Sunday was a PP day 🙂

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.2 kg
Total Weight Loss: 53.7 lb/24.41 kg

Well, after writing my emotional blog yesterday, the door bell rang and 2 gentlemen from the Blind Man Massage parlor arrived at my door. My driver, Jerry, made the arrangements. Basically these men are legally blind and the government has paid for them to attend massage school. My massage was OK, mediocre at best, but relaxing. More like a Swedish Massage. Lucy, on the other hand was battered and shattered by the end of hers!

Then Jerry picked me up and took me to the PROPER mall. I didn’t know Hangzhou actually had one! And the grocery store is a PROPER grocery store! I got a PROPER turkey from the U.S. to make for Christmas dinner, and I’m looking forward to the fact that he won’t have his head stuck up his ass! 😀 They also had FF Greek Yogurt, so I don’t have to go to Shanghai or Hong Kong to get that anymore!

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs and 2 slices of ham
Lunch: Shashimi at the PROPER mall
Dinner: Stir-fried fish with onions and garlic stems
Snack: FF Greek yogurt with splenda and bran

Seemed like a long day on one hand, but not a day off on the other. I’m back to work today and I’m not happy about that… I need 2 days off in a row… Oh well, off to get dressed!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: A man’s health can be judged by which he takes two at a time – pills or stairs.  ~Joan Welsh

Saturday was a PP day 🙂

Daily Weight Loss: 0.9 lb/0.4 kg
Total Weight Loss: 53.3 lb/24.21 kg

Today I’m going to talk about a different loss than weight loss. I’m going to talk about the loss of a friend. My friend, Julie Anna Congdon.

Julie came to me via the Miami-Dade College Midwifery program. My friend Tammy, who’s son Landon I had the honor of catching, was also a student there and they wanted to do their clinical rotation at my birthing center. That was in 1999.

Julie was the most vivacious, life-loving human being I’ve ever been blessed to meet. Doing births with her was an honor. She loved the women we cared for and it was easy to hand over my patients to someone as awesome as Julie. We used to laugh and laugh at births… two favorites come to mind…
At one birth the nurse that worked with us, Carolyn, kept holding her thumb and forefinger up to her lips several times trying to get Julie to give the patient something. Finally Julie says, “we can’t do that at a birth!”…. and Carolyn and I were very confused. Finally, Carolyn reached over and gave the patient a sip of water through the straw… Julie just about fell over laughing… she thought Carolyn was giving her the sign for smoke weed. Funny how non-verbal cues can get so out of whack!
At another birth, the patient was having a hard time dealing emotionally with her birth, Julie, Tammy and I were giving the patient some time alone with a friend in my office next to the birth room. We could hear the friend talking to the patient about her past and Tammy says, “that’s it, I’m calling Jerry Springer” and Julie snorted coffee all over both of us.

Good times… lots of them. Tammy and Julie graduated from midwifery school and moved to Fort Pierce to work with me in my center. At that time I had rented a massive 8 bedroom, 4 bathroom building on U.S.1. Tammy and Julie moved up to the 3rd floor with their kids and we ran the center out of there. We did some great births! Many of our patients were young women, many of our patients were seasonal orange grove workers, many of our patients were professionals, it was a nice balance. Julie taught the childbirth education classes Birthing From Within and my favorite class that she taught was the Birth Art class… she used to be able to inspire the women to come up with some amazing pieces of art!

Time goes by… the center closes, I go to the Virgin Islands and then come back, Julie moves to Connecticut and then comes back and we all move into a house on Indian River Drive… good times, bad times, lots of love in that house. I loved when all the kids would pile on my bed at night and watch Crime TV with me while Tammy and Julie were out sow their oats… I loved having them there with me.

In the fall of 2004, Julie went to Italy with her grandma. When she came back she was exhausted. She was still assisting me as the 2nd midwife at births and at the last birth we did together she was so tired I couldn’t get her off the couch. I asked her if she was OK, and she felt that maybe she had picked up a flu in Italy. Julie had been bruising even more than usual over the last few months and something niggled in the back of my head, but I let it rest. This was the last week of October.

On November 15, I had surgery and Julie was there with me through the whole procedure. And took me home to take care of me, but was so tired, she just crawled in bed with me and stayed there all day. This wasn’t like her, at all. I asked her if she was feeling the same as a couple of weeks before and she said she was. We decided she’d go see the doctor the next day. In the morning she came by to make sure I was okay and helped me to get a bath and then crawled into bed with me again… little did we know how much our lives would all change that afternoon.

