Bradley & Aileen - Bradley's Blog

First Blog Back

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:47:32 -0800

After Surgery, first ever video blog for me :)

Tomorrow is the big day

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:02:44 -0800

Well today I am sitting at work waiting for the day to end. It is my last day to be here for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow is my surgery and I have to admit I am a little anxious, even a little worried. I have put it in God's hands so I know I am not in control and it is all up to the big guy upstairs.

I have gone through a lot of emotions over the last few days and have fought with myself over the whole situation. I am at the point now where I have accepted there is a chance something could go wrong but that thought is far out weighed by the pros. I have a chance to get my weight down and live a healthy and long life. I want to be around a long time with Leenie and the kids I am hoped to be blessed with in the upcoming months. I am ready to get this thing done so I can start living a new life.

I am more worried about Leenie than I am myself. She is really having to deal with a lot because of this and I feel horrible for putting her through this. I don't want to her to have to face something happening to me but in the same thought I know by doing this I will be adding many more years worth of time to my life which I am blessed to get to spend with her.

I know it sounds like a bi polar blog right now but I am truly scared and excited at the same time. The thought of being able to finally lose the weight and live like a normal person is something I never thought I would be able to do.

Hopefully everything will go well tomorrow and I will be home sometime Thursday and can start my journey to healthy. I'll be posting some before and after pictures through out the process to keep everyone up to date.

I know there are only a few that read my blog (or at least that I know read it) and I appreciate you all going on this journey with me.

Lord willing I will post again Thursday when I get home.

To all my friends and family I love you and appreciate you being here and listening to my ramblings.

My great grandmother always told me to never say goodbye because that is forever (yes that is why I always hang up the phone without saying bye) so I will sign off with this

“There will always be those who feel more comfortable not venturing from the warmth of the hearth, but there are those who prefer to look out the window and wonder what is beyond the horizon.”
― Jimmy Buffett, A Salty Piece of Land

12 days and counting

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:44:06 -0800

I am 12 days from my surgery date. I think I am looking forward to it more than I am scared to have it done. I think to anyone going through any type of surgery would have a little fear but excited, I am not so sure.

It is starting to feel real, like it is really going to happen. I am on day 3 of my liver shrink diet. The surgeon has me on a very low fat/Low calorie diet that I have to do in order to make my liver smaller and thus make it easier for her to work around. The diet is not fun and is under 700 calories per day. I am living with it and am sticking to it. It's got to be done in order for them to do the surgery on February 1.

That's all I really have to say today, have a great

Almost time to see the old me

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:01:02 -0800

So it has been a long time since I have really had much to blog about. Do people even blog anymore? Does any one really read this? I don't know the answer to either of those questions LOL. Guess the answer is I am going to do it anyway.

Here is the new topic and it is one I will be on for a while going forward. Over the last 8 to 10 years I have put on a lot of weight (thanks for not mentioning it LOL). I have tried every diet there is pills, atkins, weight watchers, etc. and I lose a little but it isn't something I can stick with for long amounts of time. I guess I just do not have the will power to stick it out because I really need to lose about 200 lbs. Something I have not admitted to anyone but Leenie is that I am almost 400 pounds. I was over 400 but have lost some to get to this point. I have come to the conclusion I cannot lose it on my own, i need help.

To get help I went to the doctor and found I am a prime candidate to get surgery to help and due to my size and the fact I have high blood pressure the insurance company will pay to help me. I have been going through the process of getting approved and having all kinds of test done for over a year and now am at the end of my quest. Or am I at the beginning? Either way I have my surgery date set for February 1. Roughly 2 weeks from now I am going to let them cut into me and adjust my inards to help me lose the weight and get back to a healthier size and weight.

The main reason is I am now at a point in my life that I can see I have something to live for and I guess I actually care about hanging around. I have a pretty good life and a fantastic wife that I want to grow old with. On top of that we are working on having kids (no, not while I am typing this...get your mind out of my bedroom LOL) I want to be around to see my kids grow up and want to be in good enough shape to be able to play with them.

