jenniferelizabethwiseman Member

Bella, I am so sorry to hear about your sister's news. I hope for both of you that she has some good time remaining and that you are able to make some memories together. And happy belated birthday, Yooly!

Have been maintaining weight as per doctor's orders--staying between 150 and 151 lbs until I finish my radiation 9/6. Chemo starts 9/21 after my trip to Phoenix for my singing competition, and I have been guaranteed to lose my hair, so today was wig shopping day and I am pretty pleased with the one I chose!

Thanks, all--Memorial Sloan Kettering does have nutritional advice and specialists who can help answer questions. I will certainly be availing myself of their services as I get into the nitty gritty of treatment! In the meantime, I am listening to my body and playing it day by day.

Just caught up on several days of comments--good to hear about some of the positive things going on with home improvements, job situations, etc! I have been incommunicado since my hysterectomy 7/20 for endometrial cancer--the surgery went great and I am recovering very well with essentially no pain. Unfortunately I just…

@AlexandraFindsHerself1971 good info, thanks. Part of my reasoning for not going that way is also that even if I had the panniculectomy, I still hate my upper arms which are very flabby and I have very saggy baggy breasts at this point from the weight loss as well, and any abdominal surgery won't fix THOSE things. I look…

Found out my hysterectomy will be July 20th, so I want to be in as tip-top shape as possible before that--won't be able to do my regular exercise for a while after. Was given the choice of either a minimally invasive robotically assisted procedure or an open procedure that would also include a panniculectomy (tummy tuck).…

Thanks, all. Nice to hear your good news, @conniewilkins56 ! @AlexandraFindsHerself1971 I hope you get some relief for your tooth problems--sounds really miserable. I have gotten tons of support and am in a better frame of mind to handle things. Thank goodness I HAVE been so successful with weight loss over the past 18…

Have been AWOL for weeks--extremely busy with life in general, but just caught up on the last several pages of conversation. Was nice to find out what everyone is up to, and welcome @bojaantje3822, if I ever moved from the US it would be to the Netherlands. I will have some challenges in front of me for the next several…

@Athijade, I am so sorry you are having to deal with that! My husband, who has autism and OCD, is extremely sensitive to noise and loud stereos are his worst nightmare--he goes through the same thing with getting completely overwhelmed by neighbors playing music, and worries for days afterwards about a repeat episode. He…

I know that is true for him, and that is what we did--after his nap, took a walk, although he wanted to walk too fast for my knees and I had to stop early. So hard when he cannot accommodate. Appreciate the ear!

@AlexandraFindsHerself1971, that is a great suggestion, and thank you!

Thank you--I HAVE tried to make him aware, and we have been in counseling at times. He is autistic, which makes it a little harder because he has a lot of difficulty understanding how his directness and honesty can be perceived. Sometimes I just need to vent, since I know this is how he is, and I need to rely on others for…

Do any of you have to deal with this? Hubby was actually pretty hurtful when I weighed 300 lbs, telling me how unattracted he was to me, and that our lack of intimacy and so on was because of that. He was the food police when I would try to work on weight loss, which was distinctly un-fun. I decided to not allow him to be…

Ugh, today, my hubby keeps asking me if I want some garlic knots, some ribs, and insisted on pouring me a glass of wine for no reason at all. I am choosing to assume that he really doesn't understand how much this derails me, as opposed to thinking that he is intentionally sabotaging my efforts! I tell him I am really…

Today is the day, I can feel it--I am ready to start pushing again! Right in the middle of the most Holy weekend--both Easter and Passover coinciding, and Ramadan also going on as well. I am right in the middle of reading two books--"What to Say When You Talk To Yourself" by Shad Helmstetter and also "With Winning in Mind"…

Was supposed to have a ballroom dancing lesson today but the instructor cancelled due to a family emergency--postponed to Sunday. I was already dressed up so decided to take a couple of current pics, and then wanted to compare to Spring 2019, after I had already lost 50 lbs. So this is at 250 to now 163, size 20 to size 12.

Fantastic invite, @Bella_Figura! And a fantastic group of people.

Pretty pumped--I helped 9 other people get these risers out of a storage facility, into a moving truck, out of the truck, and up to the second floor of our new rehearsal space and set up Tuesday evening. 1500 lbs of equipment. It took over 4 hours, but the job is done, and tonight, my chorus of 90 women will be up on these…

Really sorry to hear of your struggles, @conniewilkins56. I hope that continuing to post and reach out helps you feel connected.

@LiveOnceBeHappy thank you! Still working at it, goal is 140.

@lauriekallis thanks--Just have to get my balance and mojo back!

Having a very hard week--not doing a good job of balancing work demands with my time off and have found myself not taking good care of my needs. I gained 4 lbs with my chorus retreat and it isn't going away, which is really frustrating, and I feel like I can't say things about how I am feeling to my husband and friends…

My quartet, Balancing Act, singing at my chorus retreat this past weekend!

Salads and fruit are great cravings to have! Much better than my craving for pizza!!! Finishing my packing for my chorus retreat. We will be getting TONS of exercise, singing and dancing for hours each day and also using the pool, but there will also be a LOT of food around--breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets, plus…

Thank you, @lauriekallis! @MelissaAY1017 I can't live without music. Started singing when I was 5, playing piano at 7, and was in every band, choir, and orchestra option all the way through high school and early college--played bassoon and tenor sax. Had to drop back on the instruments when the science and math classes got…

Ha ha! It is absolutely easier to expand the lungs when there isn't as much fat below the diaphragm, BUT people who are overweight often have a larger thoracic cavity and so a larger lung capacity, which can help with opera!

Oh, I am so glad you watched it, @PAV8888! This is a hobby that feeds my soul! I am in a quartet, too. And it is part of the reason why I really wanted to lose weight--I needed the stamina, needed to take pressure off my knees and needed to be able to breathe better.

@PAV8888 we didn't for many long months because of COVID, but we have been back in person singing together for a couple of months, finally! Check us out at www.libertyoakchorus.org if you want to see and hear more!

@MelissaAY1017 wow, another marine biology lover! Jaques Cousteau and Eugenie Clarke were my heros! I have been super busy this week, getting ready for my chorus retreat weekend. Will be singing and dancing for about 20 hours from Friday night until Sunday afternoon!

@Athijade I am sorry you avoid the water because of how you feel in a swimsuit, though I understand and have felt that way as well. But I love water too much to stay out--I feel so free in the water! Before I decided to be a nurse practitioner, I fully intended to become a marine biologist just so I could spend all my time…