Sparklers, Fireworks, and Waterballoons, Oh My!

Oh My is right!! I just got back from my 6 week appt and it went very well.  I haven't had any problems or pain and I've lost 34 pounds! Dr. Nick said that my ideal weight loss is 84 pounds in 12 to 18 months and I'm 5 pounds shy of HALF WAY! Now granted I know I'm not gonna lose another 30 pounds in 6 more weeks but with the amount of working out and I'm for sure getting my protein in, I should be doing well in the months to come. Knowing I was above the average weight loss for my height sure made my day! I work out about 3-4 times a week doing aerobic kickboxing. And let me tell ya its no walk in the park. Hillary and I went the morning of July 4th and half way through I asked if she hated me yet and she gave me the evil eye and said YES. haha. She was kidding of course. She hadn't done kickboxing in a while but has been doing bootcamps through Rock Star Fitness which I used to do with her. She loves working out as much as I do. Sometimes I think maybe more. As my weight comes off I have definitely noticed I have more energy and can last through my class.  Before I could barely get through. There's a girl in my kickboxing class that is SUPER FIT. I don't neccessarily want to look like her because she is TOO skinny and has too many muscles for a girl but I want the energy she has.  She just jumps around non stop going all out. But like I said I'm noticing I have more energy now(not nearly as much as her but more than I used to). I did a Zumba class last Sunday and thought this is a breeze compared to kickboxing. Don't get me wrong I still sweated my butt off but I wasn't as exhausted as I was before my surgery. So I know I can do this and get even better!

So the last weekend in June we went to my step brother Heath's house for a pre 4th family get together. We had alot fun. Surprisingly it wasn't too hot.  We cooked out and at the end of the night we shot fireworks. He lives in Terrell on some land so we had plenty of room. Well actually the guys had plenty of room to light'em and run and the rest of us were able to sit far enough back. :) We decided to make it a tradition.

For the 4th every year we go to my grandpa's house for dinner and waterballoon toss/fight. We always have a good time and it never fails I get soaked. I've posted a picture from last 4th along with this year's to show any differences of my weight loss. Honestly I think the biggest difference is the length and color of my hair lol!

Sparklers and Fireworks

This one is pretty neat. I actually took this of the fireworks being shot off.

July 4th 2011

July 4th 2012

Ryan chasing Cooper with a water balloon

The BEST waterballoon shot! My cousin Sarah

I hope everyone had a great and safe 4th!!

A new dawn, a new day, a new dress

Once a month for work my mom and I go to credit meetings. Not the most fun times of the month but I do learn quite a bit through it. I took a couple classes through the association and in August will be taking my final class to recive my CBA credit business associate. Anyways, these meetings aren't really strict but its just common knowledge to wear business causal clothing meaning no jeans. But like I said its not strict. I always found this time hard because I didn't have much dressy stuff that fit anymore. For the first time I was actually looking forward to this meeting.

Well after I bought my first maxie dress and loved it I set out for more dresses. I was ready to be dressy again and wear all my jewelry. I noticed before my surgery I wasn't as into it as I used to be. I couldn't find anything to wear that I felt was dressy enough. So a couple weekends ago I went shopping with my mom and found a really cute short dress. I rarely wore dresses especially short ones. I have really white legs and I didn't want to blind anyone :). I never wore dresses to work either. We're really casual here but occasionally I wanted to dress up. Finally was the time of our meeting and I got to wear my new dress. I know some of you propably think I'm crazy for making wearing a dress such a big deal but I have a reason. I just felt pretty! (On a side note I didn't blind anyone either. Those self tanner lotions like Jergens and Nivea are great! I'm still white but not blindingly so haha). A client of ours came in yesterday too and started crying. She had seen me a few times since my surgery because she comes in to pick up a check from us but never said anything to me. She knew I had surgery but I guess she just hadn't seen the differences yet. She's always been very sweet and she just gushed and started tearing up. To be honest it was a little awkard but it made me feel really good. Here's me and the new dress.

I hope that wasn't anticlimatic! I mean it wasn't a fancy cocktail dress or anything lol. But I think its a cute dress and I felt really pretty that day!

