I walked last night for 3.5 miles. It was pretty humid out so I waited till 8 o'clock. I did walk very fast though. It was the first time my back would allow me to walk. I'm having sciatic back pain again. I took it slow. But tonight I just don't have the energy to go walk. I worked 11 hours today. I have a meeting in Cincinnati tomorrow so I had to get a lot of work done today that can't be done tomorrow. The good thng is I don't have to go in very early tomorrow. I *hope* to walk in the morning before work. I'm going in at 9 then leaving about 11 for Cincy. the meeting lasts to *hopefully* 4:00. The bosses from Cincy don't take into account that it's a 2 hour drive for us out of towners. I'll probably be exhausted again tomorrow night. I also have to find something to wear. Dressing everyday is a no brainer because we wear polo's and khaki's in the rehab gym. Tomorrow is business casual. All the big wigs will be there so I have to dress nice but I also have to treat patients for 2 hours before I leave. Oh well....I need to get things ready so I'm not rushing around tomorrow.

Non race fans ignore!

I had a little excitement this weekend. I live close to Eldora Speedway, a dirt track owned by NASCAR driver Tony Stewart. My friend Paula and I go to the late model races a couple times a year and get into the pits. We've seen Tony many times but he's not too personable when he's there. That's understandable. He doesn't like to be mobbed by fans. Well, Friday night we were standing outside Tony's pit when we spotted Clint Bowyer (driver of the #07 Jack Daniels NASCAR car). Boy is he hot!!! Turns out one of our racing friends, Kevin drove Clint from the airport to the track. Kevin was going to try to introduced us to him but we took things into our own hands when we saw Clint headed to the consession stand. Clint was super nice and I actually got my picture taken with him. I stuck my foot in my mouth when I told him he was my #2 best driver. He said, "NUMBER 2!!" It was funny I don't think anyone really recognized him. He's not as big as Dale Jr, of course, but he's a big time driver.

(see new post below....I posted two in one day!)

I did get out for that 4 mles walk last weekend. Actually 4.3 mles! But nothing since. Excuses--working 10 hours a day, an ear infection and my sciatic nerve acting up again.

Work hasn't gotten any better. I swear I will leave early tomorrow. I desperately need to take better care of myself. The stress of work is catching up to my body (hence the ear infection and back pain) I've been eating very crappy. Basically, anything that will go down. A couple times for lunch I've taken two bites, gotten stuck and gave up.

I was down to 219 Saturday. Wednesday was my 9th month bandivesry! I've lost 32 pounds and here are my measurements:

• Waist, before 42.75 inches---now 39
• Hips, before 51.25 inches---now 48.25
• Bust, before 42.5 inches---now 39
• I can comfortable get into my stretch size 16 Levi's
• My work pants (khaki Levi Dockers size 16) are loose.

My results aren't stellar but I know I couldn't have done it by myself. I tried many, many times only to gain more. I probably would have gain 10 -20 pounds in the last 9 months....so looking at it that way...I've saved myself from 42-52 pounds. YEAH!!

Going out for a 4 mile walk before it gets too hot. It's suppose to be in the 90's today with high humidity. I'll report back later. I just realzed for a band journal that I don't talk about what I eat or how I exercise much. So, I'm going to be more accountable to this journal. Thanks for everyone reading. I just discovered more band blogs. So, I'll be adding to the links on the sidebar soon.

My boss is pissing me off. He is so demanding. I will only see him about once a month but he terrorize me over e-mail and the phone. The other managers in my region are feeling the same way. We're not use to beng micro managed. Needless to say, I'm extremely stressed and things are only gettng worse with people on vacation and I had one call in sick for the rest of the week. I'm so tired. But instead of clmbing in bed, I'm here updating.

Improving my body has been the last thng on my mind. I was so upset at lunch today that I couldn't eat. Stress can make your band tight. I took 3 bites of my lunch and felt tightness in my chest and I started sliming. Luckily, it only lasted a few minutes and everything went down okay. I really haven't been having any trouble eating. I've finally got it in my head to eat slower and chew, chew, chew.

Off to bed...

My weigth has bobbled up again to 223. Earlier in the week I wanted to eat everything under the sun and on Thursday I finally found out why. My period. And why wouldn't I know that, you ask? Because I'm oblivious....no I'm not kidding. I was on birth control for so long that I could set my watch to when I'd start but my doc took me off BC when I got a blood clot. Now, I honestly don't know when it is coming and I just lose track of time. I really need to keep track. I'm thinking about going back on BC though. The blood clot was a fluck in my opinion. A combination of my broken ankle, BC, and taking a 600 mile trip with only short gas stops. My period are getting heavier and more uncomfortable after 2 (?) years off BC. Plus maybe I'll need the birth control for it's intended purpose one of these days. It sux being single.

I'm off....I need to get up at 5 to go to work. I have some important deadlines tomorrow and a co-worker is off for the next 2 days. I'm be glad when summer is over in that respect. Everybody wants to take vacation. I haven't had a week with a full team in a long time. And I'm tired of working overtime!

Have you seen the ticker inching downward? I've lost 6 pounds since gettng home from vacation last week. YEAH me! This is the lowest I've been since June of 2004. When I graduated from PTA school. My co-workers haven't even seen me at this weight. I have a fellow lap-bander at work called me skinny this week. I'm hardly skinny but I'm glad she noticed. She was one of the reasons I decided to get the band. I didn't even know our insurance covered lap band until she got it. She did great losing 70 pounds in 9 months and then she got pregnant. She really wanted to lose more before becoming pregnant but shit happens. She was surprised but happy because infertility was one of the reasons she got the band.

I'm a little sad today. It's 4th of July and I'm not doing anything. I'm tired of being alone. Just as I wrote that my friend Lori called and she wasn't doing anything either. So, now I don't feel so bad. I had tried to call her earlier and see if she wanted to go see firework. And she didn't answer. I thought she was out doing somethng exciting without me! But no she was just outside and didn't hear the phone. We may go to the Lake tomorrow for a little while. My cousin has a place on the Lake but we aren't as close anymore since we don't work together. I've been bummed that she hasn't called and invited me up. My friend Lori is also my cousin's aunt. (Oppisite sides of the famly) Anyway, we're going up tomorrow night. My cousin is not formal and expects people to just drop in but I always feel weird not being invited. Guess I've always been a little parnoid about making sure people want me around. I'm always afraid I'm in the way.