Catching Up

Just to briefly catch up from where I left off....some time last year I think?

I have an 18 and nearly 22 year old son - how the hell did that happen??

Possum is still working where there are golden arches - and they are steadily repairing the damage done by too much stress and pressure, in fact he is doing Cert 3 in Retail and Crew Trainer ~ and has been approached to consider management training.
He is happy!
He is not applying for ANY IT positions in the foreseeable future.
And he is happy.

Small Man has now lost 40kg.
He is keeping steady with the weight loss now.
I saw a tv show recently showing a body lift surgery - NFW am I going to allow him to go through that!
Or hopefully any plastic surgery.

There is a course he'd like to do.
But we have discovered the organisation is now a non RTO :(
To think he almost paid them $1000 to complete the course.
He can't work at this stage, but he wanted to complete something.
We will need to look into an alternative REGISTERED training organisation.

We have had two disasterous appointments this year.
One on an emotional level, one on a physical level.
Long story short we went to Melbourne to try and get some help and advice from a so called expert in CFS/ME.
The result?
He was told 'some people never recover from this' and to 'do a TAFE course'.
I was made to feel like one of those mothers that makes their kids sick for attention or whatever they do.
OMG it was awful.
The only good thing that came from the appointment was the prescription of Melatonin.
It has helped Big A HEAPS between shifts (he works day then night shift, 12 hour shifts).

Oh, that's right the Melatonin was for Small Man....
Yes Small Man does take it but it's very hard to break his sleep pattern and keep it consistent.
In fact it's nearly impossible.
I felt criticised for this too.
Talk about making me feel like shit, and that I'm not doing enough for him :'(
We have found ordering it from the USA our best option, you can buy it on eBay for a fraction of the price of a private script ($40 for a month private script).

The second appointment that was a disaster was with the surgeon that is now adjusting Small Man's gastric band.
He added some more fluid to the band, called a 'fill'.
Small Man always drinks some water after the adjustment to make sure it will go through the band, if it doesn't then the band is too tight.
This time the fluid went through, all was well.

We came home, he ate some pasta for tea and everything was fine.
The next day when he woke up he vomited immediately - shouldn't happen as he hadn't eaten or drunk anything yet.
He then found that water wouldn't go down.
I was at work, on the other side of town.

It was nearly 'knock off' time for doctors surgeries and the like.
We couldn't get hold of anyone (the surgeon is only in his rooms Wednesdays).
I ended up ringing our original surgeon in Melbourne to ask advice.
Which then led to 5 hours at the emergency department waiting for someone that could remove some of the fluid from his band....by the time we saw someone he had been over 24 hours without fluid. 

Not good for a well person let alone an unwell person.

Anyone that thinks gastric band surgery is in some way an 'easy' way out seriously needs a slap up the side of the head!

I have also found an amazing alternative therapist for Small Man, so he has either Bowen therapy, a massage or reflexology for 30 minutes per fortnight. Whether it helps or not who knows, but it make him feel relaxed and good and that's all that matters.

Apart from that everything else is pretty much the same.

I am still doing the same job, it's not too bad at the moment.
I reached 15 years of loyal service in January and not a single f*ck was given but that's ok, I shouldn't have expected any different......

Mum has been helping me out with the banking, so pops up once a fortnight to take care of that and some folding of washing. 
Different for me to get used to but it's been good :)


G
x♥x

Awesome :)

The doctor we will be going to see sent an email this morning, to say that Small Man's consultation fee will be 50% of his usual fee

Wonderful :)

So very kind of him, and speaks volumes as to his willingness to help over profit

Ordinary GP visits are around $60 for 10 minutes, so $720 for an hour isn't over the top

Especially when there are very few doctors in this country with the necessary experience, and he is the best (or so they tell me!)