So the quest for a new way of life is almost here. I will be posting more as the process goes on and let you know how things are coming. Right now I sit a shade under 400, I hope to be in the low to mid 200s sometime this year. WOW writing that really made me realize what is about to happen.

To put things into perspective a Welsh Pony weighs on average 400 lbs. That's right right now I weigh as much as a small horse. Holy crap! I weight as much as a small horse!

That is all I can say after that little horse epiphany I just had. Just know things they are a changing!

Until next time I'll leave you with this old joke, Got to laugh to keep from crying LOL

A pony walks into a bar and says, “Bartender, may I have a drink?”
The bartender says, “What was that, I couldn’t hear you.”
So the pony says, “I’m sorry, I’m just a little hoarse.”

Welsh Pony That is a grown lady walking it

Me on Christmas eve. The size of a horse (literally!!!)

Narf....you need to go to a harware store

Mon, 17 May 2010 14:03:51 -0800

So………

Friends it’s been a bit since I have had the time to get on here and do some rambling. I thought after the wedding things would settle down, boy was I wrong.

For those that don’t already know we just bought our first house. We spent the better part of 2 months looking and finally found the perfect house for us. I had no clue the stuff you have to go through just to buy a house. The back and forth between buyer and seller was pretty painless. Getting the loan was the worst part. It started out easy but as we got closer the more they needed. We had to prove where the money came from for down payment, provide pay stubs, tax returns, my report card from first grade, Pap smear results, the Dead Sea scrolls, and a unicorn horn. Ok, some of that is a little exaggerated but it felt like we had to do it LOL. We made it through and are now the proud owners of a house. We couldn’t be more excited. Now that we have the keys we have already started doing work on it. We have painted some (with more coming); we dog proofed the back yard, and went on a Sear’s shopping spree for power tools and lawn equipment (thanks to Dad and Sally). All this being said brings me to the title of the blog.

Sunday we went to Lowe’s to buy some supplies to dog proof the yard. Although the fence is in good shape the new gates that were installed by the previous owner had some gaps in the bottom. If we had big dogs it wouldn’t be a problem but with two Chihuahuas we were worried they may be able to slide out. While we were looking at Lowe’s for the stuff we needed I started looking for a big wheel we could affix to the gate to make it easier for Leenie to open and close the gate when she needed to. We searched the store and found nothing, we asked people that worked there only to be sent to multiple departments, and then we finally reached the last man on our adventure………

Please indulge me as I attempt to paint a picture. There we are wandering around the lawn and garden department (which we were sent to by several people) when a guy makes the mistake of asking if we needed help. I heard “sir, can I help you find something?” I turned around to see who the next person would be to steer me down the wrong path. I turned around to find (no joke) the human version of the cartoon character the Brain from the cartoon Pinky and the Brain. There standing in front of me was the Brain, I was speechless! I finally gathered myself enough to yet again explain to someone else that I was trying to find a wheel for my gate. This being the fifth or sixth time to explain what I needed. I finally got my answer. Want to know what the answer was? You won’t believe it…… The Brain (remember he is a Lowe’s employee) told me “ I would try a hardware store” What????? All this time I thought I was in a hardware store!

I go through all this to warn you, if you need hardware go to a hardware store and apparently Lowe’s isn’t one. I’m not sure what it is and have never been as confused as that moment in my life.

I have no wheel for my gate (if you have an idea let me know) but have gained this important life lesson.

I’ll make sure I don’t have this big time gap before my next blog as I have between this one and the one previously. It’s good to be back.

Until next time my friends.
Bradley

Goodbye says it all

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:29:27 -0800

I know I haven't been on much lately as we are still trying to get our lives and apartment back in living order. Life is starting to get back to normal, or at least as normal as it can get with me involved. I think we all know I am not normal LOL.

The Wife and I are doing well. The apartment looks like an apartment again (kind of) we are really enjoying married life. Leenie and I spend a lot of time together doing whatever and I can't think of anyone else I would rather be spending my time with.

There has been a cloud looming over my head for a couple of weeks now, one that I really didn't want to deal with. Anyone that really knows me knows I am very soft hearted and don't deal well with loved ones going away and yet I find myself having to get ready to give my babies away. I guess I should explain a little.

