I need it!

That's right people, I need it, but I can't have it. I need to work out. I am so bored and just over not doing anything when I get home from teaching summer school. Ugh, I don't go back to the plastic surgeon until July 9. That day can't come soon enough. I am hoping that he will release me to workout then. I would start walking, but if I do too much activity, my arms start to ache. My arms are still pretty swollen around my elbows, especially on my right arm. There is good news though, my scars are fading in some spots. It's weird because it's in the middle of the arm!

Right Arm

Left Arm

This is my left arm. You can see where I am swollen.

You all now have seen my bra! Ha! No biggee I guess.


Anyway, I am getting better. I am feeling more confident. I wish I could wear regular shirts now, but I have to still wear compression shirts. Oh well, I look awesome in a few weeks!


Because I have been so bored. I have spending a lot of time on Pintrest. I really should be reading the books that I assigned  for summer reading, but alas, I am a procrastinator.  


Sidebar-- Alex Trebeck is 71? The dude on the Channel 5 News just said "The 71 year-old Trebeck is recovering from a mild heart attack..." Really, Alex is 71. I thought he was in his late 50's....


OK, I am a procrastinator...


I spend my extra time on Pintrest getting inspired. So, I have done three DIY projects this weekend. 


Project One: New pole for my patio umbrella. Last summer when I moved from Dave's into this apartment, my pole somehow was misplaced. I have been unable to use the umbrella. I priced a new one and it was sixty bucks. Really? Mine is basically new. So after speaking with a few friends, I decided to fix it myself. After spending under $10, Wala! 
Supplies:
a PVC pipe
small saw
sharpie
measuring tape


    

There you have it!


Then, I decided it was a good weekend to paint my old curio cabinet. It was ugly.
Project Two:

Circa 1985, right? So I headed back to the hardware store and  bought primer, paint, and paint brushes.

 After priming, I started to paint it the purple bought, but it looked like shit terribile. So back to Lowe's I went. I picked up some Black High Gloss and painted two coats.

Here's the cabinet after one coat.

Project Three:
Spray painting my Shepard Hooks. I didn't take a picture, but the hooks are now bright purple, teal, and yellow. Very cute!


I have been a very busy lady this weekend! I also went on a date on Friday and saw a movie on Sunday. Whew! All that makes for one tired lady! And with that, Good Night!

=)

Been gone awhile....

     So I have gone AWOL from my blog for awhile. I have no good excuse. I am simply a bum. In the last entry I had just run my 10k. It was one of the most exciting days of my life. I was so proud of what I did. After the race I stopped running and started concentrating more on just working out. I also decided to go through with something that I have dreamed about for years.
     It was something I never thought could happen. I decided to get skin removal on my arms. It was something that made me so self-conscious for years. I don't quite remember when the skin started to become a problem. I didn't have it in college, but when my brother was married three years later, it was there in all its glory. I started really noticing it, especially on my right arm, when I began dating Dave. We were hanging out at my apartment and I was telling him about my weight loss. At the time (March 2010) I had lost 50 or so pounds and the skin on my right arm was very noticeable. Anyway, I was telling him about the weight loss and he mentioned something about lifting weights to help my arm. He wasn't rude or anything, but It really got me thinking. So I began to really focus my workouts on lifting weights trying to change my arms. But by that time, I was in love, and had hurt my back. Working out became secondary, and as I have blogged before, I gained back much of the weight I had lost.

     Fast forward to March of 2012... With support of my family and my friend Chrissy, I decided to see a plastic surgeon about my arms. With my 100 pound weight loss, the skin on my right arm had increased. It was becoming difficult to find short sleeve shirts that hid my skin. I was very unhappy, and I was sad. Every time I bought a cute shirt, I would have to buy a sweater to wear to cover up with. I hated it. The plastic surgeon said I was a good candidate for Brachioplasty, or an arm lift. I was able to get financing for the surgery, and Chrissy said she could help me during the first day of recovery. So I booked it. June 4th would be the day.
     For whatever reason, I didn't take a before picture. I am a dumb ass. I looked through all of my pictures for a pic of my arms and found nothing. Over the past several years, I have done an excellent job of hiding my arms in pictures! Here's one from a few weeks ago. You can barely see my arm, but you will get the idea.

See.... look right above this ^^^ My left arm wasn't so bad. In fact, if my right arm looked like my left arm, I would not have had surgery.

     June 4th arrived in a hurry. That morning I was so excited and scared. I am very glad that Chrissy was there to help me.

I was showing off my booties, but more importantly, the fact that my feet hang off the 

bed.

I took this as I waited to be wheeled into  the room!

When the anesthesiology was waking me from the surgery I remember asking, "Do I have skinny arms?" All the people laughed. I hadn't even opened my eyes yet.  Surprise, surprise, me trying to be the comedian! 

I was a immense pain. It was quite a weird feeling. My surgery took about two and  half hours. I was in recovery for close to five hours. I was not recovering very well. I was very nauseous and in a lot of pain.  Chrissy drove me home and I slept and slept and slept. Later that night Chrissy took a few pictures of my "new" arms.

Left Arm

Right arm (the one that made me want to get this surgery)

Why yes, those are drains hanging down! Gross, I know, but a necessity! 

So there ya go. I am still in a little bit of pain. I am amazed at the numbness that I have around the stitches. Now I am very swollen around my elbows. I have to wear under armor to help, but it doesn't always help.