What's for Dinner??

Just for the record, this is NOT low calorie and NOT low fat, but I thought I would share a family favorite with all of you.



BakedZiti

* 1 pound dry ziti or the tube looking pasta
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves of minced garlic
* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce or make your own ( I make my own)
* 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
* 1 1/2 cups sour cream
* 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

 

 

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion, garlic, and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish or spray with Pam.
4. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2 sauce mixture, Provolone cheese, sour cream, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and mozzarella!
5. Bake for 30 minutes or so in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

This is by far my husband and kids favorite recipe. If you like your meals cheesier, meatier or saucier, than you can add a little more, but that's strictly on your preference. Oh yeah.......keep in mind that this meal does make a huge dish so you might want to have a smaller baking dish on the side for any extra that doesn't fit in the first one. Better safe than sorry.....and trust...YOU WON'T BE SORRY FOR MAKING THIS AT ALL!!!!

Surf's Up!!!

I couldn't stand it any longer after seeing how flat the surf was on Wednesday, so after volunteering at Monkey Doodle's school Wednesday morning, Miss Priss and I went to soak up some vitamin D at 3 tables.  I knew the surf was about to get monstrous over the next few days, so I knew this would be the only chance for her to play in the water.  After applying gobs of 50 SPF, we got almost 2 hours of relaxing on the beach.  It was the first time I had worn a bikini out in public, and I didn't care how swollen I was!!!  You can tell by the picture(taken with my phone, so poor quality) that we are pretty pasty white compared to what we usually are.  It has been months since we had beach time since was unable to go because of surgery.

I am 8 weeks post op and still battling my swelling,  I am up 8 lbs from swelling, and I am so fed up with it!!  I start out about 5 lbs up in the morning, but I swell to the 8 lb mark by the evening.  It is getting so old, and I was hoping it would be a little better by now.  These pictures were taken this morning after not sleeping with my garment on.

I feel like a marshmallow!

 

 

I laid around all day yesterday until yesterday evening when we decided to walk over to the Eddie Aikau surf competition opening ceremonies.  We were surrounded by so many pro surfers and local celebrities, and we had no clue who they were.

It was such a neat experience, and you can read all about the competition here.  

http://live.quiksilver.com/2009/eddie/history.php?btn_history=_over

 

It is a big wave competition, and they have not been able to have it in 5 years because the surf hasn't been high enough.  We are so excited to see the huge waves and surf, and it will happen either on the 7th, 8th, or 9th!!

Goodbye Oregon, Aloha Hawaii

We made it home safe and sound last night from Oregon, but none of us are too happy to be home.  Monkey Doodle had a breakdown Friday night when he found out we were leaving, and he said that he did not want to leave his family and go back to Hawaii.  As soon as we landed Saturday night, he started crying again and said that he wanted to fly back to Oregon because he did not want to live in Hawaii anymore.  I have to say that I am right there with him, and I am ready to move.  Hawaii is great and we have amazing friends here, but our hearts are in Oregon.  We love everything about it and are ready to move there permanently. Chief could retire from the Army right now, but that isn't best for us financially at the moment.  Hopefully we will be ready to do that in 2 years from now!  Here are some pictures of our amazing trip with our amazing family!

Monkey Doodle and Miss Priss ready to go fishing with Uncle Bob

Monkeying around

Miss Priss and Grandma

 

Our kids with the Grandparents

Our family with Chief's parents

I am thinking Christmas card??

 

Me and my beautiful Mookie

 

1 Year Ago Today

On November 24, 2008, I was revised from the Lapband to the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy.  It was one of the best decisions in my life!  I am so thankful that Dr Rehrig believed in me and helped me in making this decision.  Life with the sleeve is so much better and so much more fullfilling because there is little to no maintenance, I can eat pretty much what I want, and I only eat in very small quantities.  It has given me my life back, and I would never change a thing! 