As most know we have 2 ferrets which I adore. They are the most loving little guys and with all their quirks and odd behaviors make great pets. From day 1 there was no doubt I was allergic to them but that didn’t stop me from playing with them and spending time in their room, they crave attention and contact and I was more than happy to oblige. Every day we let them out in their room to play and Leenie and I would go and play with them and love on them and every day I ended up having to take Benadryl to breathe again and get my eyes to open. There was no doubt they were hurting me and it got a little worse every time. I didn’t want to face the fact that they were not good for me and although I love them dearly I couldn’t continue like that. A recent trim to the ER helped me finally make a decesion when I woke up and couldn't breathe.

We added the hectic schedules for the wedding and lost time. The more time we lost the less time we got to spend with Albie and Pouncer. It’s not fair to them to not spend time with them, all they want in life is to have someone love them and play with them and I couldn’t do it. I love the little guys but between the schedule and the health problems they are causing the only thing we could do was find them a new home.

Toni was able to get her cousin to take them in. So with it nailed down that they are going to a new home I have spent the better part of a week trying to distance myself from them. They literally run toward the door when they see me and all I can do is turn my head because all it does is make me sad. I have never had to give a pet away and it is tearing me up inside. I know it is better for them and me, I know they are going to a good home with another ferret to play with and people that will love and play with them, and I know that at some point Leenie and I will have a baby and will have even less time and room. Knowing all this doesn’t make this any easier on me, how dumb is it to know that finding them another home is best for everyone including them and I am torturing myself over it?

So tonight I get to go home and pack up their stuff and wait for Saturday to roll around so I can say good bye, I hate long good byes. We are taking them and all their stuff to their new family and I will have to find a way not to worry about them and trust someone else to take care of them. It’s not easy and I have no idea how people do it. All the shelters full of unwanted animals, how can someone not want them? I want mine and still have to give them up for my sake and theirs. I know it is selfish and a little childish but I guess that’s just how I am.

I didn’t start this blog with this topic in mind but as I write with tears streaming down my face I realized a few things and had to share my pain. They will go to a great new home and never think again about me and I will begin to forget about them and through it all I am blessed to have been a part of their lives for as long as I have. They were a little older when we got them and were destined to sit in the pet store and grow old, just like with dogs people want puppies and they were past the puppy stage. I guess Leenie and I were just at the right spot at the right time and the people at the store let us have them both for a great price and even cut the price on the cage for them. Maybe I was only there to provide them a way out of the pet store. Leenie said one of the wisest things ever the other night when I had a little break down. She said “maybe we were just meant to be a stopping point, we rescued them from the pet store and gave them a good place to live and all the treats they could eat and now it’s time for them to move on to the next phase of their journey. Just like us getting Rocco he started at Aunt Lynn’s and made his way to us.” Leenie really know how to help me, bless her heart I am sure a man of my stature sitting on the couch balling like a baby isn’t easy to deal with but she sure knows what to say at the right time every time. We still have Rocco and there is nothing that can change that so I still have a little fury buddy to cuddle with and at least we won’t have to worry about him and the ferrets getting at each other.

The right decision has been made and all of our lives will be better because of it. All I have to do now is get my shit together and stop being a blabbering idiot lol. Sorry to drop this on all of you.

La buena suerte en su viaje mis amigos pequeños. Pueda reloj de Dios sobre usted y protéjale de daño.

Until next time my friends. ( Hopefully under happy circumstances)

Bradley

First one again

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:04:09 -0800

Well since the wedding is over I decded to redo the website. This will be our new home on the web and we hope to use it to keep in touch with people and share our lives with you. Leenie has a blog too and I now that things are starting to settle down a bit I am sure she will be writing as well.

Gonna keep this short and sweet today but will get back to my old rambling self soo lol.

If you didn't get to see our article in the paper I have it on the home page for down load or you can see it below. Just click download file.

Thanks again to everyone for all their help with the wedding and to all of you that came to join the celebration.

I promise to get wedding pictures up soon and am going to post some honeymoon pics after I finish this.

Bradley

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