Are you ready Christmas?

I don't know about you, but we are almost done! R.J. has finally decided that Santa does not exist. Can he be that old already? Anyway, 99% of the shopping is done. Everything is in place for my surgery. And of course, we have been prepping for the holiday season daily. In fact, you can click on the link below and watch all the festivities involved. Now, be patient, it takes a while to load.

Merry Christmas!

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Click here for ther O'Neal Family Exercise Video

It's been a while...but I'm home!

It’s been a week since I blogged! I can’t believe it’s been that long. Anyway, my surgery is 16 days away! As Mr. Rogers would say, “Can we say nervous”? Yea, nervous but excited as well! It seems I am all over the place with my feelings. At one point, I can’t wait to start this new part of my life. On the other hand, it’s like “what the heck am I doing”? From everything I have read this is all normal. Now with Christmas right around the corner, there is a sense of urgency right around the corner. But I’m OK!

It’s been a while since Beth, R.J. and I have been to church. I mean we attend, but that’s about it! We attend! Last week, I made a decision to become more active with my church life. Now this is not because of my surgery, but more because I know what’s right. R.J. loves going to New Life. He enjoys the youth and his teacher. Who by the way was a teen in a youth group I worked with several years ago. I’m getting old, no way around it! In fact he went to his first Lock-In a couple of weeks ago. Memories flooded my mind of eating goldfish, mixing all types of food in a blender and drinking it, and doing really stupid things. I totally blame Jay Victory for this time in my life! OK, blame him and Thank Him at the same time! My time with Jay, Bronie, and the gang at Riverside will always have a special place in my heart! Beth enjoys New Life also. She enjoys the freedom of worship as well as the family and friends that are there. I honestly think she feels comfortable for the first time in many years!

Now for me…It’s like coming home! This morning I sang in the choir. This is the first time I have sung in a choir since my days at Riverside. In fact the last time I sang period, was the last service Riverside had. What can I say, while I was singing, I felt a warm feeling, an embrace, a reminder of what worship is! There is nothing like knowing God never leaves your side. That God will wrap His loving arms around you and forgive. That God is no further than an out stretched arm waiting for you to invite Him home! This felt good! Oh yeah, the last time I sang in a choir, I wore an XL choir robe, today…a Large! Whoo Hoo!

Now I realize this post is all over the place, kind of like my feelings! Anyway, keep us in your prayers; there are unseen forces at work in our lives right now. Love you guy!

Have a great big God filled week!

Holiday Quiz!

This is what people do that have too much time on thier hands! Not that I'm bored or anything!

Merry Christmas!

1)What's your favorite holiday TV show?

2)Best gift under $20 (to receive or give)?

3)Ever take a pic with Santa? Do you still have it ?

4)Do you send the same holiday card to everyone or pick out different ones for different people?

5)What's on the Christmas Dinner menu?

Just copy and paste in the comment section!

Random thoughts while wondering what to do with turkey innards!

OMG (Oh My Goodness!) What a weekend!

We laughed, we cried, we threatened to hurt someone, we were cranky, we were tired, we ate, ate and ate! Then we hugged and said, “When can we do this again?” What a weekend!

We left Wed. morning for Phenix City, Al. (pop.:30,067). What normally would have been a 5 ½ hour drive, turned into a 9 hour drive! Water, water everywhere and nair a drop to drink! Yes folks, the rain followed us to Alabama. I was really proud of Beth and RJ though. Beth ended up doing most of the driving. If you know anything about my wife, you know that she will normally fall asleep during any long distance car rides. And as for RJ, he did great! He only waited 3 ½ hours before he uttered the words no parent wants to hear on a road trip…”ARE WE THERE YET?”. Other than an occasional I’m bored, we never heard that phrase again. The people who make duct tape need to be commended for their contribution to society! Me, I tried to sleep. The only thing that kept me awake though, was the rain!

We had a lot of fun spending time with Kris, Dave and the kids! Altogether, there were 10 humans, 4 dogs, and a partridge in a pear tree this weekend! The kids got along quite well. Between skate boards and video games, I don’t think the kids even knew we were there! I don’t think I have ever seen my SIL (Kris) and my niece (Michelle) laugh so much! The 3 of us played a music trivia game called “Song burst”. The object of the game is to complete the lyrics to a song, as one person reads a line from the song. Try it sometimes; it’s not as easy as it sounds. Oh yeah, it was music from the 70/80’s era. We decided that if it included music from 1910, Beth’s dad might have a chance! Sorry Bob!