My life has changed in so many ways in the past year!  We have moved to Hawaii, Monkey Doodle started Kindergarten, I am a stay at home mommy, I wear a bikini when I go to the beach, I had plastic surgery to get rid of the excess skin, and most important....I AM HEALTHY AND HAVE A NORMAL BMI!  That is just crazy to me to think that I am considered normal now. I still have 15 lbs that I would like to lose, and I cannot wait to get back in to the gym and work on that. 

I just have to say that I love my life and so thankful that I had weight loss surgery!

Oregon vacation part 1

We are having a blast here in Oregon! We have seen old friends, spent some fabulous time with family, and spent the day at the Coast. Tomorrow, Monkey Doodle is going fly fishing with his Uncle Bob, and both kids HAD to sleep out in the camper tonight with the aunt and uncle. Mookie is having so much fun wrestling and playing with her younger siblings, and we are loving having her around. Tomorrow is cooking and baking day, but we are taking time out to have lunch with more friends again.

We are so in love with Oregon and have no desire to go back to Hawaii. This will definitely be out retirement place, and we cannot wait for that day to arrive.

6 weeks post op

I made it to 6 weeks post op, and I am looking better and better every day.  I still have a lot of swelling, and I hope it goes away soon.  I took some pictures last night, but they are not great since I didn't have a photographer.  I am also up about 3 lbs of swelling from yesterday morning too, but I still wanted to take a few pictures! 

Preop markings appt

 

 

These were taken last night, and I have on the exact same bikini bottoms

 

 

Pretty amazing, huh?  I cannot wait to see what I look like at the 6 month mark!

Dare I say it?

Well, I think I am finally say that I feel almost back to normal.  Chief left for a trip on Sunday, so I am on my own with the kids for the first time since surgery.  I am back to getting Monkey Doodle ready for school. driving and picking him up, cooking, washing bedsheets and making beds, (Chief did all the rest of the laundry before he left), and light cleaning (he cleaned the entire house too!)  Miss Priss and I even drove in to town yesterday and made a trip to Target to pick up a few things for our Oregon trip.  Chief helped me get us all packed this past weekend since we really don't need any of the winter clothes that we will be taking with us to Oregon.  So, I do still have some pulling/tugging in my tummy when I lift heavier things, so I am trying to stay away from that.  I do not want to mess up my stomach muscles or my belly button more! Since my belly button is still not healed, I don't want to chance getting a hernia or anything like that.

I am still having a ton of swelling when I am really active, and it was really bad last night!  I felt like I couldn't breathe very well in my garment because it was so tight.  It seems to help when I sleep without it, and I wake up with some of the swelling gone.  I gain about 4 lbs in swelling when I am really active. 

My body was rejecting some of the dissolvable stitches, but I figured that would happen.  The knots always seem to surface on me, so I am used to it.  They are getting better and healing pretty good too.  The back opening has closed now, and I just have a small scab now.  My belly button is definitely looking better, but I am worried it is going to be too small!  I have been placing a soft earplug in it to keep it somewhat round, and it seems to be working.  I will have to send pictures to Dr Sauceda when I find my camera charger!  Sorry, no pictures at the moment due to the misplacement of the charger!

It is hard to believe that I am only 2 days away from being 6 weeks post op.  The kids and I fly out to Oregon on a red eye late Thursday night and arrive in Portland early Friday morning.  Chief will be there to pick me us because he is flying in to Portland on Thursday afternoon.  I will try to keep the blog updated as much as I can while I am there, and I will need to get my 6 week post op pictures taken as well.  I will definitely be sharing those with everyone too!

5 weeks post op

Hard to believe that I am actually 5 weeks post op today!  As of today, my meaurements are:

Chest/Breasts:   40 inches
Bra Band:         33 inches
Waist:               31 inches
Hips:                 39 inches
Each Thigh:       21 inches

My preop measurements were:

Chest/Breasts:   37 inches

Bra Band:         36 inches
Waist:               36 inches
Hips:                 43 inches
Each Thigh:       24 inches

I am hoping that my waist will end up around 28 inches or smaller!

