Hi Everyone!

Today is Tuesday, December 16th and I am just about 16 and 1/2 months out!  Absolutely incredible.  Earlier this month, I had a follow-up appointment at Barix with Dr. Pupkova.  Everything went very well and it was wonderful being back.  Actually, I had such a terrific weekend, and even though I love Boston, it was kinda sad to come home.  Our day started at 5:00 am since we had a pretty early flight.  Once we got into Philly, Adam came with me to my appointment on Friday morning and got to see Barix and meet Dr. Pupkova.  Then, Laureen, Adam and I went to visit with Arlene who had just had her plastic surgery.  We spent the rest of the afternoon/early evening at Arlene's place and even though she was in quite a bit of pain, I thought she looked remarkably well.  Then Laureen, Adam and I went out for dinner, which was very nice since Laureen and Adam got to know each other a bit better.  After spending some great quality time with my Big Sis Laureen, we (Adam and I) made our way to Adam's aunt and uncle's place in Dresher.  Not only do I absolutely adore his aunt and uncle and their dog, but I also am in love with their house.  Aside from a few minor changes, I am pretty sure it is my dream house and I just love being there.  Saturday morning, Adam and I slept in a bit and then around 11:00 am, we started our drive toward Barix for the Saturday Support Group Meeting which started at noon.  It was SO nice for me to get to see everyone who was there and it was really special for me to be able to introduce Adam to this very important part of my life and be able to introduce him to all of you!  We left Barix around 5:00 so we could get back to Dresher to be able to have dinner with Adam's aunt and uncle.  Then Sunday, we flew back to Boston.  It was a quick visit, but one of my all-time favorite weekends with Adam.  Aside from our recent trip to PA, we've been pretty busy here in Boston too -- we just celebrated our 6 month anniversary this past weekend and we have been getting everything ready for me to move in next month.  I'm a little bit nervous I suppose, but mostly, I am very excited!  We (Adam and I) are also headed to Florida this Sunday and we'll be there for a week and for all of Hanukkah, bouncing between visiting with my family and his family.  Should be a nice time but I'm sure we'll really be looking forward to seeing Lara and Logan (Adam's dogs) when we get home!  

Unfortunately, the job that I had a first-round and second-round interview for didn't come through, so I am still in search of a job.  It's definitely frustrating, but I have not lost hope.  If anyone out there has any leads for me, please, please, please get in touch with me!

I hope everyone is doing well.  It was wonderful to see everyone in PA that I was able to see earlier this month and for those who I wasn't able to see, you were in my thoughts for sure.  I hope you all have a very happy holiday season and a wonderful, happy New Year!

Lisa :) 

Hi everyone!  Today is Tuesday, November 4th and on Sunday, November 2nd, I was 15 months out!  Where has all the time gone?!  October seemed to fly by and I completely missed posting an update on my blog.  But, October was actually a really great month.  And after a pretty lousy summer and early start to the fall, it was really nice to have such a great month...especially since I absolutely love the fall and it is my favorite season here in Boston!  So let me try to catch you all up:  Adam and I went to NY for the weekend and the first night of Rosh Hashanah to be with my family -- and despite the stressfulness that sometimes accompanies my visits with my family, we had a really wonderful time.  While we were there, I accomplished a huge goal and had a big WOW moment -- I ran on the treadmill for 30 consecutive minutes.  This is something I had been working toward for the past 10 months (I started running about 4 months after my surgery and could only run for 3 consecutive minutes!)  I felt so happy and proud of myself!  For whatever reason, I haven't been able to run more than 19 minutes outside yet, but I've been running for 30 consecutive minutes on the treadmill ever since that milestone of a day!  I also participated in Nicole's weekly Chat forum on OH and read The Beck Diet Solution book.  I really enjoyed the book and Nicole's weekly Chats very much and aside from a slip-up week last week during Halloween time, I've been doing really well with my eating plan and my exercise plan.  Let's see, what else?!  For the second night of Rosh Hashanah, Adam and I went to his mom's house and then the following weekend, Adam and I went to D.C. to visit with his dad and his step-mom.  We had a really nice time, but since our trip to D.C. was planned a while ago, I wasn't able to go to the OH event in Philly.  I really wish I could have done both!  I am coming to Langhorne, PA next month though so I am really hoping to get to see all my wonderful PA friends, who I miss dearly, and I'm hoping to make it to the second Saturday Support Group meeting at Barix.  Aside from the visits with our families, Adam and I have also spent some weekends alternating between my friends and his friends (some couples, some not) and introducing eachother to our friends which has been really nice.  We also went on a Boston Duck Tour which is something I have been wanting to do since I moved here.  It is a total touristy thing to do -- the vehicle tours around the city both on land, and in the Charles River -- and everyone "quacks" at the Duck Boats as they go by, but I had so much fun doing it!  I really think Adam enjoyed it too :)  Adam and I are definitely in love and I can't wait for you all to meet him!  He is truly special and so wonderful...Another progress update for me is that after spending a fair share of months feeling pretty down and out about law school/job prospects/bad economy/etc, I finally began researching job positions during the month of October and so far, I have applied for 7 positions.  Most of them are human services related and so far, I've had one interview (last week) which went well, and I'm waiting to hear back to see if I am being considered for the second round of interviews.  I will definitely keep you all posted on that.  Today is election day and I voted without any trouble and I also got my flu shot today too.  I think that pretty much sums up everything that's been going on with me at least for the past month and a half or so.  I'm doing much better now than I was doing during July through September and I'm really happy that my life seems to be moving in an upward direction and I'm also really happy to be celebrating 15 months post-op!  I hope everyone is doing really well and please know that I am thinking of all of you, quite often.  Until next time :)