G
x♥x

~ Just To Clarify ~

So I went to bed extremely sad last night after writing my previous post, I was also angry and worked up

It has occured to me the main thing I am so frustrated with is this:

Small Man has been suffering with this condition for 6 years now

Why can't family (from both sides) take the time to find out a bit about it and at least have an informed opinion ~ instead of constantly saying the wrong thing and just basically pissing me off and constantly putting me on the defensive??? 

Aren't we dealing with enough here?

Maybe I am asking too much?

Maybe people just want to think they know all about this illness, and therefore have some sort of entitlement to make comments?

What do I do print off some brochures???

There has been far too much focus on school and losing weight quickly

The whole point of school was to give him something to pass the time, but only if he was up to it

We struggled through year 11 but he made it

This year started out ok, but has completely bombed out since this recent relapse


The last thing he needs is to feel under pressure, to push himself etc etc

No, I'm not giving up - I am being realistic

Yes, it hurts like hell that he is unable to even attend one lesson per day, but his health and self esteem MUST come first

The other real problem I have is if this were any other illness we wouldn't be in this situation, but once again that comes down to a lack of knowledge from others - and I am sick of it

G
x♥x

~The Elephant...The Room and All that...~

 ***LANGUAGE WARNING***

******JUST SO YA KNOW*******

 Happy 21st Birthday to my Possum :) 

We had a lovely day at home, a bed delivery, his room has been transformed/decluttered, it was nice ♥

Now where was I?


Yeah....so we have a weekend away coming up 

I guess that sounds like no big deal, two night away....


Unless you have CFS/ME and are in the middle of a major fucking relapse


Then it's a huge deal


No, actually, that's not the huge deal


It's explaining it to other people


That's the huge fucking deal.

NO we cannot switch this shit on and off ~ it doesn't chop and change for the occasion ~ it's there ALL THE TIME

ALL THE TIME

No, it's not just him being difficult

It's how his life is

And currently it's worse than it usually is

And I am scared of making the current fatigue benchmark even higher

I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO MAKE HIM WORSE

*Oh and then there is the subject of SCHOOL ~ the biggest elephant of them all*

So we have to just work around it

Or it's not going to be fun

And I want Possum to have a good time

And Small Man to have the best time possible

*sigh*

 G
x♥x

~ The Waiting Game ~

This is a difficult place to be

Aside from the Vitamin D deficiency the test results were ok, in fact his liver function has improved dramatically, his cholesterol has improved slightly, as has his blood sugar - this is awesome news I was thrilled to bits...

BUT....

It still doesn't give me an answer or solution to his recent struggle

I just refuse to accept that this is the new benchmark, 14 hours or more of sleep every night - and all because of another virus??

My patience for this condition is at an all time low

I will get over it I just can't accept that this is his life at the moment
Very hard when friends kids of the same age are off overseas and whatever, and here we are planning in advance the lack of activity required for the lead up to a few days in Hobart
Or the realisation that he isn't ready to go back to school Monday with the start of the new term
Yeah I guess I am bitter and angry at this bastard of a condition, but I don't let on anywhere but here, and in my own thoughts


It's a catch 22 - you are praying nothing comes back in the test results but at the same time hoping there is something simple that can be fixed easily


*sigh*


I think he is going to need to see the CFS/ME specialist in Melbourne in the next few months


In the mean time the Vitamin D I ordered was just the ticket, he is allowed 40,000 iu per week, which is one per day until he builds up
I am so hopeful this will help, even just a little bit

Aside from that we have to 'wait and see how he is in a few weeks time' then go back to the GP

I dunno :/

G
x♥x

~Ohhhhh!~

I rang the doctors surgery yesterday - very low vitamin D level

Which surprised me because the last test he had done only a few months ago his level was fine

We will see our GP Friday to discuss the other results

Coincidentally I had just ordered some vitamin D supplements for Possum that are 5,000 iu - most of the over the counter/chemist ones are a maximum of 1,000 iu so they will be handy.

Both sons have had severe vitamin D deficiency in the past few years.