Weight preop was 160 lbs, and weight when I got home from Mexico was 157 lbs with a ton of swelling. I have gone from 157lbs to 165lbs, and now I am back to 159 lbs with swelling.  I am hoping I will stablize around 155 lbs, but I would love to be in the 140's when all is said and done. 

I was a true size 8, 36DD, and a medium dress preop, and now I am wearing 6's and 4's, size small in dresses, and not for sure what my bra size is yet.  I only have 1 more week before I can wear normal bras, so I should be finding out soon! 

Dr Sauceda's Certiifications

A lot of chatter has been happening on the Plastic Surgery board regarding certifications.  I emailed Dr Sauceda regarding this and asking for the information for his.  With his approval, I am copying the information he sent to me.

Here is the email I received back from Dr Sauceda explaining everything and giving proof to his certifications.

The "Consejo Mexicano de Cirugia Plastica" and the "Asociacion
Mexicana de Cirugia Plastica" (AMCPER), are in the same building,
actually in the same office.
Flamencos 74
Col. San José Insurgentes
México, D.F.
Tels. 5615 49 10 y 5615 49 11
Fax. 5615 49 23
Lada sin costo 01 800 711 87 32



Actually if you put in google "Consejo Mexicano de Cirugia Plastica", it is going to show you the Asociacion Mexicana de Cirugia Plastica web site.  They are not the same thing, the Consejo Mexicano de Cirugia Plastica has to watch over the 13 plastic surgery programs on the all country, and has to put  the final exam on the residents who have finish their course. This is a hard exam, in my case, it  was written and oral exam, but after some years they only require the
written one. The AMCPER is the association which make the national congress of
plastic surgery.

But to be on the Asociacion Mexicana de Cirugia Plastica, you have to pass this exam. Now, I don't know how it is in the states, but here in Mexico for a plastic surgeon if he or she is the biggest plastic surgeon association you have to be on the board.  Anyway, here is the link of the Consejo Mexicano de Cirugia Plastica in there you can find my name.

 http://www.consejocpr.org.mx/principal.htm

On the Medicos Certificados there are the all abc, you have to click on the big S, and then click several times on siguente ( because  on the S, there a lot of plastic surgeons.)

Also I am in the FILACP, ( FEDERACIÓN IBERO LATINOAMERICANA DE CIRUGÍA
PLÁSTICA Y RECONSTRUCTIVA),  which is the ibero latinamerican federation of plastic surgery.

http://filacp.org/directorio/index.cgi

In there you have to put my last name and my name.


Hope that helps!

Jessica

Moving on down!!

This past week, I moved down ANOTHER size!  I actually bought a pair of DKNY jeans in a size 4!  I first tried on a size 8, and they were way too big.  I went straight to a 4 to see if I could get in to them, but I was hesitant because of all of my swelling.  Well, here is my proof!

REPOST! Some of the reasons why I chose Dr Sauceda

 I have had so many people ask me why I chose Dr Sauceda, and I thought this would be a good time to repost this.

1. He uses the Hampton Inn to house his patients. The link to the hotel is http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml;jsessionid=XSQGHGCOAUOHWCSGBJF3MQQ?ctyhocn=MTYGAHX If you have the all inclusive package, he takes care of the hotel reservations for you.

2. He performs his surgeries in a clinic that is very close to his office and the hotel. Here is a link to pictures of the clinic and to another blogger that has already had her surgery. http://www.mymexicopsjourney.com/clinic-rooms.htm

3. The clinic does have WIFI internet access now and so does the hotel. You would need to bring an Ethernet cord if you want access in your hotel room, but they also have access downstairs as well.

4. You can request to have a recliner be placed in your room and a mini fridge as well.

5.Dr Sauceda has a seat riser for the bathroom that you can request if you think you are going to need one.

6. The Hampton Inn has a free full breakfast buffet every morning and free happy hour on Tues, Wed, and Thursday with free appetizers.