Lisa :) 

Hi everyone!

Today is Monday, September 8 and I was 13 months out on September 2 :)  Hard to believe it's been 13 months already.  Last month I flew back to PA for my 12 month follow-up appointment.  Adam's aunt was kind enough to pick me up from the airport, take me to lunch, and then take me to Barix where I got to meet up with Dennis for the afternoon.  We had a really nice time together and it was terrific to see him.  Then, Dennis and I met up with Eileen, Jan, and Laureen for dinner and then we headed off to the Barix post-op meeting where I got to see lots of my PA friends.  It was so nice to see everyone who was there because I hadn't seen anyone since the Spring Pilgrimage back in May.  After the post-op meeting, I went back to Laureen's house in Maple Shade and hung with her and Dilinger :)  Thursday, I drove around Maple Shade while Laureen was at work and then we hung out on Thursday night together, which was nice.  Friday, I had my follow-up appointment at Barix with Dr. Pupkova.  Everything went really well.  When Dr. Pupkova walked in the room, she actually told me I looked like a different person than the girl she met last year.  I was so happy to hear her say that!  She seemed really proud of me and I'm proud of me too :)  We had a really nice, long chat about many things and it was wonderful to see her!  Later on Friday, I got to meet Laureen's son and daughter-in-law, both of whom I liked very much, and their 2 kids (Laureen's grandchildren) who are absolutely adorable!  While I was meeting them, Adam was flying in from Boston and we were supposed to stay at his aunt and uncle's house in Dresher Friday night and Saturday night.  Adam's aunt and uncle are conservative though and since we're not married, we aren't allowed to stay in the same bedroom together.  Since we hadn't seen eachother for a few days though, Adam surprised me and booked us a room at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue in downtown Philly so we could spend the night together and told his aunt and uncle we would drive to them in Dresher in the morning.  SO, Laureen got to meet Adam for a few minutes, which was really nice :)  And Adam and I had a great evening and morning at the hotel.  The hotel was beautiful and I missed him a lot the previous few days so it was really nice to have some alone time, just the 2 of us :)  Then the next morning, we drove to Dresher and met up with his aunt, and uncle and their sweet Black Lab, Hallie.  Adam has 2 dogs also, by the way!  He has a Golden Retriever named Logan and a Black Lab named Lara.  If you look on the side of my profile under "Member Interests", I had written "I wish I had a Golden Retriever or a Lab" when I first joined OH.  Now I pretty much have both...and an amazing boyfriend ;)  Funny how things work out sometimes ;)  Anyway, later on Saturday, we drove into Lancaster with Adam's aunt and uncle and spent the day out there.  We were in a different part of Lancaster than for the Pilgrimage though.  It was nice to get to see both parts.  Then Sunday, we spent the day in Dresher and flew back to Boston together on Sunday night.  All-in-all, it was a really great trip to PA. 

As many of you know, I've had a lot of stress/tough things going on with me lately so I haven't been on OH very much.  I really want to get my life back on track though and I think I am ready to make a concerted effort to start posting again more regularly...starting today!  So here I am :)  Miss you all already!!!

Talk to you all soon,
Lisa :)

Hi :)  Today is Saturday, August 2, 2008 about 3:00 pm and this time last year I was about an hour away from waking up at Barix and about to begin my new life.  I'll never forget how nervous I was minutes before I was wheeled into the OR, and how Dr. Pupkova helped calm me down, and then I remember seeing my parents waiting outside of my room at 4:00 pm when I woke up.  So much has happened this past year.  Even though I have had a few really sad, tough times, my life for the most part is so much better.  I no longer have high blood pressure, my cholesterol is wonderfully low, my lab results have all been good, I no longer have sleep apnea, my chances of getting diabetes have been significantly reduced, I've lost 85 pounds and generally, I feel really wonderful.  I am able to follow my post-surgery diet and I'm able to exercise regularly and I've met and become friends with some truly special people through OH.  I feel like the PA board is my family and I love them all and appreciate them all very much.  I hope I can teach others the way they have taught me and I hope I can be an inspiration to others the way they have inspired me.  I also have a wonderful, amazing boyfriend, Adam, who has been very supportive of my surgery and I hope you all get to meet him soon!  Here's to another year of "successing"!
Love, Lisa :)