“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

- C. S. Lewis

10 months post-op and doing great!! As of last night I'm down 216 pounds from last April's high weight. Wow! I've now exceeded my goal and think I might be able to lose another 10 or so before moving into maintenance mode. Time for a new goal! I never dreamed that this could be me!! I feel great. I can eat pretty much anything now in "normal" quantities, the exception remaining fried foods. And I am very OK with that. My doctors are all happy with my progress.

My only physical issue results from a tumble I took at work about 6 weeks ago (yes, grace personified in front of several of my new colleagues). Last week I had 2 of 3 MRIs so far to try to identify the source of continuing pain in my left hip. I've not been able to walk pain-free since the fall, and Lord knows I never thought to see these words come out of my mind, but I truly miss walking! I had gotten up to half an hour to an hour every day and really, really miss it. I have great hopes that these latest MRIs will show something innocuous that can easily be fixed. At the moment of the fall I missed all that extra padding I used to have - until I realized that we'd have likely had to have the fire department paramedics come out to help me get up if I still add those extra pounds. I highly advise against falling after age 30...

I continue to enjoy my new job. I'm really impressed by the commitment to excellence my co-workers exhibit. I've hired some great new team members and am still looking for a couple more. I really like the start-up mentality compared to the old established culture - everyone wears lots of hats and there's never a dull moment. One or two dull moments might be appreciated, but I'll take the craziness over boredom any day! (I know, be careful what you ask for...)

John's job search remains frustrating. We have a couple of other friends with senior accounting backgrounds that are also finding this market less than hospitable. People with jobs aren't moving around much and contractor rates are coming down, down, down as employers have so many candidates to choose from. This too shall pass. In the meantime, it's been nice to have Chef John's famous meals almost nightly. Given the crazy weather we've had this year his garden is just now becoming productive so garden-fresh produce is starting to enter the mix. He's also had some fun renewing his bridge skills and working through some honey-do list items around the house.

Photo is of me last month helping to celebrate Gayle and Jim's 25th anniversary