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Well, it's November 26, 2017, and I've kind of been blowing the liver-reduction diet. On the days I could eat I had very little -- some oatmeal, cheese and crackers, and over the entire time I had most of one 16 oz bottle of Mtn. Dew. But then I went back on the liver reduction diet and I've been "cheating". Not a lot -- but mostly the crackers and lettuce and part of a slice of turkey and a slice of cheese. I haven't gone over about 600 calories each day so that's still good, but it didn't help shrink my diet and it didn't help me lose weight. Yesterday I had two wheat Ritz crackers and only liquids. I'm back to 209.8 pounds so that's so encouraging. From here in, the most I'll allow myself is 2 of the crackers because sometimes I just need to chew. But I'll sleep before I give in to eating. The two things that made yesterday work were increasing protein drinks and increasing water. I hadn't kept those things up when I went back to eating some and it made all the difference.

It looks like it'll be another really warm day today so I'll probably try to do a long walk with the dog, again. I put infant (0-6 month) socks on her feet to keep the stickers off her paws and then we can walk all over our "downtown" area so I can refill my PokemonGo items. I'll have to start out with a shower because my hair is horrible today. With it being short, it turns into really bad bed-head easily. But, I can still get a brush through it easily, which I couldn't do when it was long. I think I'll be able to manage a whole mile with the dog today. That's my goal. Yesterday I took her to the dog park and we walked around it once and then I sat for the remaining time there. I was just tired.

I purchased about $200 in clothes for wearing when I reach size medium and pants size 6-8. I also got a very cute pair of boots! I can't wait to dress femininely. I want to have cute clothes and look good in them. I got them all at 50% or more off because it was the weekend before Thanksgiving and they were having a huge sale -- and they weren't just from WalMart or Target, but a real clothing store. On the 30th my son and I will shop at WalMart because he gets 25% off everything since he worked there on Thanksgiving Day. I might pick up a couple pair of their cute jeans that are pretty cheap already. And maybe one or two of their really cheap shirts that are plain tees. No sense paying $15 for a t-shirt when I can get the same thing at WalMart for $5 or less. We have quite a list for our shopping trip. We'll definitely need 2 carts! I'm already hungry so I'm going to grab a protein shake. They're 41 mg protein (half my needs) and only 210 calories. And they fill me up pretty well. I'll pour another for later and put it in the freezer so it'll be a solid food rather than a drink when I want it later tonight. I only have 7 of these shakes because I don't think I'm supposed to have something this thick right before surgery. I'll be able to have these for about another 4 or 5 days, but then I'll have to just have the protein water for the last 4 or 5 days before surgery.

Everything keeps coming back to the surgery. It's the focus of my attention right now. Maybe it's because I'm so hungry. Last night I had a dream that the anesthesiologist only partially put me under and the surgical team was behaving horribly and mocking me while they did the surgery. I didn't feel the pain, just discomfort, but their actions were so horrible that I couldn't wait to wake up and get back at them. But then other things came up in the dream. Somehow, Abby Lee Miller of Dance Moms ended up in the same group getting a gastric bypass and moving from one hospital to another. It was really weird. Anyway, that's where my thoughts really are.

Even yesterday my car broke down and I had a guy from the internet (his wife contacted me) fix the car. While I was talking to her (the wife) I found out she'd had a gastric bypass a few years ago. So many people have had them or are getting them! My original surgery was in 1985 and so many things have changed since then. Also, back then I thought I knew everything and if they did know things and try to tell them to me, I forgot them. Now I have my binder to fall back on if I have a question and I'm listening to what the professionals are telling me. I'm going to do it right. I am still hoping to get to 205 before the surgery. I have 8 days to lose 4.8 pounds. Normally, I'd say impossible or unsafe at the very least. However, since I gained a few pounds I figure that was from the liver refilling and I need to get that back down and so it's quite possible. I just have to exaggerate the protein and water! I can do it.

I'll update with more information, hopefully good news, as things progress.