"Filling Free"

You may or may not know that 8 years ago I had a weight loss surgery know as "LapBand." This is where they place a band around the top part of your stomach. The result is that you get full after eating only a small amount of food. The tightness of the band can be adjusted by "filling" it with saline (or removing saline) through a port that is under the skin in my abdomen.

To date I have lost 120 pounds. Half of that in just the last 18 months. There are certain foods that I have learned to avoid because they get "stuck" easily. This is very uncomfortable until it digests. Bread, beef, and lettuce are 3 of the main things I eat rarely.

So the reason for this story is that I haven't had a good hamburger in 8 years. I have dreamed of the Banzai burger at Red Robin that whole time.

For a few different reasons I had all of the saline from my band removed on Tuesday. So last night for Kyle and my anniversary we headed to Red Robin where I enjoyed every bite of a Banzai burger. It was just as good and just as messy as I remember. Is it weird that I could get so much enjoyment out of a hamburger?

Finally Feeling Fall

I have been sick of summer for a couple of months now. Today I finally felt that chill in the air that I know means fall is just around the corner. I am so excited.

Sardine Canyon

Sardine Canyon

I am just not one of those people who enjoy the heat and it is definitely about 10 degrees hotter here in Salt Lake than it is in Cache Valley during the summer. Even with living in a basement where it is cooler, without having AC it has been a long hot summer. I'm getting a ceiling fan if we are still here next summer.

The fall season is my favorite time of year. I love the temperature, I love the beautiful leaves and I love the feeling in the air.

The weather men/women have been telling us we wouldn't see the oranges and reds in the leaves this year because of the drought, but it sure doesn't look like they are missing to me. I would even say there are more than usual. The leaves on the mountains above the house started changing weeks ago, but with the temperature still in the 90's it was just weird. I have to have the whole package in order to really feel the season. Today with the temperature in the 70's it seemed they were brighter and more vibrant than they have been so far. It finally feels like fall.