Holy Slim Jenn Batman!!!

What a difference a year makes! My friend Jennifer from Austin had gastric sleeve, same as me, a year ago this August. Since I just had mine a month ago and you can't tell a big difference, I wanted to share Jennifer's before and after. Show what a difference LESS than a year makes actually.She has lost 97 pounds! She's been such a great help along with her sister Jill. Jill had gastric bypass about 3 years ago. Jennifer and Jill are Carla's sisters in law and they all live in Austin. So I was able to visit them all before my surgery and get some great advice. Not only have they been so helpful they have truely been great friends. They checked on me while I was recovering and Jennifer even sent me flowers!

                                                                 Jennifer June 2011

 March 2012

June 2012

It's AMAZING!!!!! You look great Jenn!

I'M BAAAACK!!!!
Yes I am back to the blog. It's been quite a while since I've blogged. Haven't had really much of anything to blog about until recently.  On May 22, 2012 I had major surgery. Don't worry I'm fine. It was actually a surgery I was exstatic to have. I had bariatric surgery. More specific it was the gastric sleeve. Most of you may know more about gastric bypass or lapband. The gastric sleeve is a newer less complicated version. Instead of bypassing anything or putting a foreign object in your body, they cut my stomch into a slender sleeve like shape keeping it attached to my intestines. It's about the size of a very small banana, about 4 oz. So I wanted to get back to blogging so that I could share my journey with you. I'm about a month out from surgery so there's not much to catch up on. I was thinking today about how many people ask how I'm doing or ask my family memebers. I can't tell you how great that feels. So I decided to write down my journey along with progress pictures so that everyone could ride along with me.

