Mother's Day 2013...

Mother's Day.  What a great day to show our appreciation to our Mothers, Grandmothers and those who acted as our Mothers when the necessity arose.

I am incredibly grateful for Mom.  She is truly an amazing woman.  She does so much for me and my family.  We are all so blessed to have her.  When I think about all that she does for me, my hubby, my dad and my sister...I want to pass out from exhaustion.  She's more than I could ever ask for in a Mom.   And she's beautiful as well, which is lucky for me since I'm getting quite a few of her features ;) .  I love you, MOM!  Happy Mother's Day!

 I like days like today.  Days where we can just relax and do whatever.  It is SO nice!  Especially when your allergies decide to take over your entire body and you feel like a fish out of water.  And because my body doesn't respond normally to the allergy testing, or the gastric bypass for that matter, I can't have allergy shots.  And the over the counter meds do NOTHING.  So, I'm doing the essential oils thing.  It's been helping a little.  I just need to find the right combo for my body so that I can alleviate a lot of the symptoms.  And, I'll explain more about my body not responding normally to the gastric bypass in another post.  But despite the allergies, it's been a very relaxing day. 

I woke up this morning and made chocolate Malt-O-Meal for breakfast.  SO yummy!  I know it's not on the approved eating list, but a splurge now and again is ok. :D While I was cooking breakfast my husband and step-daughter excitedly wrapped my present and couldn't WAIT for me to open it.  It kinda makes me giggle.  They gave me a card that read:

When you have a mom who listens and doesn't just lecture, who laughs with you and thinks you're funny (maybe even smart)...you're lucky.
When you have a mom who's always on your side but kicks your butt when she has to...
you're lucky even when you don't realize it.
When you have a mom who pretty much lets you know you're love no matter what, you've won the Lucky Kid Lottery.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom,
from lucky you-know-who.

Super sweet, right?!  Well, the part that REALLY gets to me is what my step-daughter wrote:

"Happy Mother's Day Ember.  Hope it will be great.  I love you.  You are the best mom ever!"

Now, a lot of you will think "That's what my cards say every year."  Here's the difference.  I've been her step-mom for almost 3 years and this is the first time she's said that.  And it's only the second time she's referred to me as her Mom.  BEST.  Mother's.  Day.  EVER. 

I hope you all have the BEST Mother's Day EVER as well. 

Happy 2013!!!

Well, it's officially the first day of the new year and I'm LOVING it! I'm excited for the prospect of what this year will hold.

Last year was kind of a rough year for our family . Scott had sinus surgery in July, sliced through a tendon below his thumb and had tendon repair surgery in September . He is doing well now. He has a lot of movement back in his thumb but still has some work to do to regain most of the rest of the functionality back . I'm excited to see his progress in 2013. Scott also celebrated his 20th anniversary at his work . I'm so proud of him!

Breann had her share of difficulty, too . The poor girl was sick about 6 or 7 Times last year . Miss  Breann also found out that she has a condition with her back requiring physical therapy and possible rods in her spine . They also informed her of a condition in which her bones in her legs aren't straight like they should be, thus causing frequent broken bones . She's working hard on her therapy because she loves sports and doesn't want to give them up . I'm excited to see her progress and determination during 2013.  Breann celebrated her 14th birthday in March and got her first surprise party! I love that girl .

I began 2012 with laryngitis which turned into my voice becoming obsolete .  After numerous antibiotics and vocal chord scopes,  it was determined that I had a sinus infection that was draining down my vocal chords causing my inability to talk .
In March I had sinus surgery and things were looking up . After months
 of research I decided to have weight loss surgery. on 11/2/12 I had a roux-en-y   Gastric Bypass . My recovery was less than pleasant and took about a week longer than most.  Within  a few weeks after the surgery I should have been getting 48-64 ounces of water. Well...I wasn't. In fact, I'm still not . Pretty much, since the surgery, I've been consistently nauseated . Drinking makes it worse . And I've tried everything...literally everything . I've had 3 endoscopic procedures where they displayed the opening to my stomach because there was swelling . I had 1 er visit for dehydration, 1 outpatient iv hydration, 6 days admitted to the hospital, home health care, and right now I'm on my second hospital admission and I've been in the hospital starting on 7 days . They still continue to work at finding the origination of the nausea . But, until it's figured out...I'll continue to sit here...eating the "yummy" hospital food .