Julie went to see the doctor who thought that she had a kidney infection and wrote a prescription and sent off blood and urine…. meanwhile, Julie comes back to my house to check on me and asks me to palpate her abdomen… her spleen was HUGE… from the ribs to the hip, from the side of her body to her mid-line… HUGE… I remember (and I have that feeling right now) the dread I felt… I feel it like it was yesterday. Then Julie gets a call about the lab results and the world turned upside down. 😦

The next 9 months are a roller coaster in my head… Julie in the hospital, Julie out, Noel here, supporting, I went to Hong Kong to deliver a baby and was back, Julie’s bone marrow transplant in May, on Sadie’s birthday, Julie’s NEW birthday, but alas, she wasn’t going to see another birthday. Julie in July, bald and confused and smelling alcohol prep pads because the made her feel better and finally her last week in August, that I will treasure in my heart forever… Noel, who had spent countless, continuous hours at Julie’s bedside, left for 4 days to find an apartment. The hospital had approved an experimental drug and they were going to infuse it on Saturday. There was hope… I stayed with her, in that room, the room she’d been in for months. I knew in my heart of hearts that Julie’s stay with us was short. I knew in my heart of hearts that this was the last time I would see her. I knew in my heart of hearts that I was losing one of the most amazing people I had ever met in my life… but I was so hoping that my heart of hearts was wrong. I said my goodbyes to her, privately, while I held her on my shoulder and tried to be brave. I remember collapsing into sobs (kind of like now) in the family waiting area. I went back to the east coast of Florida on Friday, August 19. I called Tammy and told her she should get her butt over there. I was trying so hard not to be a negative thinker, but I am a realist. Tammy went to be with Julie and Noel.

Julie died on Sunday, August 21, 2005 at 1:55 p.m. surrounded by people who loved and adored her. I was with a friend and had left my phone out in the car… there were 27 missed calls and messages. I didn’t have to read any of them I just knew. I just knew…

Losing a friend brings about our own mortality. We are only on this planet for a little while and we don’t know when our number is up, so we should live and love each and every day to the fullest. Julie did… she loved her children Avery and Jonah fiercely, she loved Noel with every cell of her heart and she loved her friends and family and showed that by her actions.

Happy Birthday, Julie Boolie… I sure miss your sunshiny face and positive attitude, thank you for gracing me with your friendship for the short time I had you! Thank you for teaching me how to eat sushi and love wasabi, thank you for making me laugh.

Some pictures of Julie…

Julie and I with WAY more makeup on than either of us would wear! Photo session with Amy Koontz.

At a birth... Great birth team!

With Noel, Sydnie and Sadie at Tiffany's birthday 2004.

At Sadie's birth-Sadie came so fast, Julie didn't make it 🙂

At Shelley Z's birth.

Julie and I on Thanksgiving 2003 in New York.

Thanks for sharing my little piece of Julie 😀

Ciao!

Quote of the day: A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.
~ Elbert Hubbard

Thursday was a PP day 🙂

Daily weight loss: 0.2 lb/0.1 kg
Total weight loss: 51.7 lb/23.51 kg

Well, I’ve been playing with the same pound for 10 days… I’m going to do another 4 days of Pure Protein to see if I can get out of it!!! I need to lose just .25 pounds to be under it… seeming difficult to do! I cut out the extra coffees and drank almost 1.5 liters of water yesterday… and I’ll make today another PP day.

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, 550 mL water, coffee
Lunch: Beef slices, garlic stems, 550 mL water
Snack: Earl Grey tea
Dinner: Stir-fried sirloin with one whole onion and garlic cloves
Snack: FF Greek Yogurt with splenda and bran

My exercise is walking to and from work each day, which is 1 mile/1.5 kg. And most nights I take an extra 30 minute around the complex I live in. 3x a week I do Couch to 5K, but have been lax on it since Lucy’s arrival.

The 2 things I have done this month are taking the stairs down each and every time (I work on the 4th floor) and up most of the time. This week has been difficult since I picked up some allergies in Shanghai and have been hacking away and having a hard time breathing, so the going up is usually restricted to one or two floors, going all the way to the 4th just about does me in!

The second thing I’ve done is used the squat toilets at work. Now I know most people, unfamiliar with these things, think “ewwww”… and often times they are, but the ones at my work are cleaned all day by our wonderful cleaning staff. (I’ll post pic later, as I forgot to take one yesterday). Anyway… when it started getting cold a few weeks ago, sitting on the pot was a freezing situation! The area is not warmed. So, I decided I would use the squat pots and viola’ no more cold hiney! The other advantage of course is my quads are getting stronger, and I can now manage to get up without grabbing a hold of the walls…. LOL. So, I feel I’m getting a little extra exercise in this way. When you are on a mostly protein diet you pee a lot, so I’m squatting a lot 😀

Well, I need to get ready for work… walking out the door in 10 minutes! I hope everyone has a great night’s sleep!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.  ~Edward Stanley

Edited to add two things… a link and a picture 🙂

This link is to ehow.com. I love this web site because you can find out anything on there!! Before going to India 3 years ago I looked up how to ride an Asian elephant… before moving to China…. http://www.ehow.com/how_2316739_use-chinese-squat-toilet.html

And this is NOT from my work. The squat toilets there are on a platform and much prettier than the one I used at the mall this evening 😀 But, this is a typical Chinese squat toilet. If you read the directions above, you’ll get the WHOLE picture much better!

Squat toilet at the mall.

