Just thought I would share our family portraits.
We recently had a church directory done, so Beth wanted have portraits made for it. You know the deal, you pay a set price and you get a free 8 x10. Well, of course you always have to buy extra!
RJ was amazed at the photography equipment the guy had. He kept telling me to ask questions about this and that. If the truth be told, I was pretty impressed as well!
Anyway, here are the shots we had done.
Enjoy!
For a long time on this blog, I’ve talked about support and what that means. Well, over the last 2 weeks, I’ve been reminded how lucky I am to have support. Throughout my journey of “extreme proportions”, I’ve met and befriended several people, not only here in Tennessee, but on the internet as well!
Over the last 2 weeks I’ve been busy. Busy gathering with family, friends, work and my support groups! Heck, there’s even two support group functions did not make this year! But through these gatherings, I’ve found friendships that not only have pulled me out of the darkest pits of depressions, but also allowed me to scream from the mountain tops how lucky I am!
I was noticing on the Obesity Help Boards the other day how someone from my own state was looking for support in her area. I found that odd, but then thought of my friends in Washington, California, and even Germany, who do not have the privilege and pleasure of meeting with people of like minds on a regular basis!
Anyway, my new hobby of photography has allowed me to capture these moments, and I thought I would share them with you. Sit back, grab a cup of java and enjoy!
Recovering Fatty Christmas Breakfast (RF06.com)
Obesity Help Dinner Club Christmas Party (OH TN. Forum)
Obesity Help Lunch Bunch Christmas Party (OH TN. Forum)
I have also put these photos to music, so turn up the volume, and enjoy Denver and the Mile High Orchestra!
Seventeen thousand, five hundred and twenty hours ago, or there abouts, something major happened. Do you know what it is? If not, let’s look at it from a different perspective.
17,520 hours ago and 2960 ounces ago…
Have you figured it out yet? Well, let me share with you then. Two years and 180 pounds ago, I had gastric bypass surgery. My life went from being an over shaped, out of weight person who had trouble living, to who I am today!
Did a lot change? I don’t think so. Yes, I’m a lot lighter than I was then. I’m able to sleep through the night without having gastric reflux. I’m able to get around a lot easier without those extra pounds. I don’t have to buy my clothes in the “Big and Tall” department anymore. I don’t have to take those extra prescriptions for high blood pressure, arthritis, gastric reflux, or diabetes’s.
Yes my life has changed, that’s for sure. But I’m still me, and that’s all there is to that!
I’m a big numbers fan. No not the TV show, just numbers in general! To me, data is where it’s at. Here’s a breakdown of “my numbers”:
Pants size: 54 to 36
Shirt size: 4x to Med.
Weight: 375 to 190
BMI: 45.7 to 25.3
I’m still overweight, but only by a .5 point, according to the BMI guru’s!
This past week my wife had her plastic surgery. During some downtime at the hospital, I did a lot of thinking. Would I do this again? Yeah, I would. Would I do the same surgery? Yeah I probably would. Would I recommend weight loss surgery to people who have a problem? Yeah, I probably would. The only thing I would change is this…I would exercise more!
Where am I now? I’m at a point in my journey that things are still changing. I’ve found out recently that sugar does not bother me as much as it did before. I can eat most things, as long as I eat them in moderation. This in itself has caused a few bumps in the road. In the last 6 months, since our Florida vacation, I became aware that I had put on 23 unwanted pounds. I noticed my clothes were fitting a little tighter around the waist. My shirts were a little snug. So what did I do? Back to basics baby!
And it still works! I have lost 14 pounds in the last month, and am back down to below 200. Woo Hoo!
If someone asked me for advice on weight loss surgery, there are a few things I would tell them:
1) Research until you can’t research anymore. Educate yourself on all that is out there.
2) Find someone you trust and ask them questions. Don’t look for someone who is going to give you the answers you want. Look for someone who will challenge you to look for the solutions that are right for you.
3) Don’t ever say this won’t happen to me! Case in point – I’ll never gain back my weight,. Look at what happened to me!
4) Search out a support system that meets your needs. It can be a hospital related support group, or a peer related support. It does not matter as long as it fulfills your needs!
The benefits of my surgery go way beyond just losing weight! The relationships that have been forged in my journey have been an instrumental part of where I am today. I refuse to name names, but you ladies and gentlemen know exactly who you are, and I appreciate it very much!
I’m not a perfect weight loss surgery patient; I’m a human being who suffers from a food addiction. I’m not perfect!
May the upcoming year be filled with laughter, love, and a sense of who you were, who you are, and who you are becoming!
Seventeen thousand, five hundred and twenty hours ago my life changed…and it’s still changing every single second of the day!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! ♥
375 pounds
200 pounds
I also noticed how I went from holding a wine glass, to holding a coffee cup!
Changes still amaze me!