Aside from our personal challenges, we've had some things happen that affected all of us . We had to get rid of our 3 cats in December because they were peering on things .  As in, we had 2 couches and now there's none . We also had a slow leak in our basement causing mold in the laundry room and Breann' s room .

So, there you have it . our 2012 in a nutshell . I am confident 2013 Will be the best year yet!

Date!

I'm sooooo excited!!! My surgery date is officially set! It's 2 weeks from today on Friday, November 2nd. I was going to have it on the 29th of October but my friend Keri REALLY wanted me to have my surgery the same day as hers so we are having it on the 2nd. I was actually excited to have it on the 29th but it'll be cool to have a weight loss buddy!

Update on Scott:
His thumb is unwrapped now but he's still wearing the brace. He has 4 exercises to do on his thumb daily. His thumb is pretty gross and swollen. I'm not jealous.

Aside from me being exhausted all the time, everything else is good. Can't wait to start on my new journey!!!



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So-Far...

It's been a while since I've written any updates. Mostly because there hasn't been much share. I've mostly been waiting...and it's killing me! But...I do have some good news! I had my physical with the doctor and just yesterday...they submitted the information to the insurance company so if everything goes as planned I will have the surgery in 3-4 weeks! Yea!!!

Scott has also been having some excitement as well. He decided, about 3 weeks ago on Sept 10, that he was tired of having a fully functioning hand. So to remedy this situation he sliced the tendons under his thumb with a knife while opening a package. He had surgery on Friday the 14th. That next Tuesday the 18th he started physical therapy. He has 4 more weeks of wearing his "sexy" splint then we will see what happens.


Scott also did a sleep & narcolepsy study last weekend. We are still awaiting the results from that.

I hope my next post will be for a surgery date...and soon!!!

PsychiSleepoTimpaCave

Yesterday I met with a psychiatrist. in order to have the weight loss surgery they need to make sure you're not crazy, psychotic, suicidal, depressed or anything that could be of harm to you or others. I'm SURE there's a very good reason for it but it all seems over the top to me. Not only did I have a 45 minute evaluation with the psychiatrist, but I had to take 3 tests.

The first test was answering different questions about history, have you been suicidal, etc. etc.

The second and third tests brought me back to my school years. That's right...bubble tests. There were 175 questions on the first one and 165 questions on the second. And they had most of the same questions on both. Lame. I know, they're trying to see if your answers change. I get it...but obnoxious nonetheless.

After I got home, Cherissa, Corey, Scott and I went to dinner at Chili's. That was an adventure. It was being remodeled and it looked so weird. We enjoyed it though. We even decided that we should do it more often. I think that's an excellent plan.

We then went to Walmart. Corey needed new shoes, I needed sunglasses and Scott and I needed Powerade.

After that, Corey and Cherissa, along with Cherissa's brother Fred(erick) and his girlfriend Stephanie that are visiting from California, crashed at our place. We stayed up 'till 1:30 I. The morning playing bowling and Just Dance 2 on the Wii. Scott and I then proceeded to go upstairs and fix the bed so we could sleep. They watched Dan in Real Life. I have no idea when they went to bed.

We all got up this morning and got ready to go to Timpanogos cave. As I was going through my tub 'o shoes I found out that they had ALL BEEN PEED ON. I am soooooo pissed. We've been having issues with Ores peeing on things. I'm pretty sure it's due to Kieshie invading "Ores territory" but I've had it. Rugs, couch (that we had to throw out), blankets, OUR BED, my shoes, clothes... I'm done. I bought a magnetic cat door, litter box and food and water containers just for her. With the magnetic door she will be the only one able to go in and out so it's just hers. I'm hoping it's just that she needs her own space. If she pees again it will be a trip to the vet. If there's nothing wrong and she does it again...I'll have to get rid of her. And I'll cry. A lot. I've had her nearly 6 years. She's my baby and I love her so much but I can't continue to deal with this. And technically I could get rid of Kieshie but honestly...I think I like Kieshie more. Sad but true.

