My first running attempt

I sure enjoyed my long weekend. Sorry for those of you who didn't get one!

A couple of my friends wanted to check out a new tea room nearby, The Sword and the Scone. Honestly, I had to ask what is a tea room? I am not a tea drinker, but give me coffee any day, all day.
But I'm always open to trying new things, and I'm so glad we went. It was the cutest little place. So many different teas to choose from, and they bring you all you want. We probably had about 10 different teapots on our table!

Delicious chicken salad croissant

The owner made all the chandeliers herself. They were so cute.

The thing that bonded the 3 of us together years ago was we were all desperate for a baby, but none of us could get pregnant. Walking through that impossible time in my life with them saved my life.
 One of the girls now has 2 precious adopted babies!
It's so great getting together on occasion and still being able to understand and encourage eachother.

Then I got my hair done. I seem to be getting blonder each time...and that does not hurt my feelings.

I was really looking forward to yesterday though. Temps in the 70's and sunny! A perfect day for running. And since I haven't ran in 2 weeks, it was going to be perfect.
 I quickly realized I was not ready to run yet though. I ran about 3 steps and had to go back to walking. I can only describe the feeling as the skin being ripped off my body in the areas I had lipo on. It felt like an intense burning. I walked 3 miles, and every time I would try to run, same thing.

I was so disappointed! I thought for sure I'd be able to run by now.
Another runner who had lipo over a month ago told me she still can't run. I know it's different for everyone though.
 I will keep on walking (which doesn't feel great, but is doable), keep adding on the miles, and hopefully be running again soon. But I will be smart about it too, I'm not going to hurt myself.

 Have a great week, my friends!

5 things Friday and my first post op appt

Happy Friday! I hope you guys had a great week!

Here's a few things from mine:

1. Look at this baby! This is Hank. He is my precious nephew. I mean have you ever?? He lives close by, but I sure don't get to see him often enough. He is one classy kid.

2. I don't remember if I told you guys that I got eyelash extensions a couple months ago. At the time, I was in love with them.

They are high maintenance though, I had to get them filled in every 2 weeks, which just seemed way too often. I needed to take them off for my surgery, and when I did- I was shocked at what was left of my poor natural lashes. It was awful. What few I actually had left, were short and stubbly. I mostly have bald patches. Thankfully eyelashes grow back.
 No more eyelash extensions for me!

3. Since Jeremy's Dad passed away, he quit his job of 10 years at Sprint, to take over his Dad's business at Primerica Financial Services. This has been a dream of his for many years, although he always dreamed of working with his Dad.
 Last night he officially became an RVP with the company, taking his Dad's place. So they had a big meeting and the whole family celebrated. It was really special.

 My sweet stepsons :)
(My first big outing since my lipo, other than work)

4. Wednesday I had my first post op visit with my Dr. Since my surgery I've lost 3.5 lbs., which really impressed him. He said most people stay the same or gain. I told him I'm serious about losing the rest of this weight!
 He said I was still very swollen and he and the nurse couldn't believe how badly I was bruised. She said "he sure did a number on you, didn't he?" I said I'm glad he did!
He showed me a picture of the 4 liters of fat he removed. It was so gross! (That's like 2, 2 liters of coke!)  He's very happy with my progress and wants to see me again before my half marathon in 3 weeks. (3 WEEKS!! Yes, I'm freaking out)

5. I get a 3 day weekend, the temps are going to be in the 70's, AND I'm going to attempt to run for the first time!

Movies and a hospital visit

My weekend went a little different than I expected, but it ended up great, which is all that matters!

Charity and I went to see a movie Friday night.

My sweet niece and I went to see "The space between us" on Saturday. It was a movie filled weekend.

My mom's sister passed away this weekend. I never met her. She lived in a group home in Texas. She had the mental capacity of a 2 year old.
 My mom was the oldest of 7, so she grew up taking care of her, and Melinda adored her big sister. She told me that Melinda loved to run, and one thing that aggravated her more than anything was that she couldn't run anymore because she was in really poor health.
I love to think about her running now, totally whole in her mind and body.

Can I just say, how gorgeous is my mom?!

Going through pictures and memories

It has now been 10 days since my lipo, and I'm doing great. I had a little scare yesterday when several people, including my Dr, were concerned that I may have a blood clot. I had all the signs and symptoms of having a blood clot in my foot. I had been having trouble breathing for several days, so we thought it was possible it went to my lung. How scary does that sound!!

 Jeremy took me to the ER and they got me in super fast. We were there for about 4 hours, while they ran every test possible.

 While we were waiting on the results, I noticed my breathing became normal.
 They came in with my results, and every test was perfect! No blood clots, no fluid around my lungs, no heart failure, nothing! I was so so happy and relieved, of course. They attributed everything to post surgery swelling. I know even though this surgery was a 'vain' thing, I still know God was taking care of me.
Btw, I have created a private IG of my lipo journey. It is katlipojourney. It's not pretty though, just so you know.

