had my 5th fill last Friday and got another .5CC's bringing me to a total of 6.5CC's in a 10CC band. I think I am pretty damn close to my sweet spot!! I can no longer eat bread or pasta without getting sick, and I think I am OK with that. Don't get me wrong, I love bread and pasta, but I think it will really help with my weight loss if I give them up. Also if I really want one or the other, then I'll have a little bit and just deal with being sick, its not the end of the world! I have gotten pretty clever at being sick and taking care of it.

Funny story, this weekend Rick and I went to costco and we were both starving so decided to get something at the food window thing...normally I would have gotten a giant slice of pizza or HUGE hot dog, but decided to get a turkey wrap instead. BAD IDEA, this is how I found out bread is now a no-no. After 2 bites, out it came...Rick grabbed me a ton of napkins and I took care of it, or so I thought. We got up and started to walk around the store, and all of a sudden I felt a big lump in my throat, I had nothing to spit into, I covered my mouth with my sleeve, but it wasn't enough...I throw up those 2 bites of sandwich all over the aisle! Eeeek, Rick was mortified we didn't know what to do! I found a roll of paper towels and quickly tried to clean up my mess, and then we had to leave because I looked like a HOT MESS!

Product Question!

Since surgery I have kept to greek yogurt and string cheese for my daily breakfast, but recently the yogurt is becoming a little to sweet for me, and I am getting hungry before lunch time. Yesterday while @ costco I saw a box of Zone bars, it came with the Fudge Graham and Chocolate Peanut Butter flavors, and I decided to give them a try. I'm not very good @ looking at a nutrition label and knowing whats good and bad in the sugar and carb department. What do you guys think of this? Do you eat protein bars for meal replacements often?

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size: 1 Bar (50g)
Calories: 210
Calories from Fat: 60
Total Fat: 7g
Saturated Fat: 3.5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: <5mg
Sodium: 200mg
Potassium: 90mg
Total Carbohydrate: 23g
Dietary Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 15g
Protein: 14g

Thanks for all your help in advance! The bar was super yummy, and it is keeping me full so far so I hope I made a good choice!!

5th Fill and Xmas Goal!

Morning Everyone and Happy Saturday!

So I had my 5th fill yesterday, and it went well! I got .5cc bringing me to a total 6.5cc's. I'm feeling pretty good after this one. I have decided to stick to a liquid diet like I am supposed to for a full 24hrs, I usually sneak food in, but I want to be good this time! When I weighed in yesterday morning I was 207, which was my goal for my fill, but when I got to the dr.'s @ 4pm I was 209 :( making it a 6lb loss since my last fill a month ago. Not too bad, and I know it was just water weight throughout the day. Best part is, this morning when I woke up I was 205!! OMG I am soooo freakin close to onederland I can taste it. 205 was also my goal to be at for Christmas, so I really want to try and maintain it. I am down 43lbs total and feeling great!

I'm going to head out to the mall in a few minutes and do some last minute xmas shopping, it's probably going to be a zoo there! We have a huge snow storm coming in tonight and tomorrow, they said maybe a foot!! eeek!

At work, my company gives us a Christmas bonus of having 12/23-1/4 off paid, so I'm really looking forward to that. Rick and I are heading to my parents home in Maine on Wednesday morning and staying there till Christmas's morning, then heading back to Mass. to spend Christmas day with his family. It's going to be a busy week, but I can't wait to see everyone!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend so far. xoxo

When the dog bites....My 10 favorites!

I saw Alexis's post earlier today and it got me really excited. I think this is a great way to get to know one another a little bit more, and also to get healthy and beauty ideas from people who use the products first hand. I think the best thing I learned from her post is the Dior Mascara, I have heard nothing but great things about this product and can't wait to try it!

1. Premier Protein shakes from Costco. They have 30g protein in only 160 cal, and are the best tasting shake I have found.

2. Tootsie Rolls: I love these things. They satisfy my sweet craving and I can have 6 minis for 140 calories, 3 gms of fat.

3. Camel Back Water Bottle This is my favorite water bottle, I have the classic style top since my dr. doesn't recommend straws. It holds 24 oz of water and I try to drink 2 full bottles throughout my work day. 4. Menage y tros red wine This is one of my favorite red wines. I buy it @ costco for $10 and it is delish. The name makes me smile too :) 5. Crocs: Working in the city I have to have comfortable walking shoes. These are my favorite for the fall time, they keep my feet comfy and warm. 6. Chobani Greek Yogurt: This is my breakfast every morning. I prefer the strawberry flavored, it has 140 calories and 14 gm of protein. Yum Yum.

7. String Cheese: I like the Stringsters reduced fat mozzarella, which have 4gms of fat, 70 calories, and 8gms of protein!

8. Coach Bunny Keychain: I got this keychain for my birthday, and it was my favorite present. It's like I have a little piece of my babies with me at all times.

9. MAC tinted Lip Glass in Nymphette : This is a really versatile shade, I always get compliments when I wear it. You can buy it at any department store for around $14.