Anyway, I'm back from my rant. We stopped at McDonalds on the way to Timpanogos to grab breakfast and headed up. We got to the mountain and started to hike up. Let me just say that it is SO FLIPPING STEEP!!! I got 1/3 of the way up and had to stop. Between my asthma, 1.5 lung capacity and the shoes that were hurting my feet because the others got peed on, thats all I could go. I'm really quite proud of myself for making it that far though.

So, I'm sitting here waiting for the 5 of them to get back. I've been here for about 2 hours I'd venture. Then we will make our way down the last 1/3 of the mountain and grab lunch. I'm pretty hungry. And my lungs hurt. Go figure.

My Journey...

I honestly don't know where to start. I guess I'll start from the beginning. On the first day, God created... Whoops. Too far back ;)

I guess the story would start back about when I was 9. At that time in my life is when I started gaining weight. Several factors contributed to it. Genetics is always a factor. But also, my family KNOWS how to cook. And I mean REALLY well. If you've never had my family's culinary deliciousness...you should. A-MA-ZING!!!

Aside from that, I hate exercise. I think that's attributed mostly to the fact that I have asthma. It was diagnosed when I was in 8th grade but I'm pretty sure I've had it from the time I was 5.

I was overweight all through jr. high and high school. and it just progressed from there.

Then in 2006 I was in a car accident where I got 2 bulging discs in my low back and 4 bulging discs in my neck. Which limited my mobility.

From that point on I remained about the same size until after I married the MOST amazing man in the world. The the comfort factor set in and I gained more weight.

I've done several weight loss attempts, all minimally successful but nothing successful enough to continue doing it to lose all the weight I need to.

So, that brings me to the cause for this blog post. I've been struggling with this for over 18 years of my life. There are so many emotional struggles, not to mention physical struggles that accompany being overweight. I watch as Scott and Breann go ride bikes together, play tag and even basketball together and it makes me sad because I can't do those things with them. It breaks my heart. Then there's always being self conscious about myself when I'm around other people and I'm always worried about what others think. Really, it's just second nature to me because I've been doing it most of my life. However, the pain and sadness and guilt never goes away. Even writing about this makes me want to tear up.

That's why I've decided to make a significant change, not only in my life, but in the life my family as well.

After extensive...I mean EXTENSIVE... research I have decided to have weight loss surgery. I will be getting the gastric sleeve procedure done. I've submitted the initial paperwork and it's been accepted by my insurance company. I now will need to see a dietician (which I have an appointment with on the 22nd), a psychiatrist (which I have an appointment with on Monday) and then it'll be time to schedule an appointment with the doctor and schedule the surgery.

I know so many people that have had the weight loss procedures done and every single one of them says it's the best decision they've made in their lives. Now that it's covered so many people at work are getting it done. Everyone is very open about it and I will have an amazing support group. I also have a very supportive family and Scott and Breann are amazing. They're so supportive as well. Scott tells me he loves me either way but to do what makes me happy. He has no idea how much I appreciate that. He's fantastic!

It's going to be an amazing journey and I can't wait!!!

Ember

Cake Decorating

I just finished my second week of cake decorating class and I LOVE IT!!! It's so fun! Im taking the class with two of my co-workers Amanda & Peggy they're a hoot! It's non-stop laughs with those two. I am really glad they invited me to take the class with them.

So, last week we learned the star technique and decorated cookies. That was fun...and I made some delicious cookies if I do say so myself.

This week we decorated a cake. I did a bit more than we were required. I put a filling in my cake. I made the mandarin orange snowflake delight cake, but instead of frosting it with the delicious frosting I used it as the filling. I'm too nervous to eat it. It's way too cute...again if I do say so myself.

Next week we are decorating cupcakes. I can't wait!!!

Getting All Better!

