If you have been following my blog, you are aware that I had gastric bypass on May 27th of this year. The sole purpose of this surgery is to lose weight. Fast. It restricts your intake to 4-6 ounces of foods and liquids at any given time. You can try to eat more, but I guarantee your tummy will strongly object.

I have been documenting my progress by taking full body and face pictures. The results are amazing for me and most people. I could tell right away in my face. Most people can. I have posted a side by side face picture on my Facebook and will post it below so you may see. No full body yet. Not that brave. Things are very saggy. Need to tone.

With all the weight loss (54lbs in 9 weeks), I am updating or have updated my profile picture on here. I love the picture. I'm glowing. I will also continue to do this as my weight comes off and I may get brave in a few months and post a full body. I am also going to be blogging about the journey this surgery is taking me on.

PS..... If you are someone that thinks this is an easy way out, then kindly do not follow these threads and keep your uninformed opinion to yourself! Thanks!

Hi. My name is Sarah and I'm addicted to buying purses. All kinds. Totes, handbags, bowlers, crossbody, you name the style; I probably have one. Ya know those big plastic totes that you can put a Christmas tree in???? Ya....mine is completely full, will barely close, and has purses on top of it. Lord.

This little addiction began after high school. It used to be just different styles or colors. Now it is different brands, styles or colors.From Vera Bradley to Louis Vuitton. Purse party purses to good imitations. I have them all.

Most purchased, most loved, and most used are Coach.  I have 3. All under $150. If you know Coach, you know this is a great deal. They are stylish, classic, and durable. Luckily, I live not too far from a Tanger Outlet that has a Coach store, so I get quite the deal on those. To my husband and wallet's dismay, a Michael Kors just opened 3 days ago. Lord help me.  I have had imitations for years, but when we moved to West Virginia it was game on. I was put in a restriction by my husband the first time we walked through the doors. 1 new purse once a year. Pppfftttt. That didn't last long. Oh....they often send out coupons for the outlet. Save more!

I discovered Vera Bradley when I moved to West Virginia. Many people do not like them because of the different patterns. I don't care, I love them! There are a number of different styles and a number of different patterns. They are lightweight, durable, and easily washable. The best....range from $25 to $100. And, go on sale frequently. The VB customer service is outstanding! One of the best I have ever dealt with. When you sign up on their website, you get sale information, a gift card for your birthday for so much off, and can follow their blog. When new patterns come out, they give away different bags on the blog.

My old favorites are my Dooney & Bourke bags. My sisters knew of my obsession with these bags and I received one as a present one year for Christmas from them. I was ecstatic. Almost fainted. I screached like a teenager in the 90s at a N'Sync concert. The house could have blown up around me and I wouldn't have cared. I had a Dooney. Black and grey. Classic over the shoulder style. Extremely durable. Beautiful. Still have this purse and cherish it. My husband then fueled this fire and purchased #2 for me. He is awesome. And yes, he knows he is aweaome. I recently purchased a new one from Hautelook. Great deal, fast shipping. If you don't know what Hautelook is, please check it out. I paid $89 for a $200 or more bag. If you would like the link for Hautelook, please leave your email in the comments and I will send it to you.

The deal with my obsession is that I like nice things and will work my butt off to pay the price. Some people could care less about what they carry. Good for them. That is just not me. Ask my mother. I work hard as a nurse and have earned the right to purchase what I want within reason.  Don't get me wrong, I have purses from Target, Gordmans, Walmart or have knock offs and am not a snob. An eyebrow snob...yes. But purse snob.....no. I like what I like. Does not matter where it comes from. I do tend to use the shit out of my higher end purses and take damne good care of them. 

I never pay full price for a purse. Ever. I shop at TJ Maxx, Coach outlets, online. There are ways to get these at a lot less of a price than the retail price. Ya know, the ones that take your breath away because you can't believe how expensive something they are. I recently had this experience with Miss Me and Rock Revival jeans. I almost died of shock. For real. Holy shit. They. Are. Pricey. Search for online coupon codes. Wait for after the holiday sales. End of season sales. Sale. Sale. Sale. That is my rule. I recently purchased a Michael Kors tote from Macy's. I placed the order with the bag on sale. I watched the sale for a few days and behold....there was a coupon code to knock another $30/off the price. Easy fix. I emailed Macy's customer service about this and viola....they credited me the difference!!!

This sounds very braggy. Sorry. I want you guys to realize that you do not ever have to pay full price for things! There are always sales and coupon codes. Use them to your advantage.

Dialysis nurse

I have been in the wonderful world of dialysis for a little over 5 years. If you dont know what dialysis is.....when your kidneys do not work due to high blood pressure or diabetes (most common), you have to have some way to get rid of all the crap that you would usually urinate. We take care of that. Kind of an oil change for your blood. Google it.

I didn't set out to be in the specialty, it just kind of....happened. I was a RN in a nursing home for a number of years. I started out as a CNA and worked my way up. In the nursing home where I worked, we had a dialysis unit attached.  I had some knowledge of the specialty, but nothing prepared me for the the ringing, the alarms going off, the patients complaints, the sickness, or just the number of phone calls that I deal with on a daily basis.