Poor old Possums happened right in the middle of his 18th Birthday celebrations...


Did I mention he is turning 21 next week?


Oh my!


G
x♥x

~ Normality-ness~

I'm going to have to assume this is normal

The way I have felt for the last few weeks

The swinging emotion of the whole situation

Trying to appear 'the same'

Dealing with it

Staying on top of everything else at the same time

You would think I would be 'used to' all of this by now

I'm not

It's new disappointment

It's new frustration

It's new fear

Every. Single. Time.

Every new tried and failed 'cure'

The discovery of new complications


The knock backs


The set backs


The delays


The worry

The grief

That feeling of seriously not giving a rats arse about anything else.....

He is handling the whole thing so much better than I am.
When he is up (out of bed) he is in good spirits, mostly.
If you saw him between 3pm and 10pm you might almost not realise that he is any different if you didn't know him too well.

*sigh*

G
x♥x

p.s. Surely I could just sit here all day every day in my dressing gown? 

~ Hmmmmm.....~

No test results as yet, and then Monday is a public holiday so won't know anything til Tuesday, providing there is something to know...

Small Man is just the same, he hasn't improved or worsened.

I feel a very slight undercurrent (or maybe I am just imagining it) of disappointment from others (friends mostly) that I haven't been in touch.
Perhaps if a few of them actually contacted me they would know there is a reason.
Or maybe they just don't want to because it's the same old thing, and it doesn't suit them?
If that's the case then they aren't friends anyway, they are acquaintances therefore not worth my considering.

I avoid contacting people because it makes it harder having to explain what's going on - so really just another vicious cycle.
Small Man is my only concern, I don't really have any energy left for anyone else, much less acquaintances or family that haven't bothered to ask after him.


They can go to buggery!


If they think this has dragged on for a long time maybe they need to put themselves in his shoes for a few days.


I don't like leaving him on his own when he is like this, and avoid it as much as possible.  
Too bad if it's doesn't suit anyone else.
His sense of time is somewhat skewed, he was telling his friend that he hadn't been to school for about 2 weeks, when it had been 6 weeks.
What if the reality of this suddenly catches up with him emotionally? 
And I'm off having lunch with people? 
Or something equally as trivial....

And yet I have friends that have been nothing but supportive and there for me from day one - some of you may be actually reading this post 

- mwah xx - thank you for 'getting it' and not giving up on me....

G
x♥x


p.s. I am actually fine, and not upset while writing this, just thinking aloud

~*Battery Charger*~

I think he needs one...

I woke him at 1.30pm to go and have his blood test

They got the vein first time....thank goodness....

He was back in bed at 8.30pm

My poor baby :/

G

x♥x

So we saw the GP today, finally.

He has ordered a bucket load of tests.

We go back next Friday.

G

x♥x

~ N.F.I ~

I'm really not sure what to do at the moment

Small Man is still sleeping 12 - 14 hours per night, sometimes longer

He is over his cold/flu virus

But still ravaged by fatigue

He admitted to me yesterday that he feels mentally/emotionally as broken as he does physically

I asked him if he feels our GP could help, and he said no he doesn't

But what if I don't take him and there is something else physically going on?

Or what if I do and he tells me to let him 'rest' and we come home as frustrated and at the end of our wits as we were before we went....or more so....


There is no way he is up to travelling to Melbourne to see the CFS/ME specialist at the moment, just no way.

We are currently trying Astra 8 Immune Tonic, Vitamin B12, D-Ribose, Vitamin D & Vitamin C.
Last night I put him to bed with some of those Herbal Foot Patch thingoes with lots of drops of Oil of Cloves ~ failing everything else at least his feet won't get mouldy.....


Maybe I will just see how he goes over the weekend, and then make an appointment next week some time.....I am also not keen to take him to the doctors surgery full of people that think they need antibiotics for the flu - god that pisses me off!!!


Any input gratefully received. I am usually all over this stuff but at the moment I feel like the first time parent of a new baby, NFI....