First off I'll start by telling you about my weight background for those who don't fully know. I've always been heavy. Even in my childhood, I've been overweight. I remember seeing a picture of me in elementary school and looking like a round ball. I laugh about it now bc actually it was pretty cute in that chubby way :). I loved food from the beginning and to make matters worse I just had a slow metabolism. It didn't help either that I would sneak food to my room. LOL. Anyways from day 1 I struggled with my weight. I always said I wanted to lose but never knew how or really did anything about it. I even went to a fat camp the summer before my soophmore year of high school. I had a blast! But unfortunately I gained it back. I not only struggled with my weight but I struggled really bad with depression. I had many friends but never hung out much with them because my self esteem was horrible! I always thought people would look at me and wonder why such good looking people wanted to hang out with me. Or why I was even at places like bars and clubs. Yes that's how bad my self esteem was. I never wanted to go out just stay at home and eat my sorrows away. Well I have to tell you one day it finally hit me. This is actually pretty funny so get ready. I read Twilight and it dawned on me that I really wanted my own love story. I knew that I would never find anyone that would be happy with me until I was happy with myself. . That was my motivation. Yes Edward and Bella were my motivation haha. Crazy I know but hey I am a weirdo at heart :). So anyways I set out to lose weight. I worked out everyday, watched what I ate, cut out sodas.  I tried different things about my eating because at the time I really had no idea what was best. For a long time all I ate was vegatables. I'd get those steamable bags or I'd heat up a can of green beans. I lost about 25 pounds around 3 months. I was feeling good until one day I just wanted a Diet Dr. Pepper(my kryptonite) thinking just one won't hurt. Boy was I wrong! One led to many. After a few months of eating only veggies I got bored and started eating the same way I used to eat which was BAD. Fast food all the time. I think a year later I got my motivation back and my mom told me about a place called Slim4Life. Sounded great! I toook supplements to help with weight loss and a meal plan. And I would go to their office 3 times a week to weigh and talk about what I ate. Well like I said I LOVE food and this meal plan they gave me was extremely hard. I did well for about 3 months, not without plenty of slip ups mind you, but I lost about 30 pounds in 3 months. After a while I realized this place just wasn't for me. Not only could I not keep up with the healthy eating but the supplements made me break out really bad. So of course I went back to my regular habits along with pretty bad depression. Ever since then my weight just constantly went up. I couldn't get my motivation back(no matter how many romance novels I read). Many times I looked up to God and said I didn't want to be here. I didn't hate my life because I have a pretty damn good one with the family and friends that I have that care about me. And I could never harm myself because one I couldn't do that to the people I love and who love me and 2 I'm too chicken(which in this case is a good thing right :) gotta put a litte humor in there) But I hated myself. I didn't know what to do. I love working out and I did quite often. But you can workout til you pass out and it won't make a difference if you eat like crap. I remember the last time I looked to God and said that because not long after that did he turn around and say "No! Now get your head outta your butt because I have other plans for you!" Well I'm sure he didn't use those exact words but I'd like to think so haha. He blessed me with the greatest gift I've received thus far. I got help to get a loan to pay for surgery. For the longest time I researched about it and asked my insurance rep if they were going to cover it anytime soon. I wished for there to be a miracle and it came. I thank God every day when I look in the mirror since my surgery because I can see the results. It's been such a change! A VERY hard change but well worth it! The first couple of days after my surgery I actually dreamt of food. My mind was and is still a little bit in that mind set of wanting bad food. This surgery helps with not being able to eat that stuff anymore but it doesn't help with the mental part of it. That is the biggest challenge. I forget sometimes and still think about eating something I'm not suppose to eat but don't worry it quickly goes away. I don't forget for long. The first two weeks were pretty painful. I couldn't take any pain meds because it made me extremely sick. I think I did pretty well for no pain meds. I had a great coach! My mom helped me so much. The doctors and everyone around tell you to walk walk walk! And she made sure I did! I walked 3 times a day up and down my driveway. For those who don't know its a pretty long driveway. The first week and a half I couldn't walk a whole lot but by the end of the 2nd week I was walking pretty well without pain. I lost 26 in 2 weeks! I was so excited and seriously it was like overnight that I noticed. My tshirts fit a lot better, my face and neck were slimmer, and I could see my eyes better. I don't think I really looked at myself until the end of those 2 weeks. I did hit a stall after that 26 pound loss. But just recently I hit 30 pounds! The secret? Lots of liquids and protein! After the surgery you are suppose to sip constently so you need 64+ oz of liquid and at least 60oz of protein. Protein drinks count toward your liquid. I have a protein drink for breakfast and lunch. I'm able to have soft foods now so lately I have had ground turkey, potato soup, or eggs for dinner. I realized though that the ground turkey is still too hard and I made an omlette one night which was too hard as well. I try and stick with soup or deli meat now. And baked fish is good because its pretty soft when cooked. So that's been my journey so far. Sorry for any ramblings and the long post but I hope you enjoy! I've posted pictures of me 2 weeks before surgery and 2 weeks after surgery in the same outfit. Also a picture of me today a month out in a new dress I bout like 2 or 3 sizes smaller than what I was before surgery.  There's not a huge difference I can tell not only when I look in the mirror but how I feel. Already I don't get extremely sweaty doing normal things and I feel happier. My sister told me the other day that I smiled more and just seemed more confident. Even in the 2 pictures of me in the same outfit I had people tell me that just by my smile they could tell a difference.

No Spit

I went over to Hillary's house yesterday to move in some stuff. I will be living with Hillary and Phillip for a few months. Wish us all luck!! So Hillary started feeding Ryan and Ryan started spitting out her food like she was playing. Hillary said No Spit and then made the noise. Well Ryan thought that was the funniest thing because every time Hillary would say No Spit or make the noise she would laugh and laugh and laugh. Here is a video I took with my phone. You can't really see it but you can hear her laughing.

Bronwyn's Choir Performance and my new hair

Sunday Bronwyn sang in her choir at church. They were so cute! I couldn't really tell what they were saying except for ROAR! because it was a lion song. They also wore lion manes out of paper plates. She also did her signature move HAHAHA! You'll see! Saturday I went and got my hair done. Its very very dark! I liked it when my hair was dark last year but some how its not like that now. I'm not liking it too much today. It washes me out so I'm starting to tan again :). Maybe that will help.

I LOVE MY BENNY BOY!