Well, here I am again. Posting from my app. I must admit, I thoroughly love it! I've been super busy since my last post. Our call center is transitioning from consumer account support to Business & Government Customer Support. I've been in training and my, oh, my there's a lot to learn. I think I'll thoroughly enjoy this more than just consumer support though. On July 1st I will start a new shift of 8:45 am to 5:15 pm with...wait for it...wait for it...WEEKENDS OFF!!!!!!! Wahoo!!!!!!! It's been 6 looooooooong years since I have had weekends off and I'm completely ecstatic!!!!!!!

I have been recovering well from my surgery on March 30. There's still some healing but apparently that's par for the course. I've also found a new Family Practice doctor who I LOVE. We did blood work on me and I'm sufficiently low on vitamin d, calcium, and on t4 in my thyroid. She's had me taking supplements and a prescription for my thyroid. I just got finished with my follow up appointment this evening. They're doing another blood test to check my levels so we will see what happens from this point. She's also getting me into physical therapy for my arms. She wants to get the problem nailed down so we can fix it. Have I mentioned that I LOVE her ;)

Scott has been doing well. He goes in for sinus surgery at the end of June. He has a deviated septum and his sinuses are 80% closed and in some places 90% closed. Needless to say, he's had a hard time breathing for quite some time now. He's nervous for the surgery but he's tired of not being able to breath so he's also looking forward to breathing again.

(On a completely unrelated note, I just called down to Scott to let him know his ice cream was getting cold.)

Today, Scott went to the funeral of his friend Nick who committed suicide. Apparently, he had a lot of tumors on top of his MS and couldn't deal with it anymore. So sad :(

Otherwise Scott has been doing well. He's been his cute, adorable, goofy self. I love him more and more each day.

Breann...well, Breann has been learning lessons the hard way as of late. It really is difficult being the father and step mom of a daughter who we have no physical custody of. We still need to have the "is this decision going to make my life better or worse" talk with her; of course emphasizing that we love her.

Otherwise, everything else with the Brittons is peachy keen! So, until the next post... Ta ta for now!

Ember

Ooh! Technology with a Touch of...ME!

So I was reading M's blog about her new kitchen...well rather old kitchen and all the pics. (We are still awaiting pics of the new kitchen.). Anyhoo... It made me sad because I really want to blog, but I very rarely sit at the computer unless it's to print coupons. So...this thought came across my mind ... (imagine a thought bubble right here) why don't I look through the app store and see if there's a blogger app! And sure 'nuff... THERE IS!

So...here I sit, doing...well that's not important...and blogging my little heart out! I love it! It feels good to write things down. And it's a great journal of the goings-on of our family. This way I can write and feel like I'm writing for someone vs writing in a journal just for me. I think that's why I kept failing Journaling 101 all through my 28 years.

I thought I'd start my new (blogging) lease on life by giving you an update. Scott and I have been married 1 year, 7 months, and 5 days. It has been exciting, exhausting, amazing, terrifying, fun, angering and just plain awesome! We are still so in love! I am blessed every day I get to spend with him! He is truly an amazing man!

We have lived in OUR house for nearly a year (yikes!) and it still looks like we moved in a month ago. Our living room is still partially filled with boxes, so is our bedroom, spare room, garage and the Scrapbooking/storage/Scott's desk room. We basically have too much crap and not enough energy to go through it all. Despite that, I've been managing to (slowly) make it our HOME. I did manage to make our room a bit cozier, as you'll see in the picture I posted.

It's definitely a work in progress. One of these days I think I'm going to hire a professional organizer to help me get through the rest of the stuff that's everywhere. Otherwise, to be completely honest, our living room furniture will forever be boxes.

Em :)

New Year Goals!

Well, It's been forever since I've written. Mostly because I've been sick/injured most of the past year and I haven't really been up for much. This year is going to be different. I am going to write at least once a week, or if nothing spectacularly noteworthy happens, then the next time something does I'll be writing. So, that's where I'm starting. Now for some other goals.

1. I'm doing a 52 week challenge to enhance my photography skills. So, I'll be posting a picture a week on what I'm doing. This week is just one of my favorite photos that I've taken. I've been sick since Christmas so I'm still keeping my commitment, just not being as aggressive with it as I will be when I'm not sick.