G
x♥x

~ And then it got worse :/ ~

Our much anticipated visit with the new surgeon went extremely well

He was a very kind, smiley, gentle man  and the adjustment went well - he found the port easily and added another 1ml of fluid

He charges like a wounded bull, but anyway, hopefully Medicare will be generous with the rebate

Somewhere between our appointment/Coles/home Small Man picked up another cold/flu virus

ANOTHER ONE

What the hell??

24 hours after the appointment and he was sick

This was the first time he had left the house in over a week, no-one else is sick, and no-one has been here sick (lucky for them!)

 I have had to cancel his work experience for this morning ~ postponing it til 'who the fuck knows when' 

 I can't keep him in a bubble but wow ~ this is unbelievable.

God help anyone that turns up here sick ~ I have attempted to subtley suggest this on facebook

This feeling of not being able to help him (aside from the usual cold/flu remedies) is making me crazy

G

x♥x

*~ Downhill Fast ~*

So....

It's been another 'long time' between posts.

Long story short - Small Man has had a relapse, relapse not really being the correct word because it implies that he has recovered from his CFS(Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)/ME (Myalgic Enchephalomyelitis)  - which he hadn't - but this is an extreme worsening of his fatigue following a virus.


He has been unable to go to school for at least 4 weeks.
I have had to make the call to keep him at home until the end of this term (30th May) and hope that complete rest and lack of stress will help.


He is currently sleeping for 12 - 14 hours at a time.


He is barely leaving the house, maybe once per week on average.

His fatigue has not been this profound for years - possibly even since he was first ever sick.


It's scary.


I felt so sad when I realised what was happening.


A: Because he has to go through this


B: Because it means he isn't improving


C: Because it took me a few weeks to realise what was happening

D: Because there isn't s single thing I can do to help him


I am now tossing up taking him back over to see a CFS specialist at the RCH.


I'm just not sure.


To be blunt, I'm not sure that taking him back over to the hospital just to be told nothing can be done is really that productive.
Of course there would be further tests he could have done, but it would simply be proving what we already know - that he has a chronic incurable condition that has so far robbed him of a normal teenage life.


Not sure if I mentioned this in my last post but I grew tired of waiting for his school to organise work experience for him, so I organised it myself. 
He wants to work in radio - so I contacted a local christian community radio station and asked, they responded the same day and asked to meet with us.
We did.
They asked Small Man to write 'his story'.
At that stage they didn't realise that Small Man wasn't able to write his whole story himself, CFS/ME is a combination of physical and mental fatigue, prolonged periods of writing or reading are impossible.
So I wrote it for him.
Wow, that dragged up some old emotion that I had buried.
It felt good to get it all out.
22 pages or someting like 6,000 words later and it was done.


We have been for another meeting since, they are happy to help him, happy to work around his illness and want to give him a few hours per week work experience.

Thankfully he has only had the one session so far, and late afternoon which is his best time of day.

At least it has given him something to look forward to, however bad timing with this virus and the fatigue that has followed :/


G
x♥x

 


 

Right Now....

In point form....sorta....cos I am feeling lazy...yet full of thoughts to share:

• Small Man has a new surgeon to see, right here in our city, no more trips 'over there' needed
• He is very close to having lost 30kg - or 66lbs  - he hasn't been at his current weight for several years!
• We have pretty much mastered what he can eat, and have co-ordinated it with when so that his blood sugar levels are stable (otherwise it drops/rises drastically if not managed properly). This can be tricky with a lap band but we have discovered the best way around it
• There is a decent amount of food preparation involved, but sooo worth it :)
• The inpatient program for CFS at the Austin Hospital has been canned. It is supposed to be happening at the RCH, but nothing has been done to start it up - it's just not meant to be for us. I wasn't sure, and hearing this was the confirmation
• Back to college has been extremely tiring - for Small Man and for me
• The schedule is difficult, it takes me 20 mins to drive from here to the college, and sometimes he is only there for an hour and a bit. Some days are spent just watching the clock and driving driving driving. I am very grateful that he is able to go, if only for a short time - but it's hard
•  
• The smelter Big A works at is under threat of closure - depending on a review in June next year
• This will mean many big changes for us if it happens as you may imagine
•  
• Possum is getting loads of hours at his McJob - which is fantastic as there have been ZERO IT jobs to apply for. So many job losses and uncertainty down here at the moment....

