Now the excitement sets in. Finally!

Remember how I said that I wasn't excited about having WLS, just impatient? Well, I lied. Now I am VERY exicted to be having the DS. It's my right. I'm a woman. I can change my mind, right?

How did I have this turn-around? Well, I went to one of Dr. K's support group meetings with a girl in town who is having her surgery a week before mine. There were a lot of people there, but more importantly someone that I have known for years. The last time I saw her, she was literally a butterball. Approximately 5'7", and perfectly round. Bubbly, even, if you know what I mean? I can't even begin to guess how much she weighed.

At the time I last saw her, I was in my incarnation as a newspaper reporter and she was trying to get elected to the School Board. Then I abdicated from the newspaper, and because I started boycotting it, I never saw pictures of her after she got elected to the School Board. Turns out, in 2001 she had the DS with Dr. K. And now? She looks fan-fricking-tabulous.

She called my name when she saw me and I didn't even recognize her. I replied nicely and acknowledged her, but it wasn't until I got up to get some water that we really made contact and she mentioned that it had been about 6 years since we had seen each other last when I covered the School Board elections. Then it all clicked. It was Amy! OMG!

So now we have each other's phone numbers and will be getting together for lunch sometime soon so that she can fill me in on the gory details of what I'm getting myself into. While yes, I already "know" about all of this, it's going to make it a bit different now that I have an actual DS post-op-er in town to help me through all of this. I mean, we have RNY-ers coming out of the seams around here, but since the DS isn't performed as often as the RNY it's a bit difficult to find them in a shit-kickin' town like BFE.

It helps, too, that Amy isn't just your average soccer mom. She's into piercings and tattoos. And has lots of both. She lost her belly button when she got her tummy tuck and so she tattooed a really nice Celtic ring where it would have been. I'm going to start planning mine out now, just in case I lose mine as well. Or even if I don't lose it! *grin*

So, in honor of *finally* being excited to have this life-altering surgery, I will officially create my "What I Want To Do When I Lose The Weight" list.

• I want to weigh 250 pounds.
• I want to weigh 200 pounds.
• I want to weigh 150 pounds. (I'll settle for 175 because I'm as tall as I am.)
• I want to be able to fit into my wedding dress.
• I want to have to take in my wedding dress for it to fit.
• I want to be able to not struggle getting on a Waverunner or SeaDoo.
• I want to be able to pull myself back up on a Waverunner or SeaDoo if I ditch it in deep water.
• I want to get a "goddess belt" tattoo after I have the necessary plastic surgery and be able to show it off in a bikini without too much self-consciousness.
• I want to be able to ride a horse comfortably again.
• I want to be able to play with my children and not get winded unless we are doing something really strenuous.
• I want to be able to go back to aerobics class and not hurt myself because of my weight.
• I want to be able to have marathon sex sessions with my husband again, instead of being tired out after less than five minutes.
• I want to not wake my husband up with my snoring ever again.
• I want to have a real-sized lap for my miniature dachshund to sit in.
• I want to be able to chase my sheep around.
• I want to not hurt myself so badly when I fall.
• I want to be able to dance again.
• I want to be able to climb stairs again without being winded only a few steps up.

I'm sure I'll have more to add to the list later. This is sure going to be an adventure. July 19 can't get here soon enough!