7. From my own experience, it was all  in a very safe area. I even walked to the HEB at night and felt completely safe.

8. The hotel has an Applebee’s next door, and they will deliver to the hotel.  There is a Starbucks, McDonalds, H.E.B., an Italian Restaurant, and other shops. There is a big mall less than a $2 cab ride away called Gallerias Monterrey with every kind of shop & amenities and is very similar to an American mall. The food court at the mall includes a KFC, Pizza Hut, and a Chili’s. The hotel also has a shuttle service that will take you around for free within 10 miles of the hotel. ( I would still give a tip.)

9. Dr. Sauceda has told me that he only performs 1 surgery per day.

10. His wife is his anesthesiologist, and she is known for making patients have very minimal pain after surgery.  I was off my IV and IV drugs by day 2 and on Ibuprofen by day 4.

11. He performs the surgery under something called twilight sedation, not general anesthesia. It is regional anesthesia with sedation, and that allows him to perform multiple surgeries without the risk of being under general for many hours. After I researched it, I found that it is much safer and there is no need to recover from the anesthesia like someone would from general anesthesia. I was talking to my husband on the phone before I was even out of the operating room.

12. If you are not completely 100% satisfied with his work, he will offer free revisions if warranted. The patient might have to pay for your flight/ and or hotel, but his fees are free.

13. If you travel alone, Dr. Sauceda may offer to let you stay at the clinic the entire time or stay longer than normal if you like. He doesn’t want you to get lonely in the hotel. He offered to me already, but I would rather go back to the hotel where the beds are much more comfy!

14. He also comes to your hotel room everyday at least once to check on you, change your bandages, etc. Amazing to have a Dr. that actually makes house calls! If for some reason he cannot make it, he does have an assistant or a nurse that comes in his place. I saw him everyday and also a nurse everyday to help me dress, bathe, and get my garments on.

15. He uses the brand Veronique for his compression garments, and they get great reviews.

16. If your surgery totals over $6000, he currently offers an all inclusive price. That includes hotel, medical clearance tests, all medical expenses, fees, implants (if any), required post-op garments(I believe 2 sets of garments, but it might be on a case by case basis), required hospitalization, post-op medication, follow up, refund of airfare up to $600, and local transportation (airport-clinic-hotel-airport.)

17. Dr. Sauceda will try to pick you up personally from the airport if he is available to do so. He picked me up, but could not take me back to the airport.  He did already have a cab arranged for me and paid for when I had to leave.

18.  The best is that he truly is an artist!  He is so good at what he does and gave me an amazing new body!  I cannot thank him enough for giving me a new and improved me! 

Almost 4 weeks post op

Well, I figured it was time to update the blog with new pictures since I was close to my 4 week post op date. I am still up about 10 lbs in swelling, and I just wish it would go down even just a little! I am starting to notice more shape in my waist, and it gives me hope!



My back still has the most swelling from the lipo, and I am noticing more swelling in my thighs too.

Holy cats! I actually have a waist!

Last drain is out and hello Ken!

 Well, I woke up yesterday and noticed that I was having pain around the drain tube site. I inspected it and realized that the stitch that was holding my drain in had broken through my skin and nothing was holding my drain in! Can you say OUCH??? I immediately emailed Dr Sauceda because the pain was not going away, and I got the answer I was looking for! Even though it was still draining a little over 50ml per day, it needed to come out. I pulled it out myself with a little help from Chief, and it surprisingly didn't hurt at all! I sprayed Bactine on the drain hole first, and I think that helped to numb it and keep it from hurting. He said to wear my compression garment at all times for the next couple of days and only take it off to shower. I do that anyway, so that isn't a problem for me. We took a few pictures, but they didn't come out too great. I was really swollen from the day before, but at least you can see my new Wacoal bras! I cannot wear them for 3 more weeks, but I can wear a sports bra right now.  I am still wearing my compression garment during the day, and now I am wearing a sports bra at night.

We had a busy day yesterday with our monthly Costco trip and commissary shopping. We then we to our friends house and had dinner and then walked over to the PX to get a birthday present for one of Monkey Doodle's friends. When I got home, my Ken was REALLY swollen! For people that don't know what Ken is, it is my pubic area. In plastic surgery land, they call it that because you look like a Ken Barbie doll from all of the swelling! LOL!