Thanksgiving Day was an assortment of unbelievable fun, food and fellowship! Oh yeah, did I mention food? As a WLS (pre-op) candidate, I never knew how much food plays an important part of our lives? What I did not realize was the amount of food we consume at a gathering like this! Beth, once again did phenomenal! She tried a little of most stuff, including an olive stuffed with a habanera pepper! Uncle Bubba (Beth’s brother), accidentally gave her a very hot olive! Her stomach pouch (commonly called Alice, in reference to Alice doesn’t live here anymore) was not too happy! Yes friends, she did spit it out. I feel I did pretty well at dinner; it was desserts that became my downfall! Yes there were too many, and I had to sample all of them at least twice! In my mind I kept hearing my WLS friends saying “Bad Scott, Bad Scott” or something like an n obnoxious car alarm blaring, “Step away from the Pecan Pie, Green Jell-O…” I believe you get the message. Never say you will never do something! It always comes back and bites you! I said I would never participate in “Last Meal syndrome”. Guess what? I did. In my shallow mind I kept thinking this would be the last time I could have these good desserts. Now believe me, I know better! I just need to remind myself of the goal. Okay, enough about food, let’s talk about weight gain! Beth did not gain a pound, hooray for her! Me on the other hand, put on 7 pounds! Score: Last Meal Syndrome 7 – Scott 0.

Friday was an experience in itself! I have never participated in Black Friday on a scale of this proportion. We got up at 3:30 a.m. Nashville time, in order to arrive at the malls by 5:00! I will say this, it was enjoyable. I only ran into a few employees that were flustered and rude. The bad part, we did not find the one gift we were looking for, “Monopoly with the electronic banker”. Hopefully it will be back in stock before Christmas. Did you notice I did not say in time for Santa Claus? Yep, RJ has come to the conclusion that Santa does not exist. How do I feel about that? I don’t really know. I have been one of Santa’s helpers for 32 years. For my son to say he does not exist is kind of crushing. In reality, I know he’s growing up (way to fast), and it will be Okay! It’ll take time for me though! Beth walked the entire time we were in the shopping fray and did wonderful. To put here weight loss in perspective, I had her hold onto a 25 lb weight. Now multiply that by 5 and that is what she has lost.

What am I thankful for...FAMILY!

OMG!(Oh My Goodness!) What a weekend! My only comment is this…”When can we do it again?”

If you are interested; I have added the following recipes to my food blog. Just click on the recipe and follow the link.

Scary Sweet Sugar Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

It’s good to be home!
Have a great week!

Oh yeah! This is just for you Kris!

I couldn't resist! Thanks for having us this weekend!

It's real now!

An Updated Timeline!

4/20/07 Weight loss consultation with PCP

4/21/07 WLS Seminar at Centennial

5/21/07 2nd month of 6 month diet

6/22/07 3rd month of 6 month diet

7/24/07 4th month of 6 month diet

8/21/07 5th month of 6 month diet

9/17/07 6th month of 6 month diet

9/24/07 Scheduled Nut appointment and surgical consult

10/3/07 Nutrition appointment

10/8/07 Surgical appointment

10/9/07 Upper GI Scheduled

10/17/07 Checked to see if my paperwork to insurance has been turned in. My insurance rep at the Dr.’s office told me I was missing my 6th month weight consultation. After an evening of anger, the situation took care of itself.
10/18/07 Weight loss packet faxed to Cigna

10/22/07 Weight loss packer returned unreadable

10/23/07 Weight loss packet mailed to CIGNA

10/26/07 Information entered into CIGNA computer. Calling daily to check on progress.

11/2/07 CIGNA reports that packet is in out-patient approval dept. After numerous calls to Dr's Office, situation seems to be corrected. Once again the waiting game has started once again!

11/4/07 Created time line
11/5/07-11/6/07 Calling CIGNA Daily! No answer as of yet!

11/6/07 Paperwork finally recieved in correct department, or at least that is what CIGNA is now reporting!

11/7/07-11/12/07 Calling CIGNA Daily! No answer as of yet!
11/13/07 Good news or bad news? Good news, there is no bad news! Got insurance approval for RNY. Date set for 12/18/07
12/3/07 Pre admit at hospital.
12/18/07 I will get an early Christmas present! Surgery at 5:30a.m.

Let's add another date into this mix! 12/13/07 my sister has her RNY surgery! So, at the Christmas table this year, there will be "3 Losers" on the losers bench! Sometimes it's nice being a loser!