My day starts out with hurdling out of bed at 4am, getting ready for work (perfected at less than 15 minutes), and putting the pedal to the metal to get my butt to my clinic 40 miles away by 5 am.  During this intense 40 mile drive, I am going over the daily agenda in my head. This agenda consists of daily calls, patient run times, who works what times, what doctor is rounding. And the constant worry about how my day is going to go.

I really love being a nurse and what I do, but it is hard on a person. Hard on me physically and mentally. Oh, can't forget, hard on the heart, too.  Healthcare in general is a hard field. In dialysis, your days can be long to extremely long. My short shifts are 8-9 hours. My long shifts are 14-17 hours.  I am a perfectionist in the majority of things I do (ask my coworkers) and this rolls heavily into dialysis nursing. Especially, if I'm in charge of something; like a vaccination program. Your team has to be a TEAM. It doesn't work if you can't work with someone. There are many days where i could pull my hair out and many where we have good, productive, and fun days.

Yes, I said fun! Imagine sitting in a recliner ( not a comfortable one) for 3.5-4.5 hours 3 days a week and feeling like poop majority of days. We have to be fun and have a sense of humor. Our patients need it. We need it.

By the end of the day, usually 9 pm, I'm completely exhausted, but still have a 40 minute drive home. I usually call my momma to pass the time, but am often worrying about what I didn't get done, if I missed something, if i made the right deciaion about something, did i do everything right, or if one of my patients in the hospital is doing ok. By the time I get home, I can barely scrape myself out of car. I'm mostly melting out of the car the way a slinky goes down the steps. Maybe. Strange analogy? Best one I can think of.  Then trying to go to sleep is a challenge at times. My mind is going, my legs are going, and I often think....well, I'm wide awake....what else can I get done today. Crazy huh?

I have a big heart and genuinely care for my patients. This can also be a downfall. We take things to heart and  wear that heart on our sleeves. The slightest thing can set me off and just plain piss me off for a few hours. At times, people (in general) drive me batshit crazy. I drive myself batshit cray cray.

Our patients pick up on more than you would think. What would you do for 4 hours being hooked up to a machine? They know when we are angry when we are annoyed with another staff member, or if we are having a good or bad day. I think in nursing we all have the days where we question why we decideded to become nurses.  Especially after a particularly shitty day. I do it often. Although, I don't know what I would do without it in my  life. 

Overall, I enjoy what I do. It challenges me. It drains me. It keeps me moving. I makes my heart happy.

Well, it is done and there is no going back now.  I had gastric bypass last week.

I worked 15 hours on Memorial Day and was completely exhausted. We checked in at 5 am the next day, had surgery, and was to my room by 8:45 am. I was the first surgery of the day and the easiest by his report. All I remember is laughing at the adorable anesthesiologist and getting centered on the very small surgical table. Seriously though, itty bitty surgical table...bypass on large people....bad idea.  Hubby also reported that I was trying to grab the walls as they were wheeling me from post-op to my room. Strange. I vaguely remember that little bit.

When I actually could think clearly, I began to question myself. Why me? Why in the hell did I do this? Does everyone hurt this bad? Did something go wrong? None of the above. I was in some nasty horrible pain and just having regrets. Everything went great and I was experiencing the normal amount of pain. A good friend of mine said the pain was worse than labor! I didnt really have anything to compare it to except for a sinus surgery. It was not incisional pain, but stomach muscle and pain with the drain coming out of my right side. And gas pain! Lord, I have never had gas pain....holy crap! I thought I was having a heart attack. No amount of simethicone (gas drops) could fix that pain. I had to walk, walk, and walk and take the meds as soon as I could have them.

I actually only had 1 legit breakdown. I honestly expected more. It was awful. I called for pain meds so I could get up and walk around and prayed that the meds would help. Well, I waited, waited, and waited. 2 hours. I was not a happy camper. I understand the nurses on the floor that I was on, have a number of patients. But, really....2 hours?!?!? So, when my nurse comes in and asks about my pain, I just lose it. Bad. Lost it for a good 20 minutes while he was standing there watching me. Very irritating. But, probably making sure my crazy ass doesn't hyperventilate because I  was on my way to hyperventilation.

Anywho, I was discharged after 2 days. Home was nice. My bed, not so nice. I never realized how much I use my stomach muscles to get out of bed. Ouch! It was tricky; trying not to cry getting out of bed, taking a much needed shower, picking up my cell phone charger that I dropped on the floor. I survived. I survived, because I have an amazing hubby that does anything I ask. Almost anything.

Now that I am roughly 10 days post-op, I am getting more comfortable, figuring out what foods I can and can not tolerate, and realizing that the weight comes off faster than I would ever believe. As of Wednesday, I am down 20lbs and my blood pressure was normal without any medications! Yoh see that....normal! And, 20lbs! Holy crap! It worked! I'm on my way!

Just a little disclaimer for you little readers, when you are bigger your whole life you begin to question if anything will work. It did. I'm alive. I'm very happy that I have started my journey. My life is beginning once again!