Here's my declaration for the rest of the year: no more death, no more hospitals, no more scary moments. That's not too much to ask, right??

Liposuction Recovery Day 5

Today is day 5 since my liposuction, and it has been the best day so far.

As I mentioned before, I wasn't only dealing with soreness, but a couple incisions were very painful. But as of this morning I can tell they are healing, and hardly hurt at all.

I went back to work yesterday and just wanted to cry all day! It was very rough. Up until then I'd only been reclining, laying down, or standing. So sitting straight up in a chair all day hurt. And I even got a brand new huge bruise on my upper stomach from my compression garment because of that.

Trying to smile through the pain

Today was a great day. Still very sore, and I move like an injured, old lady, but that's ok!
I've been walking every day around the house, usually just a mile or two. When I got out of work today it was pouring rain, and I didn't have an umbrella. So, I tried to run to the car. I very quickly realized I can't run yet!!

I also got my best sleep last night. I have to sleep on my back, which is almost impossible for me, but I must be getting used to it, because it's getting easier.

My poor body looks like it was put in a washing machine spin cycle. So many bruises, some small, some huge, all different colors. Cuts, holes, marks- it is such a mess!! Of course I take tons of pictures, but I know most people don't wanna see all that!

 I have not regretted doing this for one second. I know it was the best decision for me!

If you guys have any questions at all, feel free to ask.

Liposuction recovery day 1

Its been a little over 24 hours since I had liposuction (Writing this Saturday). I'm feeling better than I thought I would.
Everything went great, no problems at all. My Dr removed 9 lbs of fat!
In my consultation he had told me I had a lot in my stomach, so probably most of it was there. My stomach has always been my trouble spot, I've never been able to get rid of it, no matter how hard I tried!
 He also lipo'd my flanks (back fat), inner/outer thighs, and my hips.

My morning started at 6 a.m. We had to be there at 7:30. I had no problem waking up, I was so excited! No makeup or contacts...eeek!

I talked to the nurse, Dr, and anesthesiologist for a little bit, laid down on the table, and I was gone!
Next thing I know, I was in a wheelchair trying to open my eyes to see my nurse and Jeremy.
Jeremy said the first thing I said was "I'm so happy!" Haha!
 I was shaking real bad, I remember asking if the chair was vibrating. Not sure why I was shaking, maybe I was just cold.

They loaded me in the car and we headed home. I thought I would be real sleepy, but I wasn't. I took a short nap after awhile, but I felt really good.

I get to wear this thing for the next month! 24/7 for 2 weeks, then 12 hours a day for 2 weeks.

The blood is because the incisions in my thighs are bleeding quite a bit. One more than the other. If I stand for more than a couple minutes, it starts pouring out blood, even though it has a couple pieces of thick gauze pads on it. Which then causes me to almost pass out. It's a little scary! I wonder how can so much blood come out of this tiny hole! Jeremy said our bathroom looks like a crime scene after changing the dressings. I did text my Dr about it and he said it's normal. He said it's not only blood but also fluids. It should stop soon. All the other insicions are no longer bleeding.

My gf Charity, dropped off some goodies for me. She knows me well!

But, I gave them away. I am going to be very careful about not gaining weight back, and to keep losing the rest. (About 20 lbs) The good thing is, he removed the fat cells,  so fat can never go back to the same areas. But it can go to other areas and cause you to look very dis-proportioned. I do not want that!

 Jeremy fixed me some delicious chicken noodle soup. It was perfect.

Then I had a crazy craving for blueberry yogurt. And I still do.  I would rather have blueberry yogurt than anything else, even ice cream! I know, it's shocking. So one of my sweet sisters went to the store and bought me some. Oh happy day.
Other than that, I've only been eating saltine crackers. I can't take pain meds on an empty stomach.

I do have a massive bruise and swelling on both legs. But when I take this garment off, I can already see such a big difference! He said I won't see the final result for 3 to 6 months, because there's a lot of swelling and it takes a while for your body to settle into its new shape. But I can already tell a difference, especially in my stomach.

I walk around inside the house as often as I can, pretty much until my leg starts bleeding. I'm craving some kind of activity! I know that will help with the soreness as well.

 I'm not supposed to go back to work until Tuesday. Now I'm wishing I had taken the whole week off. Not because I'm in any pain, but to go from sitting to standing is very hard! My stomach is real sore and feels very heavy. But once I'm walking around, I feel fine, it's just that changing of positions.

I have to give a shout out to Jeremy. He has been so wonderful and taken such excellent care of me. He has supported me in this from the very beginning. There's no way I could've done this without him!

 I truly am so happy!  I'm so so glad I had liposuction. I haven't regretted it for a moment!