•  Work has been far too busy but I am ok with it at the moment (as in not feeling like euthanising anyone), it's extra money I guess
• I have felt like shit for the last two weeks, not sure what is causing but fairly sure it's sinus related and I'm sure I'll live.
• I'm tired

G

x♥x

The Post That Never Was....

I don't seem to have had a quiet moment since that day in October that we received the news we had been waiting for forever 
http://blackstonemyst.blogspot.com/2011/10/finally-finallly.html
I can't write when I am surrounded ~ and I have been surrounded

Not in a bad way ~ just in a constant way

So a summary of Small Mans progress for you rather than the blow by blow story

Since starting his very strict pre operation diet mid October, and having had two band adjustments/fills he has lost approximately 25kg - the first 20kg was rapid - the next 5kg has been at a more anticipated  pace

We have to say approximately, it may actually be more but we didn't have an accurate starting weight (he was too heavy for my scales)

We have however had to drill another hole in his belt, and there are t-shirts and shorts that he will never wear again! 

He is feeling good, no change to his CFS but then we knew that didn't we......

We are due to go to Melbourne again mid February for a band adjustment - which I am thinking at this point he may not even need, and may need to be rescheduled. 

The band tightness seems to be just right for him. It would be a waste of a trip I think, I will need to decide next week and see if we can change the flights....they were cheapies, so it's all good

Possum is going well at his McJob - we are not supposed to mention their actual name on FB or on a blog etc - so I will let you guess where his McJob is....

The last major job knockback actually floored him. 

He was quietly devastated, and so was I, for him, I could see his self confidence shatter into a million pieces.

It was then I decided that after 8 or 9 months of constantly applying for jobs, and being rejected, that he needs a break. 

So I have stopped applying. 

Unless something wonderful comes up ~ then no.

 He is not the same boy that left HJ's to start his traineeship.

I would prefer for to him work where he is and build up his self esteem again. 

And this particular workplace is designed for it.

I have been very impressed by their methods, and I'm not easily impressed these days let me tell you.

He has also been getting quite a few private IT jobs, from the basic to the slightly more complex it is helping keep his IT muscle flexed for now :)

I am about to find out if I am totally insane.

Another manager has quit here in the north of the state, leaving just the two of us for approx 100km.

I have inherited some of his team. He wanted me to take all of them. I'm not that hard up for stress so declined on a few......

We have our first delivery coming on Wednesday.

I have had to return to weekly ordering, as much as I didn't want to I will have too many ordering to manage to pack it all fortnightly.

Wish me luck.

I might need it...................

Big A is currently approx 2.5 hours drive away camping with friends. 

I have been down, come back, and then been down again for a few nights at a time. 

The first time I took Small Man, the second time I went on my own. 

It was nice to get away, the break from technology always fares well with me.

I spent some time with a different group of people which was nice also.

I reckon I will even go for a few nights next year :)

This is where we went swimming:

 "Little Blue Lake" - panaromio.com

 Pretty hard to take don't you reckon :) It's called 'Little Blue Lake' - it was amazing!

So that's pretty much it from me,

Love G 

x♥x

♥*~wE MaDe It~*♥

And it deserves a post of it's own, as it has been the main reason for my blog, I may do it in two parts, and while it's still fresh in my mind.

But not today

We are actually going away for a couple of days, the Man and I - leaving tomorrow

Not the best timing and I am anxious about leaving Small Man only a week and a half after his operation, but it's been booked and paid for for quite a while, before we knew about his operation.....

