Capricorn Tales

I think it is fair to say that my first journey was doomed before it even began.  I was fighting off old demons and trying to exorcise them on my own, not realizing that sometimes the simplest answer comes in the form of friends and family.  The people in my life today, are the same people trying to save myself from a heart attack or stroke and for that I am deeply and forever grateful.  The other answer also comes from within. (Could I be more cliche? lol). Five years ago my father had a heart attack...or two...which lead to a quintuple pass, or a quadruple and one for good luck. I swore then that I would get my butt in gear and get motivated, so I would not meet the same fate.  Being born with a heart impairment, especially mine, is bad enough, but to gain all of this weight and just let it happen, is just as bad.  I have always known the downside of my defect, but life and emotions got in the way. Now, I truly believe I am in a better place and I ask...

Hmmm. Well so much for keeping in touch on a daily basis. My follow through on things really should be an annual New Year's Resolution...but then why make myself predictable, eh?  Anyway, I'm pretty sure I tripped myself up with my trip to Vegas for the Knapp/Thomasson Wedding, but I'm not overly concerned, since I also did A LOT   of walking and some of it completely intentional (Ie. keeping up with a moving walkway, while I am walking on the carpet!). We left at 11:30p Saturday night, arriving around 3am or so in the morning on Sunday.  I actually liked doing a midnight drive that went somewhere other than LA, though don't get me wrong, I love the midnight drives through the City of Angels.  It's never dull and always filled with laughter, sometimes tears and good conversation.  This midnight drive though was nice, because all of the sister's were involved, as we headed to Sin City for JoAnn's brother's wedding.  Ahh, the wedding (insert lot...

The Dragonfly has somehow become one of my favorite symbols. I never noticed until it was pointed out to me that I own several things dragonfly, but a friend of mine several years ago sent me a statue of one and she told me it symbolizes continuing life.  Well upon looking up the dragonfly, I found out it symbolizes many of things including this:  " Maturity and a Depth of character The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world symbolizes change and change in the perspective of self realization; and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life." This seems to go hand in hand with what I am trying to achieve on this weight loss journey. This week has been a fail. Not an epic, or major fail, but a fail nonetheless, but this time I know things are different, because even though I am losing my grip on this I know that when I don't do so well in one aspect, I will try to make up for it in an...

With my alarm ringing off at 5:21a to walk for 15 minutes on the hamster wheel, I tried to keep my mind under control as I readied myself for my MRI.  Not an easy feat, since last month, when they tried to put me in, I ended up having a panic attack and leaving.  Sqooshy ball, hanai sister and valium, (courtesy of my concerned, yet determined cardiologist) in hand, I made it into the machine this time. So why the run down of my morning?  Because this was the third visit to LA in 7 days and all to the doctor's office. Last Tuesday was my echocardiogram, last Friday my regular 3 month check up with Dr. D, my cardiologist and today my MRI to scope out my heart and make sure it hasn't gotten any bigger.  Getting in shape and losing the weight will lessen the amount of times I will have to do all of these tests. In September 2010 I had to go through a Cardio Catheter test.  Not the most exciting test to go through, since it is so invasive, but then again, it's all ...

Well the title is misleading, because my Journey to 40 began on January 10th, but in an attempt to turn my blog into something more than just a random thought or picture, I decided that maybe if I document my day to day trials of weight loss and getting my heart into better shape, it might help me to stay motivated, because this isn't just about being healthy and fit, this is about saving my life. I was born with Tetralogy of Fallot.  It's several things, but most importantly it entails a hole in my heart that in my case was coupled with a crushed valve.  I had a dacron patch placed on my heart's hole (insert pun or joke here) and according to recent tests, the pig valve I thought I had, turned out to be a reconstructed valve.  At least that is what we all have come to believe and I prefer to not be opened up to find out.  That said, my life has always been slightly different than other kids. For what seemed like an eternity, but was only about 8-9 years, I walke...