Okay I think we are officially back in business. Boy was that a tricky one. Definitely not my favorite. I was never miserable, just annoyed! I mean seriously the sight of jell-o makes me shudder. The pain really wasn't too bad except for when it was :) Really there were about two days there that I literally could not swallow. I hate liquid Lortab. Its evil. It tastes awful. It makes me a weird looping tired. I would talk or moan in my sleep Ray said. The first few days I could not open my mouth. One day I used a flash light to "peek" on my incision. Oh gosh I almost dropped the flashlight it looked so scary. I didn't look again for a good week :) I had seen more than enough. I finally brushed my teeth on like Thursday, out of necessity because things had moved into my mouth and were setting up camp for Memorial day weekend. It hurt so bad to pry my mouth open, and I couldn't spit I just had let it fall out of my mouth. I can do pain, so I never was sad or despondent...more annoyed really and frustrated at times because I just wanted to be able to communicate with out writing everything down, and I was so hungry. Every day though I woke up determined to have a positive attitude. One day I wrote in my journal that everything I needed to know about recovering from surgery I learned from having five c-sections. First thing. Shower, fix your hair, and put mascara on everyday now matter how you feel, and use really yummy smelling soap and lotion. Second brush your teeth and use mouth wash that makes your mouth tingle. There is something about that tingling feeling that makes you feel clean all over. Third, get dressed in something you feel cute in but that is comfortable. Never mind that you will sleep all day, who says you can't feel cute while you are sleeping. Fourth keep fun fresh smells all around you. Fifth. Get outside. Even if it is for only ten minutes, the fresh air will do wonders for your mind and body. Sixth. Read your scriptures and pray everyday. Even if you read only a verse, at least open up that book and make an effort to connect to the scriptures. And it is imperative for your exhausted and stressed mind that you have communication with the Lord. He can open your mind and help you to see how to make the best of your recovery. Seven. Under no circumstances do you complain. Yes surgery bites the big one. It is a given. Talking about how awful it is will do you no good. Find the blessings in your momentary trial. There have been studies done on the affects of a PMA (positive mental attitude) in the recovery process. I shall at some point look it up for you, but I think you would agree that anything and everything is just that much better when you look on the bright side. So everyday I listed in my journal the blessings the Lord had extended to me. The recovery was hard, not my favorite, but the Lord gave me so much. I received incredible insights to my life, empowering and motivating ones. I was the recipient of service from wonderful women in my church. I had time to reflect on my life, where I have been and where I am now and where I am going. I had the opportunity to count my blessings through out my life. It wasn't until today that I could talk pain free. It was quite appropriate really because today was my sister-in-laws birthday. So for her present I called her :) And I have a new nephew who was just born today. He is the 20th grand child for Mom and Dad Griffin. They have 7 kids and the last gets married in July. I am expecting lots more babies for this family!! And in case you were wondering yes I want more. I love having babies!! I love being a mother. A friend once commented, " I bet you have like 12 kids". Oh if only! My gut says that I will have only one more. I will just have to see what the Lord has planned for our family after that. So life is good. Really good. I am on my elliptical again :) As I write actually. I look forward to starting up my p90x tomorrow. I am actually ordering another work out program this week as well. It is called Insanity. Go to beachbody.com to check it out. One of my goals is to be athletic. I could work out at gym and get weight lifting strong but I want to be athletic strong. Don't get me wrong. I so love the gym. But there so many other ways to work as well. This Insanity is you against your body. Basically you against your mind. That is my favorite kind of stuff. I love that moment when your body is screaming at you to quit and you have to dig down to that part of you that can push a little further that go can go a little harder. Oh and by the by I only lost five lbs. Bummer. I mean seriously I was only eating 500 kcals a day. Really that is probably why I didn't lose any more. My body doesn't do starvation diets. I never could, any time I lost weight in the past it was because I over worked out, I would spend hours at the gym. Not good. Because you can't really sustain that, and it isn't good for your body. I mean I can drop my calories down to 1200 and lose, but 500 is starvation. You need 1200 a day to live, to function at normal capacity. Anywho that is a post for another day wouldn't you say :) Oh it feels good to be alive. It feels great to be me again.