Possum started his new job today, and works tomorrow and Thursday.....

otherwise he will be head nurse and captain of company for his little brother

Small Man is doing very well indeed, healing up nicely and adjusting to it all :)

G

x♥x

sMoOtH sAiLiNg

Things are going well, so far, touch wood.

Small Man has been very determined, and his willpower has been outstanding ~ even with friends over to visit and many temptations

He has lost at least 8kg already

I say 'at least' because we had an estimated starting weight based on the last time he was weighed, and the fact that he had been on a bit of a bender in the weeks leading up to the news of his operation ~ we are going by the last actual weigh in result as his starting weight, however I suspect we could easily add a few kg to that, making his weight loss greater than 8kg....if that makes sense :P
I was unable to weigh him here as he was heavier than my scales maximum, now, he is not :D

Possum has secured some work at Maccas, finally it took 3 interviews but he got there, it was the whole age thing.  Night shifts, which is what he wanted, and he is just the right age!
Not 100% sure when he starts.
We are still waiting to hear about the education dept job.
They usually take a few weeks to get back to you.
At least if he doesn't get an interview for this one this time, he has something to fall back on with Maccas.

I am adjusting to feeling so different about life.
I think I have been in a bubble for the last few years, in order to not feel too much.
I don't need to do that any more.
It's going to be interesting.


I have even decided I can celebrate my 40th birthday. 
I wasn't planning to.
It's very hard to explain, but I didn't feel like celebrating anything, very difficult to look forward when you are stuck in limbo.
Very difficult to want to be around others too much when you don't feel particularly positive, or feel anything much at all (except frustration/sadness/anger/guilt).
On the one hand you don't mind if they ask how things are going, on the other you dread it, because you have nothing to offer.

Only 2 weeks to go.............

G
x♥x 







 

Finally, finallly!!!!!

We have a date for Small Man's operation.......

Saturday the 5th of November - Lap Band Surgery.

Matt finally conceded defeat against the public health system, so with that I made the call to have it organised as a private patient.

I rang in the morning, was given the date and all of the info (except for which hospital...oops) and was going to get a call back 'in the afternoon' to confirm, after the PA met with the surgeon.  
I was unable to concentrate/think or function on any level all day.

It was pay day for my team, usually one or two come to me, and I go and collect a few lots of their money, not this week - I got them all to come to me! 


I still hadn't heard by 5.00pm - and desperately needed to go out to the shop.
I sent the PA (Susan) an email to thank her for her help, and that if she could confirm with me as soon as possible, that would be great, as I needed to get flights booked.
When I returned I had received a reply from her, confirming the date.......
I was a little shocked....a little excited....a little.....OMG!!  




During the day I had messaged Big A (who was in Burnie studying) to tell him things as they happened - long story short, he didn't realise I meant the actual operation on the 5th of November, and that it would be a consultation......he was soon excited when he realised!


Small Man hasn't really reacted yet.
It's a reflex from all of the let downs he has had in the past with this, oh and there has been PLENTY, more than plenty actually.
It is almost 4 years to the day since I started trying to get this operation for him.

Yesterday it all caught up with me and I must admit I was was a bit of a wreck.
The whole process has been such a roller coaster.



The reality is, the next 4 weeks could be harder than the last 5 years put together.
Small Man will need to use his cpap machine every night (he hasn't been using it for a while). He will need to be on Optifast for 3 weeks prior to the operation, so meal replacement 'shakes' for every meal - Susan tells me the first week is extremely tough.  
We will have to cut back/out most socialising/visits to/from friends for the first week at least, because of the risk of temptation, especially if he is hungry. 
I'm also not expecting him to be in the best mood either.  
It is going to require the whole family to keep him distracted/entertained, and most of all not eat around him.
We have made a start, to reduce the shock to his system - and switched him back to all sugar free, reducing the size of his meals and cutting out junk/takeaways.