Wednesday was a PP day 🙂

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.2 kg
Total Weight Loss: 51.5 lb/23.41 kg

Well, back down by 1/2 pound… I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to reach my goal by Jan. 15th and I’m only 3.5 pounds from that goal! Sheesh! I think my body is in a “umm, give us a break” kind of mood. I’m doing all the right things, it just ain’t budging. However, it has done ALOT of losing in 116 days, so I ain’t complaining too much!

I increased my water intake and only had 2 3 coffees. The 3rd was ordered while waiting for Vivien to come bail us out of the restaurant. Neither Lucy and I had enough cash on us and they wouldn’t take a “foreign” credit card… argh! Thanks, Vivien!

I got to bath babies at work this morning. I could do that all day long. There is something relaxing and meditative about bathing a newborn and giving it a massage. It’s even more fun when you get to bath a 7 month old that you delivered. The babies here come once a month for a bath, a swim in the tank and a massage… what fun! Here’s Alessaundro…

Bathing Alessaundro

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, 550 mL bottle of water.
Snack: Coffee
Lunch: Beef with cilantro and garlic stems with hot chilis, 550 mL bottle of water.
Snack: about 300 mL water
Dinner: Steak filet and I picked the onions and red bell pepper out of the salad they gave me. 2 cups of cafe latte, 500 mL warm lemon water.

At the end of the day I did an overview on CPR for the staff. Good turn out. Lucy demonstrated while I lectured, I think we pulled it off pretty well.

I hope everyone has a lovely evening!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and DO IT! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive! – H. Thurman

Monday was a PP day 🙂

Daily Weight Loss: 0.2 lb/0.1 kg
Total Weight Loss: 51.7 lb/23.51 kg

Lucy and I woke up all congested from the smokers in the hotel room next to us 😦 And the sheets reeked of it… how does one smoke for 25 years, quit for the past 6 and manage to have such a friggin’ allergy to it??? Between that and the pollution I feel like I started smoking again… sigh. OK… that was my negative outburst for the month!

Out for a walk to the little cafeteria down the street from the hotel for breakfast once again. 1 boiled tea egg, a couple pieces of pork (with the fat pulled off) and some tofu with thinly sliced green peppers. This is like an open cafeteria… which is nice, because I can point and smile and they give me what I want… they still shake their heads, however, when I decline the rice 🙂

Then off for a trip to the mall… Lucy loves mall shopping I ABHOR it!!! She could walk for HOURS (and did) around a mall, trying on countless things and not buy a single thing! After doing 3 full laps around the “Cloud Nine” mall (seriously, 9 floors of stores!!) we couldn’t find the one store that we went looking for… Monsoon.

So, we hit up the Japanese restaurant for some raw fish. Mine was yummy… there is something very addictive about wasabi. I could eat it with everything!

Then back to more mall trolling. I am happy to report that I didn’t spend a dime (as usual), but Lucy finally, finally found a pair of boots… after 6 years of looking! YAY! She blessedly said we could leave 🙂

We then took the subway back to the Jing’an Temple exit and walked the 6  blocks to the hotel, got our luggage and then off to The Coffee Bean and Tea Co. for a last cup of latte. I really like this place, it almost makes me feel at home!

Then the subway to the train station and then the high-speed train back to Hangzhou, where Jerry, my new best friend and very reasonable priced driver, was waiting for us at the gate to drive us home… no more crazy, manic taxi rides… I’ve got Jerry!!! WOO HOO!

At home I totally didn’t feel like making dinner. I had a teeny salad (not PP, but wanted it) and a pot of FF Greek yogurt with Splenda and bran. Long couple of days, but fun to be out of town.

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Imagine yourself, a year from now with the body you’ve always wanted. All your hard work finally being paid off. Exercise, eat healthy and stay positive! You will get there! – from Pinterest user prettywildthin

Sunday was a PV day.

Daily Weight Loss: -0.4 lb/-0.2 kg
Total Weight Loss: 51.5 lb/23.41 kg

Had a bit of a lie in this morning… woke up at 830, but didn’t get out of bed until nearly 11! WOO HOO! 😀

Breakfast…. late and a hike to the local diner where I got 2 tea eggs, some pork and some tofu with thin slices of green peppers… nice brekkies!
Lunch with Lucy and Federica… I had a burger, no bun and some salad with freshly ground black pepper.
Dinner: Sashimi
Snack before bed: FF Greek Yogurt with bran and splenda

On the way to go shopping we came upon this…

Someone put granny in the sun outside the mall!

And on the walk home my pants were falling off because I forgot my belt in Hangzhou, so Lucy thought this would make a funny picture…

Too small for my britches!

So a nice weekend all in all. I hope everyone else is having a good weekend 🙂

Ciao!

Quote of the Day: She turned her can’ts into cans… and her dreams into plans.
– Kobi Yamada

Friday was a PP DAY.
DAILY WEIGHT LOSS: 0.4 lb/0.2 kg

I’m on my iPad and it isn’t letting me see what I’m typing 😀
So, I’m in Shanghai for the weekend with Lucy, brought the scale and will send updates!
Ciao!