10. Starbucks Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte. A grande size, skim milk. no whip has 130 calories, and 12 gms of protein.

I have no control :(

I am so mad at myself right now....We got a gift basket delivered to the office and it had a 'cookie tower' in it....Guess who ate 5 Cookies?? This Girl! GRRRRR who does that?? Why couldn't I just had 1, maybe 2 and been satisfied?? Nooooo, I had to try every single one!

I was off to such a good start today too. I went to the gym and did Day 2 of C25K and was feeling good! I had WW Soup for lunch, then the stupid delivery came!

Tomorrow's a new day.....

Sucess!

So my work holiday party that I planned was a success, new band (music) and all! Everyone was really happy and pleased and I got lots of compliments!

I went for the cellulite reduction wrap I wrote about, and it SUCKED! I had this mud that felt like vicks vapor rub 'painted' all over my body, I was soooo cold! And the worst part was she didn't put it on my butt or tummy...um hello those are my WORST cellulite areas! I didn't notice any difference, except maybe my skin was a little softer. She did give me a nice massage after the wrap, which was awesome. I was just happy I didn't have to pay for this, or I would have been real disappointed.

Eating wise I've been doing pretty good, even with all the holiday festivities I weighed in @ 210 this morning, so I managed to stay within my 207-210 range that I'm currently at. I went to the gym this morning and did my first C25K workout. After watching the biggest loser finalists run the marathon, I really got inspired to run. If they can run 26 miles, I think I should be able to run 1! I completed the first workout successfully, and my HRM said I burned 400 calories!! wahooo! I'm going to try again tomorrow, hopefully I get into the swing of things and will someday like running.

I'm going for my 5th fill this Friday, and I want to weigh in @ 207. My last fill which was a month ago I was 215, so this would give me 8lb loss which is exactly 2 lbs/week. I should be able to manage this, this week if I stay on task with the gym and eating! Hope everyone is having a good weekend! xxoo

Stuckity Stuck

This is what I feel like right now :(

Tonight for dinner we had chicken romano, which is basically just chicken cooked in balsamic vinegar and tomato puree, we also had pasta with it too. I had about 3 bites of chicken stuck...did some laundry came back to it, 5 more bites, stuck, did the dishes, few more bites, stuck, then I gave up. I decided I was thirsty and took a big gulp of water, BAD IDEA! I got a big pain in my tummy, then out it came, STILL COLD!

So today was officially the biggest FML day ever...you know how I am planning our huge holiday party for work?? Well I called the band to confirm they received my payment today, good news they did, bad news he said "see ya Thursday" (our party is Friday) I signed the contract for THURSDAY! I can't believe I made such a huge mistake! I immediately started balling, and ran to my bosses office, we brainstormed ideas and decided to call the band leader and see if he had some recommendations for other bands, he said he'd look around. He eventually found someone, but he is taking our deposit and now we have to pay the new band too :( Good thing my boss wasn't mad at me, she was very calm and reassuring. I just felt like such a complete ass, how could I screw up my job sooo badly?

Other than that my weight is being pretty consistent between 207-210, yuck. I got up and went to the gym this morning which felt fantastic. I just need to break this...my goal is to be 205 for Christmas. Lets cross our fingers! I know it's totally doable, especially since I have a fill next week :) Not sure if that's the best idea, but I'm thinking .5cc's should be ok. I just might need to accept I can't eat pasta or bagels anymore!

Restriction, Spas & Water

Ahhh I feel like I have so much on my mind that I want to write about...First off, I know a few of you mentioned you wanted to see how I would feel with my 6cc fill. Well at first I was feeling really restricted, and thought this may be the one. Now....I can eat just about anything! Last weekend I had a WHOLE bagel both Saturday and Sunday, now I just don't think that's right! Both Monday and Tuesday night I had pizza for dinner, I did good though and only ate 2 slices, but still I didn't get very full. I was supposed to go for my fill next Wednesday, but I realized my companies holiday party is Friday, so I had to postpone it. Our holiday party is a big to do...we rented out a hotel & spa in NH, have a band coming, a HUGE meal, open bar, the whole 9 yards. I definitely didn't want to be on mushies for that! The best part about the holiday party, is anyone who comes gets a $150 spa credit for the spa at the hotel. My friend and I are going to be getting the Cellulite Compression Treatment! WAHOOOO! I'm not expecting big results or anything, but it sounds fun, and it's FREE! So now my fill is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 18th.

So I know a few of you have mentioned that you have difficulty getting your water in throughout the day, and I have been rocking this so far so I thought I would share how I do it. When I go to the gym in the morning I bring a 20oz water bottle and drink that from about 6-7am. When I get to work I have a 20oz bottle on my desk and drink that from about 9-12, have lunch 12:30-1, then fill the bottle back up and drink another 20oz from 2-5pm. So by the time I get home from work for the day I already have 60oz down, and usually manage another 20oz throughout the night. This system has been working great for me, and although at first I was running to the bathroom every 20 minutes, that has definitely cut down as my body has become accustomed to it.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week, happy HUMP day!