Saturday night my mom and I went to my cousin's high school pop group spring show. They are called Celebration. They were sooo cute!! And AWESOME I might add. They have some amzing singers in that group...my cousin Ben included!! That boy is too funny! He was having so much fun dancing and singing up there I laughed the whole time. He is such a goofball! His older brother Brad was there as well and you could tell he was showing off for him. There is a video of part of one of the songs the guys performed. Its HILARIOUS!! They did the theme song to Pokemon and Ben was the pink bubble. I guarantee you'll be on the floor at the end of the video. I wish I had gotten more but I didn't know how long my camera would last. I'd also like to add that I have not had any kind of soft drink in 3 weeks and as of this morning I've lost 16 pounds in a month! And still counting!

Ben, the next Eminem.

We were a sponsor. In front of our company truck.

Ben playing guitar, second from left.
The Pokemon song.





The Pokemon fight.

The girls doing Circus by Britney Spears
The new N'Sync



Brad and his girlfriend.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

My last name is Finigan. A very known Irish name. I take pride in my Irish heritage. I wish I knew more about it. I get disappointed knowing that I am the last Finigan child in my immediate family and when I get married I won't be able to carry it on to my children. Though I have thought about using it as a middle name for one of my kids but its not the same. Also I know that when I do get married I will use my last name as my middle name too but again its not the same. I know I have quite a while before that happens because I'm not even dating anyone right now. BUT today is St. Patrick's Day and its one of my favorite holidays. No I don't celebrate it much but I love it because its part of who I am. I want to go to Ireland one day and go to Finnigan's Pub. And yes it's spelled wrong! ;) Did you ever hear about how the name Finigan came to be? Well it used to be just Fin. But in town whenever a Fin would come down the road they would always say "Here comes that Fin-again." Get it! Fin-again...Finigan. Hope everyone has a LUCKY day!!!

I am animal jinxed!

Yes I am animal jinxed! I can not keep animals. As some of you know I no longer have Honey Girl. She had major seperation anxiety and could not be crate trained. Not only crate trained but she just couldn't be left alone. But everytime I put her in her crate she would poop in it. She freaked out so bad she couldn't hold it. She was great when she was out though. She rarely had any accidents in the house when I was home. Well I did everything I could so I called the breeders and they said I could bring her back. They would find her a wonderful home with someone who could be with her fulltime or they would keep her themselves. I just couldn't stand keeping her in a poopy crate during the day. She was the funniest and sweetest dog. I miss her so much!!

Well the reason why I'm saying I'm animal jinxed is because Pierre the Shrimp has passed away. Pierre came to America to become famous and was unfortunately unable to make it in the big time. But he was trying very hard. He was running low on cash so he decided to get a job. What other way to be surrounded by beautiful people he could get to know and make get a "tentacle" in the door. He became a fitness trainer. Not only would he be surrounded by the beautiful people but he could get buff himself. Pierre found a job as a trainer and was loving it. Who doesn't want a buff trainer with an accent? Unfortunately the job wasn't loving him. A few years ago Pierre had gone to the doctor and was told he had a heart condition. But he couldn't let that get in the way of becoming famous. He wanted to do whatever he could to get his 15 minutes of fame...decently of course. Well anyway when asked about any conditions he told his job he was healthy. He didn't think anything like this would ever happen. But today as he was working out on his day off he had a heart attack. Poor thing had so much going for him. So I'm sharing his story for his 15 minutes of fame. I'm sure he's the most famous French cleaner shrimp in heaven! Au Revoir Pierre!

Phil's Birthday

Saturday was Phillip's birthday. First Hill and I went and got our hair cut. She looks sooooo cute!!!! There is a picture of her hair below. Then later on Stacey, Alan, Ollie, and I had dinner with Hillary and Phillip. Hillary got him a Wii. Yet another reason for me to go over to their house! Sorry Phil hahaha! I took Honey Girl over there with me and Ollie loved her. I took Honey Girl outside and Ollie would stand at the door and say Puuuppppyyy Doooogggg!!! It was so funny! Sunday evening Hillary and Phillip brought Ryan over. She is just too precious.