Swell Hell!

Well, the day finally came, and I am in swell hell. Since Monday, I have gained 6 lbs, and it has to be fluid. My drain was not working properly yesterday, and fluid was pouring out of the hole instead of going in to the drain. Dr. Sauceda said it was not working correctly and probably needed to come out. I worked with it hoping that I could get it unblocked and working again, and I did! But, now it isn't coming out of the drain or the hole. If it is like this in the morning, Chief and I will be taking the drain out. I have been laying in bed most of the day because I overdid it yesterday. We went to the Navy Exchange Mall with our neighbors and walked around for a few hours, and then we went and picked Monkey Doodle from school. I was extremely tired last night and just didn't feel good at all. I feel like a swollen tick at the moment, but I know it will pass. I hate to say it, but I feel fat..... My belly is huge, my thighs are huge, my face is so swollen, and of course my back is still really swollen. Dr Sauceda is so nice and just reassured me that it is part of the process, and just to rest, rest, rest.

I do have good news though! We are going to Oregon to visit Chief's family for Thanksgiving! We are all so excited, but now I do not have ANY winter clothes that fit! We are going to be lucky if the kids have any since they have both grown so much since January. We are going to be there for a littler over a week, so it is hard to think about buying new clothes for only 8 days. I will be digging out the winter stuff from last year and see what we can and cannot use. I do have 1 pair of jeans that I found that are brand new. I bought them on the clearance rack because I couldn't pass up a pair of jeans for $2.00! They are a size 7 in juniors, and I tried them on today and can get them on. They were pretty tight and really uncomfortable because of the drain, but they should work as long as the swelling goes down in the next few weeks.

I also tried on bras yesterday, and I ended up buying Wacoal 34DD's. I probably could wear a 32DDD, but the 34DD's will work for now. I cannot wear them for another month, but I wanted to have a couple just in case. After reading so many online forums and message boards, I have learned that Victoria's Secret just doesn't make a good quality bra for the price and would rather spend money on a better quality bra.

Well, I am going back to laying around and being in swell hell at the moment. I am hoping that the Bromelain will help the swelling, and I am cutting out as much sodium out of my diet as I can.

Stitches are gone!

Well, the stitches are gone! It feels so good to get them out, and the itching has definitely improved. I am 18 days post op and starting to feel so much better. I am still sleeping at least 10 to 12 hours per day, and that is helping tremendously! We took these pictures this afternoon after being out of my compression garment for quite awhile, so I am very very swollen! Still, it is neat to see how my body is changing!

Drain drain go away!

Ok, I am 17 days post op and still have 1 drain.  I am getting so so sick of it, and I thought it was going to be gone by the end of this weekend.  It has other plans in mind, and has started back up again.  It was at 60ml every 24 hours, but it has gone back up to 80ml every 24 hours.  It needs to be under 50ml before it can come out.  My belly button is looking pretty decent, and Chief says that the spot on my back is looking better too.  Dizzy spells aren't as bad, and I am now thinking that it has something to do with the heat as well.  It is really hot and humid right now, and it is making it miserable wearing this garment.  I have a little spot on the vertical incision on my left breast that was bothering me a couple of days ago, but I went without my compression bra for a few hours yesterday, and it feels and looks better now.  I am also ready to get these stitches out and hope they come out easily.  After almost 3 weeks, I bet I have a little trouble getting them out.  My boob stitches look amazing and looks like the scars are going to be minimal.  All in all, I am still doing really well and cannot wait for the swelling to go down!  I want to see the final product!

2 weeks post op

It is hard to believe that I am 2 weeks post op.  It seems like surgery was so long ago for some reason.  I am doing well except for a few minor things. My belly button is starting to heal, but it is still open.  I also have a spot at the top of my butt crack that has opened, but that is a normal thing as well since it is in a high stress spot.  It isn't infected and should heal on its own soon.  I will be getting my stitches out on Tuesday, and that will be interesting!  My stitches are so small that you can barely see them. I am having some dizzy spells right after I take off my garment.  I pretty much passed out tonight right after I took these pictures, but Jeremy was there to carry me to the bed.  I was about to get in to the shower and was emptying my drain.  I remember telling him that I needed to lay down, and that is the last thing I remember until I woke up on the bed.  I was only out for a few seconds, but now I know to not walk around too much without my binder on.  From what I understand, my blood pressure drops after taking off my garment and blood starts to flow a little better around my body.