Week 1: This is my pretty Kieshie that Scott gave me for Christmas. This picture was taken today when she, of her own choosing, came out from hiding because she wanted to cuddle. She wouldn't let me take my hand off of her.

2. Our family loves food. That's right. And some of us show it more than others. Soooooo... it's become my mission to take the foods that we love and make them healthy but still oh, so VERY delicious! We all want to be healthier and happier so this is one way to do it. I, personally, am VERY excited for this. I LOVE cooking and it just makes it so much more intriguing to try and make something delicious AND nutritious! The recipe that I'm going to share came from my Grandma Ehlers and then was adapted by my Mom and now made just a bit healthier by me! Enjoy!

HAMBURGER SOUP

1 medium onion
1.5 lbs extra lean ground beef
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cans low sodium beef broth
2 cans water
2 cans diced tomatoes
6 sprigs chopped parsley (optional)
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 large zucchini, sliced
1 pkg fresh mushrooms, sliced

Saute onion and ground beef in olive oil until no longer raw. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Combine all ingredients EXCEPT zucchini and mushrooms in large pot. Cook for 30 minutes. Add zucchini and mushrooms then cook for an additional 30 minutes.

I usually end up with a pot of veggies in some broth because I love all the veggies. Any way you want it, Enjoy!

Oh The Tangled Web We Weave...

Wow. I have so much to write about. We've been extremely busy moving and are finally all moved into our house. We're not unpacked or organized but we're moved in. I'll write in a later post about some of the uh... adventures we've had.

Right now it feels like war of the worlds. Last weekend was our weekend with Breann. Everything was AMAZING Friday and Saturday. Then came Sunday. She wanted to go do something that would cost around $50 and since I'm the one that handles the finances I was the "bad guy" for not letting her do it. ALL DAY she glared at me and if I was in the room she would leave and go in another. THEN she told Scott that I was treating her like a slave. Um... last I checked chores...and VERY FEW at that was not slavery. In fact it's called helping out and being part of a family.

I'm slightly more than irritated. I really don't want to be upset with her. I'm just not sure what to do at this point. Sigh... This step mom thing is hard. :(

Oh. My. Goodness! You'll Never Believe It!

Wow...we've sure built up the suspense, huh?! He he! We couldn't help ourselves! So...for the big news  (drum roll please)..............

WE CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE JULY 15TH! WOO HOO! PAR-TAY!!!

Yeah...we're a BIT excited ;) and we had to share it! We found this house on June 1st, met with the realtor June 2nd, and put in an offer that same day! We love love love it! Oh... and our realtor is A-MA-ZING!!! If you ever need a realtor in Utah...let me know and I'll give you his info. He's seriously spectacular!

We'll give some more info and pics on the house later. For now we shall sleep. Good night!

A Change in the Britton Household...

Well...Scott and I have been thinking about what we want to do with our life and where we want to go. Part of our decision comes from Scott not being able to wrap his head around that this is OUR home. He always says "your bedroom" or "your house" and it Drives. Me. Crazy! We've incorporated a ton of stuff from the wedding that he wanted to make it OUR home but he still has trouble with it since I bought it before we were married. That being said... We're going to buy a house!!! We've been looking for a few months and we've found some IDEAL places, but nothing we can commit to yet. We're trying to get a house listed For Sale By Owner but nearly everyone is going with a realtor right now and we will not go with a realtor. There are just way more advantages to doing FSBO than going through an agent or getting a HUD home. We're figuring it'll take a while to get what we're looking for...and the waiting is KILLING us...but it'll be worth it in the long run.

Onto other news... We now officially have a 13 year old daughter! Aah! I can't believe it. When I met her she was 11...and now she's 13. SOOOOOOOOO crazy! She really is a wonderful girl and we love her SOOO much! I felt bad for her though. We had her on her birthday this year and we went to her grandparents house and had cake and ice cream with some family. I made the cake..and yes I'm proud...it was adorable! (I'll post the pics at the bottom.) She loved it and thought it was way fun. Later that night we went bowling and she got a strike... Yea! She got some awesome gifts for her birthday. Her aunt Machelle's family gave her a cute little hat, her Grandma & Grandpa Ehlers and her aunt Aspen (So....weird to say...let me just tell you that right now.) gave her a cute white board/cork board. And she loves it. OMGosh...it's all she does when she's here. We got her some new shirts, pants, shoes, a belt, and some candy. She loves them. She's definitely spoiled! I love spoiling her...but shhh...don't tell.