If he goes to have the operation and his liver hasn't shrunk sufficiently, there is a risk of the surgeon closing him back up, and sending him home to be on Optifast for 6 weeks......

I know how hard this is going to be, so I am considering going on Optifast with him for the first week.  


So we have booked our flights (we are all going over), hire car, and will wait to find out which hospital Monday, so that we can book accommodation.
We will be away for 5 days.

G
x♥x

Look at his hair! :)

Round and round and round it goes....

Still here

Not a whole lot to report

Things have just been ticking over, as they do

School holidays, I love it!!

Possum was unusuccessful with his maccas interview one week, then received an email the following week to say he has another interview in a few weeks. 
Not sure what's with that but I am realising not to fight it all (in my head) and let what will be...be....cos it will whether I stress over it or not.
Very difficult, I kind of take it hard in some ways, the rejection. Not sure why. I guess all mothers just want their kids to be happy though.
He does have another day of contract work coming up, and we have applied for another 3 jobs that we haven't heard back from yet.

I was even more wound up yesterday when a friend messaged me to say her son was doing a weeks work experience, organised by a government agency, to help him find a job. 
It's so unfair.  
Nothing against her or her son, good on them take the help you can get but wow, unemployed is unemployed, regardless of how much the parents earn.  
How's that going to find a kid a job??? 
Disgusting.

Small Man has made a group of new friends. 
The main friend is in one of his classes at school.  He has been spending some time at his house, and his friend has been to stay here for the night.  
It's a bit fun for SM because his new friend lives in his parents house, with two housemates (one female, one male) while his parents live on the mainland.  So basically no 'adults'.
They are good kids from good families, I am quite happy for him to spend time there. 
He is finally doing what he has missed out on for all of this time - being a teenager.  

It is distracting him from the obvious also.
Haven't heard a thing from Melbourne.
I have tried nagging, now I am backing off and doing the opposite.  
We'll see how that goes.

I am still on my eating plan, small lapses here and there but by no means anything major.  
I tried the treadmill a few times since I last blogged and my hip is still very much aggravated.  It's not as much my actual hip, it's more the very tip of the bone at the top of my leg that hurts. 
Buggered if I know why.
Anyway, I have decided not to weigh myself until the end of each month, slight fluctuations were making me feel a bit let down, so I am thinking after a month I hope to see some solid results.


I had an excellent trip to the op shop the other day, I just wanted a few hours to myself (but not work time!).
Possum scored the most, a really nice pair of jeans (that fit!), a pair of near new cargo pants, a Just Jeans long sleeved check shirt (so nice the lady that served me even commented), a SUPERDRY  black long sleeved shirt - oh wow - Superdry is majorly expensive, even just for a t-shirt! 
You can feel the quality of the fabric, so nice!!  
He needed another long sleeved shirt for interviews etc, his other black one...errr...ummm....shrunk in the wardrobe, same as a few pairs of his jeans..... 
The last item was a bit of a gamble....a lavendar/lilac coloured business shirt, I would say it is new without tags.  
Such a beautiful colour and the fabric feels a little like silk.
He took one look at it and said "Oh...thanks Mum...I might wear this......if I was going to a Mardi Gras" 
and then 
'What is it a dressing gown or something?' 
Hahahaha! 
No I wasn't offended, not one bit! I knew it would be a gamble, would rather he told me the truth.
He later said "Oh I might like it another time Mum, just not now...it's just so.....vibrant". 

A few night later SM and I had a giggle, I saw a guy at the supermarket in the same coloured shirt, I said "Oooh look babe....he must be going to a mardi gras".....hehehehehe!

I have hung it up on his wardrobe door, so that he can adjust to the vibrance....hahahaha ;)

I did get a pair of jeans for myself....that actually fit and are extremely comfy.....the last pair I bought are way too big now, and the other pairs I have are either too dressy or still half a size too small.  
I also found a pair of trackies for Small Man, and they are the perfect size for him too.
All that for $42......unbelievable.