The bruising is pretty much gone, but the pain in my back from the lipo is still there.  My butt doesn't really hurt at all anymore, except if I sit for too long in one place.  I am hoping that my butt will start to fluff soon and fill out a little more. 

 

The boobs have settled in nicely and swelling is pretty much gone, I think. I do still have one drain that I have hidden pretty well!  It is outputting around 60 ml at the moment, and it cannot come out until it is below 50 ml.  It won't be much longer though, and that will make life much easier!   I still have a lot of swelling everywhere else though. 

It is pretty amazing to me to be able to put on a thong like this and not have to worry about tucking in a roll of skin or fat.  It is also a size small! 

Just hanging out

Nothing really new going on here on the plastic surgery front.  Chief is taking amazing care of me, won't let me lift a finger, and is just letting me get the rest that my body needs.  My last drain is outputting less and less, and I hope to get that out this weekend.  I have a Dr appointment on Tuesday with my weight loss Dr's here in Hawaii, and I will get my stitches out at that time.  My incisions are really starting to itch, so I know it is getting close to time to get them out.  Swelling is still the worst in my back, and that is pretty much the only place that I have pain.  Belly is a little tender, and I can definitely tell where he did the lipo on my body.  Bruising is almost completely gone already, but I just wish the swelling would go too!  I took a few measurements today, and I measured 33 1/2 inches under my boobs!  I was in shock because I was 35 before surgery.  My waist is still measuring 35, but I know that is due to the swelling in my back and belly.  I am hoping to be under 30 after all the swelling is gone.  Anyway, that is pretty much it on the plastic surgery journey at the moment.  I will keep you guys in the loop if anything exciting changes! 

Update on Kyra Dawn

Kyra had her tumor surgery yesterday, and the Dr removed about 1/4 of the tumor.  He did get it removed from the tendon, so that is a huge plus!  I thought they said that there was no cancer, but I was mistaken.  They still do not have the answer to that yet because it was sent off to pathology.  Her scar is much smaller than they expected and is about 8 inches long versus 2 feet long like anticipated.  She was in a lot of pain after surgery, and it was very hard on her. I felt horrible that we didn't get to the hospital yesterday because she was asking for us as soon as she woke up!  I was so tired after the weekend and stayed in bed all day. We did make it up to see her tonight, and she was pretty drugged up but talking.  She wasn't in too much pain, but they have her on Tordal every 3 hours and a Morphine pain pump.  She should be in the hospital until Friday.  Please keep this sweet 12 year old girl in your prayers.  She could really use them!

It's an Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie....

I decided last night that it was time to bust out the new bikinis that I just bought and see how they fit. I should have done it at the beginning of the day and not the end because swelling is so bad by the end of the day. Either way, I am amazed on how decent I still look! I probably have 10 lbs of fluid that I am carrying, and EVERYTHING is still swollen, especially my back. I do still have my drain, but I have it strategically hidden in the pictures. Pretty good, eh?



My weight is still exactly the same as when I left, but I know I should be down at least 5 lbs from the loss of skin and lipo plus fluid weight. If I come out of this at 145, I can be happy with that. My goal weight is 140, but I think I need to focus on what size I am wearing and not weight I am.

You can really see the swelling in my belly in the picture above and in my lower back in the picture below. My back hurts the worst now because of the lipo. After the swelling is gone, the back fat wrinkles should be gone too.

Thighs are also still swollen, and I hope to see more improvement in that area as well. The wrinkles are mostly gone, so there is improvement.

All in all, I think I look pretty decent for 11 days post op. Dr Sauceda says that I should see about 85% of the results between the 2-3 month mark.