On Saturday morning, when she woke up, she said she didn't feel good and started to throw up. I checked her temperature and she had a fever of about 103. Yikes! So I gave her some fever reducers, an ice pack, and some broth and headed to the store to get some stuff for her. I came home with some Otter Pops (ok...so the search was for popsciclesdbut I figures that Otter Pops are popscicles and they are my guilty pleasure so we'll go for it.) and some meds to help her feel better. Throughout the day I was able to get her temp down to 99.2 and it maintained about that the rest of the weekend. My theory was that her body was rejecting being 13 but the doctor said it was bronchitis. I like my theory better. ;)

Here are the pics from my POT OF GOLD cake. Hope you all enjoy!

First bake the cake, the pre-cut the cake and cut a slit in the top of each piece. Then insert a gold coin like so. Then frost the cake and make the rainbow out of skittles and the clouds out of marshmallows. Then voila! everyone gets a pot of gold at the end of their rainbow.

The Whole Wheat Experiment...

As you've read I've been experimenting with making low-fat/low-calorie food. And I've discovered some extremely yummy recipes and created some as well. I'll share a bit of what I've done.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls (Yes...LOW FAT and YUMMY) Ingredients: 1 pkg active dry yeast or quick-rise yeast 1/2 tsp Truvia 1/8 cup warm water 1 cup skim milk 1/4 cup Truvia 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp applesauce 1/4 cup egg substitute 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour Cinnamon Smear: 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup applesauce 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tbsp skim milk 2-3 tsp cinnamon to taste

Directions: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1/2 tsp Truvia in warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add milk, 1/4 cup Truvia, salt and applesauce to the yeast mixture. Stir in egg substitute and whole wheat flour; beat 2 minutes. Gradually all all-purpose flour. Dough will be soft and slightly sticky.

Knead until smooth and elastic, 10 to 15 minutes by hand or 10 minutes with dough hook. Place in a bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray; turn once to coat. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size. Punch down dough; cover and let rise again. Punch down dough again; cover and let rest 10 minutes.

Mix smear ingreadients together until smooth. Roll dough into a 12x16 inch rectangle and spread a thin layer of smear on the dough piece, leaving a 1 inch strip along one of the short edges uncovered. Brush the uncovered 1 inch douch strip with water. Beginning with the short smeared edge, roll up, pinch to seal the un-smeared edge and cut inot 12 rolls.

Place rolls in a 9x13 inch pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover with a warm, damp towel; let rise in a warm place until double in size. Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Original Recipe Link: http://www.wheatfoods.org/Whole-Wheat-Cinnamon-Rolls.161.1.htm

Quick Whole Wheat Pizza Crust Ingredients: 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 pkg active dry yeast / instant yeast 3/4 tsp salt 1 cup hot tap water 1 tbsp applesauce 1 tbsp Truvia

Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees

To prepare pizza dough, stir whole wheat flour; lightly spoon into a measuring cup and level flour.

In a large mixing bowl combine whole wheat flour, yeast and salt. Blend in water, applesauce and Truvia. Stir by hand vigorously until all ingredients are well mixed; about 3 minutes. Cover weith plastic wrap and let rise to desired size.

Place dough in 12 to 14 inch pizza pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Press dough to cover bottomo of pan and up sides to form a rim.

Add pizza sauce of your choice and your favorite pizza toppings; bake in oven 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and toppings are done.

Original Recipe Link: http://www.wheatfoods.org/Quick-Whole-Wheat-Pizza_crust.217.1.htm

Connected...

This whole being connected to everything all the time thing is crazy!
I just discovered that there is a blogger app on my phone so OF COURSE I need to try it out! And you know what I've discovered...? I LOVE IT! That's right. I'm one of those crazy people who does almost everything on their phone. But that's what I'm paid for...to know about phones, right? So technically...it's just RESEARCH! ;)

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