So on that note I better go and make myself useful. 
There is always so much to do around here it's not even funny.

G
x♥x

Update of a random events

Well of course, it wouldn't be my blog if I stuck to an actual topic for the whole post now would it?

So where were we?

Ok so nothing has happened as far as Small Man and operations/waiting lists/private or public or anything else for that matter.

He did, however, go to a party on Friday night. 

An 18th birthday party with only the older brother of the birthday boy and his friend to supervise.

I think approx 40 young people attended.

He enjoyed himself. 

It was the first 'party' (without parents) he has been to in 5 years.

The young girls (14/15/16 year olds) that were so drunk they could 'barely hold their heads up' may have had a different experience, or at least the next day was less pleasant for them. 

He was shocked at the state of/possible consequences to these girls. 

I'm really pleased he is making new friends :) He has been invited to another one in a few weeks time.

Possum was called in for two days of IT contract work with a Sydney based company. 

They liked his work, and there may be some more at the end of this month - which is soon.  

Funny, he was paid almost the same for what ended up being a day and a half's work as he used to get for a full week during his traineeship :D

He also had an interview at Maccas - they liked his work too, they threw an apron on  & put him on drive thru to see how he went and seemed happy with him. 

He will know for sure by the 29th August.

The thing I liked was that he came home happy, and was in a cheerful mood for some time after.

It seems that this may be 'the go' for the next few months, part time at Maccas and some contract work until the right job comes up for him. 

So snooze ya lose Hungry Jacks you can get knotted, very disappointed in them.

I think the contract work will be great for his experience.

Things always pan out, and I knew they would. 

I wish everyone else could have seen it too.

Actually the break has done him good.

He worked so hard through college, at HJ's at the same time, it was stressful and tiring, and not just for Possum!

Although his pants appear to have 'shrunk' in the wardrobe.......I never thought we'd get weight on him when he was younger, and used to have to encourage him to eat more!! 

At the same time we were carefully trying to balance Small Mans diet. Difficult much?

Speaking of balancing diets The Big A has joined me on my eating plan.  

He lost 4.5kg in the first 3 weeks :D 

He is not actually fat. 

He is a big build/solid boy. 

Broad shoulders/muscular. 

He doesn't have a beer belly or anything like that but he insists he needs to lose 10kg.

Probably got this from some silly website that's telling him his BMI is all wrong.....the trouble with BMI calculators is that it doesn't take your build into account.

Anyway, the aim of the eating plan is to be healthier first, any weight loss comes second.

His 10kg may take longer if people keep sending sticky date pudding with caramel sauce to work for him.....but anyway...hahaha! 

He has them convinced that I don't cook.....so they feel sorry for him and send stuff to work. 

I think most people realise that I don't cook cakes and biscuits etc simply because it's not a good idea for Small Man to have that stuff in the house.

My weight has stayed the same - I am still at 6.5-7kg lost which I am happy with, but hope to hit it harder over the next fortnight and get to 10kg lost. 

I am enjoying the eating plan and haven't missed cordial/pasta/bread which were the major changes.

I didn't get much treadmill in at all over the last two weeks. 

I had an incident at work which resulted in me collecting catalogues in pouring rain for 2.5 hours, without info on where the catalogues had been delivered :/ Not happy Jan!! 

Walking for that long in the rain/mud/ on an uneven surface at times flared up my hip in the extreme, in fact I had a job to walk at all the next day. 

It had not been that bad for many years, we went to 'Agfest' a huge annual agricultural show here one year, we walked around for a similar amount of time, the ground was very uneven and damp and it had the same effect. 

It put me off the treadmill a bit. 

I will try again this week. 

I can't handle that sort of pain, and feeling like I am really aggravating something (the hip pain is of an unknown cause).

So that's pretty much it :)

G

xx