For those who have followed my progress. Thank You for your support and understanding as I make some major changes in my un-healthy life! A lot of thought and prayer has went in to this decision. Let me emphasize that statement. A LOT OF SERIOUS PRAYER has went in to this decision. I love the qoute below by Oliver Wendell Holmes, it speaks very loudly to what I am doing. Read the qoute below and then decide..."Are you at anchor, or ready to sail?"

Have a great day!

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor" ~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

Shelby Bottoms in the Fall

It’s been a while since I just went walking just to take pictures. What with football and such. Well, today I decided it was time to push my tush a little! Especially since my tush will be laid up pretty soon!

I went to a park that is real close to my home, Shelby Park. The purpose of my excursion was to get some pics of the beautiful fall colors before they disappeared for the year. Unfortunately, the fog was pretty thick and made the colors invisible to the naked eye. But that was ok, cause I was able to use it to my advantage. What ended up as a dreary and overcast morn, gave way to some pretty cool pictures.

At one point I got the nature scared out of me! A blue heron was sitting in a tree, not 5 feet above me. He decided it was the right time to fly away and scare a human being. Hey, I did nothing except try and take his picture! Evidently he was a little camera shy!

Let’s see, what else did I find? Oh yeah, I think I found where the Keebler Elves actually live. For those that did not know, my brother is a Keebler Elf. OK, he’s not really an elf, he just works for Keebler.

The good and bad part of the walk was just that…the walk! After walking the greenways for about 1.5 miles in, I realized I would need to walk 1.5 miles back. To make a long story a little shorter, I got lost, ended up at a friends house, turned around, and found my way home. All told, I walked 3.5 miles! That’s not too bad! Maybe after I have surgery, I could start to run a little! Who knows? The Music City Marathon could be in my future…not!!!!

If interested, you can see the rest of the pics I took this morning by clicking on the link below:

Shelby Bottoms in the Fall!

Have a great week, and don't forget to push your tush!

Why is Santa coming early this year?

A good friend of mine from Louisiana once asked me why I am having this surgery. Was it because of personal or medical reasons? You know if I answered that question, it would be a little of both. Personally, I guess it is a little selfish…I would like to be around to watch my son grow! Now I know the next breath I take may be my last! But, I honestly feel this extra weight I am carrying around is definitely hindering my health.

Health wise, I am not in bad shape, but I am not in the best either. It seems I have several co-morbidities that have been known to improve with weight loss. I have the following co-morbidities:

* GERD: Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease
* Acute Hypertension
* Osteoarthritis: Caused by aging and additional weight on weight bearing joints
* Sleep Apnea
* Depression

So, the majority of the problems can be corrected with weight loss. Now, I have been able to lose a little weight on my own, and things seem to be better. The main reason I have lost some weight is not drinking soda. We have replaced the 2-3 cases of soda we were drinking, with 2 cases of water. So, if I am losing weight on my on, why am I going through this surgery? I need help! I need help with the ingestion of sweets. I read a great blog yesterday from “Bariatric Brat” that dealt with Gastric Bypass Surgery. Below is part of the article that speaks to my decision:

“Okay, no sugar-coating the truth here (pun intended) - I was a heavy-duty sweet eater before weight loss surgery. That is the primary reason I chose the gastric bypass. I knew that, with my personality, I would search out ways to get my sugar fix whilst defeating the LAP-BAND. I knew that I actually needed the surgery that would make me violently ill if I ingested too much sugar and/or fat. As I have stated before in this space, I love dumping. It keeps me honest. That being said, I have an occasional sweet - and I enjoy it. I can have a few M&Ms and be completely satisfied with the taste and texture, whereas in the old days, I would inhale the 2-pound bag faster than you could say "Jerry Springer" and not even taste it. These days, I can even have a candy dish in my office and it doesn't bother me whatsoever (of course, I keep my pre-op picture near it, but I digress.) I once heard a post-op put it this way: it's not as though you'll never have chocolate cake again. You aren't going to score the corner piece with the double-frosting and sugared roses, but you will have and even enjoy a small piece of, say, your daughter's wedding cake.”

I thought about Lab Band Surgery, but I knew I could cheat. For me I would survive on the Mickey D’s Milkshake Diet. At lunch, I would have a 32oz. milkshake. That would be 1160 calories and 240 carbohydrates. Not to healthy if you ask me!. Compare that to what I will be having…600 calories and 15 carbs per day!

To say I’m excited and scared and at the same time is an understatement! If you have not figured out by now, my surgery has been approved for December 18 of this year. So for Christmas, I will be getting a new lease on life. My request of you, my family and friends, is to say a prayer. And get ready for a new, skinnier me!

Have a great day!