The other day, I had to make a run over to Baptist Hospital. No, I wasn’t sick or in too much pain, I needed to visit the Protein Queen (aka: Recovering Fatty) , and pick up some supplies! You see, I’m just like one of these guys you see standing on the corner with a sign that says…”Will work for food!” Only I do computer/blog work for protein :)
I had also picked up RJ from school, so he went with me. When we left, we found a parking garage near by, and thought it would be a great place to take pictures from. So, we grabbed the camera from the trunk, set up the tripod, and started snapping photos. The boy was like a kid at Christmas , running around hollering at what he found from his perch on high! The highlight, he found his school. He proudly proclaimed that his school was 15 miles away and he could still see it. In truth, it was less that a mile from where we were!
I love color, there I said it. I’m not a black and white type person. This is a renovated Government Housing Project near RJ’s school. Heck, these house’s look better than mine!
Just a simple parking garage at Baptist hospital. It was the angles and lines that drew my eyes to it.
But in the midst of filth and grime, in the center of all that is wrong with the world, one light shines through. God’s grace is always there to embrace us, to love us, and to shower us with beauty! Right there, on that cloudy day, the heavens opened, and He proclaimed that He is still there and on His throne!
I love my city!
Have a wonderful day!
Recently, during my searches for anything to do with photography, I came across a truly remarkable blog…The Pioneer Woman.
This woman does everything you can think of! She is a homeschooling mom, who entertains and throws dinner parties you would not believe. How do I know this? Cause she post photos of the said events, hence photography!
She post some of the most interesting and tantalizing recipes I have ever seen. What does this mean to me? That I must deconstruct the recipe and make it weight loss friendly if possible.
I saw this one the other day and thought it would go perfect for a meeting I had at work. I was right! By the time I got to take a picture, there were only 2 left.
Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins (With Cream Cheese Frosting)
Muffins:
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup Splenda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 heaping cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional!)
2 tablespoons Splenda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 24 mini muffin tins.
Sift flour, Splenda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until all incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined. Pour into greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle generous amounts of cinnamon-sugar over the top of each unbaked muffin.
Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Ice with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup softened I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
4 ounces fat free cream cheese
1/2 pound powdered sugar (I took Splenda and ran it through the blender to make my own!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins, or place into a large pastry bag with a large star tip and go crazy!
Store in fridge, as icing will soften at room temperature.
…but today is now!
One of the blogs I read on a daily basis is…The Pilgrim’s Chronicles.
Bill is a very talented photographer, a devoted husband, a proud grandfather…you get the idea, I could go on and on about this man. But when it boils down to it, he is just that, a man who loves the Lord
His blog is undoubtedly one of the most satisfying reads I have each and every day. Well, yesterdays entry was truly meaningful to me. It asked the question, “How Good Are You?”
Now, initially I thought about photography. My mind went back to that first photo I posted on FLICKR. It is Hazard Cave up on the Cumberland Plateau.
Then my mind raced to one of the last photos I posted of Nashville. I could definitely see that I was better than before. My skill has grown, I look at things differently than I did back then. I feel more confident with my abilities.
But then something smacked me hard in the face. No, it was not a frying pan thrown by my wife, it was God. In the deep, dark recesses of my mind and heart a question arose…”Do you love Me, more than you did yesterday?”
WOW! A journey of extreme proportions! Whatever road my life takes, whatever mountains I must climb, I want to answer the question with a resounding YES! I love God more today than I did yesterday! And tomorrow…even more!
PEACE!
Yeah, it’s been quite a while since I visited my old friend here. My dad even said I better attend to Bald-Is-Beautiful, or he was going to stop reading! What’s up with that?
You know, this blog has been a very good partner in my weight loss journey. It has been there for the good times and the bad. It never pointed fingers when I put a little weight back on. Not once did B-I-B laugh at me and say “I told ya!” So, why have I forsaken thee?
LIFE! That’s the answer, LIFE! Capital letters and all…LIFE! You see, since I have had my weight loss surgery, I have been presented with a new beginning. A do over if you will. A chance to do all things that I never could.
My wife and I have been married for 13 years. In that time, we went on a few vacations. Granted, most of them were in state. In fact, all of them were in state except for 1! This year alone, we have been to Florida and Texas on family vacations. We have remodeled our house from top to bottom. We’ve been able to do things that I never would have even attempted before. This brings me to an idea I want to share.
I’m thinking of taking Bald-Is-Beautiful in a new direction. B-I-B will always be my baby, my outlet for me and me alone. But B-I-B will start to change over the next few months. I am seriously thinking of trying my hand a professional photography. Don’t laugh at me, not just yet anyway.
In the past several years, I have really gotten into taking photos. I love the thrill of chasing the light, looking for that one shot that just makes it all worth while. And I think I’ve done pretty good at finding them. I have several people in my life that keep urging me in this direction. Not pushing me mind you, just urging me to take a serious look at it.
I have 2 or 3 photo shoots set up right now for very dear friends. They want me , can you believe that, to shoot their family portraits. So, we will see what happens with them, and then go on from there!
You can take this to the bank though (this is for my Dad and FIL)…I won’t be quitting my day job any time soon!
BIB Photography is just another chapter in my life. Or better yet…another road in my “Journey of Extreme Proportions”!
C Ya!
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