Last weekend, like all of my other weekends, went way too quick. I miss the days when the weekdays and weekends would blend together, and I barely distinguished a difference between them. Now I’m all, OMG IS IT FRIDAY YET? and then, NOOO, MONDAY IS COMING TOO SOON! I’m turning into one of those people. Blah. But the weekend was nice. Saturday was blissfully quiet, and Sunday, before the Painalicious Evening, was spent at a fall festival at Ryan’s preschool.

I’m currently battling a cold and on-again off-again abdominal pain that ranges from a 1 on the pain scale to a 3 or 4. I don’t know what gives, but I’m counting down the days until the 11th, when I have an appointment with my bariatric surgeon (she also took out my gallbladder last month). Stupid me was so out of it from having a cold and being in pain on Sunday evening that I didn’t think to head to the hospital she is employed by; I thought the local hospital would suffice since the abdominal pain was seemingly unrelated. But since the CT scan showed a perfectly innocent appendix, maybe it’s not so unrelated after all. I remember my surgeon mentioning something about the slim possibility of post-op issues with biliary ducts in the liver or pancreas (or both? I don’t remember), so yeah… I’ll definitely be getting this checked out on the 11th. In the meantime, I really hope the pain doesn’t come back with that kind of intensity. It took two shots of Delaudid to get it under control, and seeing as how that’s “the strongest [the hospital] has to offer”, I’d be kind of screwed with my measly Percocet.

In other news… hello, just 52 days until Christmas? Who’s excited? I know I am! *bounce* But first, I have a winter coat to buy. I really like this one. Thoughts? Also, I’d love suggestions for where to find winter coats in an XL (or possibly XXL, depending on the fit). I’ve already checked out the following: Avenue, Bonton, Boscov’s, Fashion Bug, Kohl’s, JCP, Old Navy, Sears, and Torrid.

P.S. No UPS delivery today. Looks like I’ll have to stalk the UPS man tomorrow morning and hope for a package!

Thank you for subscribing to Jenn.nu's RSS feed! ♥ Jenn | Flickr: kiss-my-kitty | Twitter: @kissmykitty

• Freelance work: article writing, content writing (I write about everything from lab coats to business cards), SEO writing, web design
• Paid blogging (see my post, Paid blogging companies I trust, for a list of recommended companies)
• Paid tweeting (Be a Magpie and Sponsored Tweets)
• Working for two different companies; one SEO, one adult
• Banner ads and other arrangements with companies

Last year I made quite a bit of money (read: a few grand) from Demand Studios and Text Broker. Both require decent writing skills and the ability to meet deadlines, but both are very worth your while.

Make no mistake, and ignore what the new-to-the-block mommy bloggers want to think and what some silly ninnies on various panels and at conferences will preach to you: you’re not going to make millions overnight. Or thousands. Or even hundreds. And unless you’re THAT DAMN GOOD, it’s not going to happen overnight, either. It takes months and even years of effort and experience to accomplish it. But you can bring in a consistent, decent amount of money on a regular basis, but you will work your ass off for it. No, it may not be a 9-5 job, but you will be putting in 30-40 hours a week to make a livable income. Good luck!

Thank you for subscribing to Jenn.nu's RSS feed! ♥ Jenn | Flickr: kiss-my-kitty | Twitter: @kissmykitty

After we had dinner, I hit the road to head home, since at that point it was almost 8:30pm and I had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of me. I took a different route, as recommended by Matt and Danielle, which added on maybe fifteen minutes of drive time, but took off almost $8 worth of tolls and the pain in the ass construction on the NJ turnpike, so I was happy. I was even happier to get home — I hate being away all day like that!

Today is a serious rush-rush-rush kind of day. Dan and I have some stuff to attend to today, and then I have work and a phone conference this afternoon. As soon as that is over I need to pack for Alyssa and I, as we’re going with my mom and brothers to Pittsburgh for the weekend. Yay! I’m so excited! I feel bad for being excited, since Pittsburgh is Dan and I’s “thing”, and I know I will miss him and get all nostalgic while I’m away from him, but I know we’ll all have fun, too. We’re staying at a cheapy hotel that has a heated indoor pool *lust*, and we’re going to Kennywood Amusement Park tomorrow, and to the Pittsburgh Zoo on Sunday, and hopefully a few things in between.

In other news, I seriously hate my breasts. They were so much easier to deal with when I was 140 lbs. heavier. I hesitate to state that because it sounds like I miss being that heavy, which I don’t, not at all, but I do miss the “familiarity” of my body, and knowing pretty much what would work and what doesn’t. You know, bras really do wonders for breasts. Especially mine. Certain bras, certain angles, and wow, check out Jenn’s Wonder Boobies! (Although only 1 or 2 bras out of every 15 I try on will actually fit well enough, lift well enough and contain the saggage well enough to create Wonder Boobies) But strip away the amazingness that is molded bra cups and underwires and the lifting power of a balconette you’re left with a hot, saggy mess. I have what look and feel like C cups encased in DD cup skin. Without a bra… it’s not pretty. They hang, they sag — though not as badly as I feared they would. When I lean over, the excess skin is definitely noticeable. I hate going without a bra, especially to bed, and super-duper especially with Dan when we’re having sex. And some comments from him last night only reiterated and emphasized just how bad my breasts look, how bad they suck, and how bad and ashamed I feel and am about them. *sigh* Plastic surgery please?

Thank you for subscribing to Jenn.nu's RSS feed! ♥ Jenn | Flickr: kiss-my-kitty | Twitter: @kissmykitty

Speaking of summer… I am totally over it. Seriously, let’s retire the plus size swimwear and pull out the hoodies! I took the kids to the pool on Monday, not because I wanted to go swimming, or even because they were super-enthusiastic about going swimming, but because Monday was the last day of the pool season, so I wanted to give us one last opportunity to go in. They did, but I didn’t. That water? It was FRIGID. I dipped a toe in, and that was that. I spent the afternoon huddled in a towel in the sunshine, etching wrinkles to rival a fifty year old’s into my forehead as I squinted at my netbook. Alyssa and Ryan, however, are typical little kids, totally unfazed by the near hypothermic conditions of the water, and dove and jumped and swam and splashed away for several hours.

I’m stressing. I had not one but two horrible, excruciating gallbladder attacks yesterday. The first one woke me up a little before my alarm did. Nothing sucks more than being dragged from a deep sleep by pain. The second attack hit early yesterday afternoon, just as Alyssa and I were having lunch at Burger King (their garden salad is totally nomworthy, btw). I managed to drive home, but there were times when the pain was so bad I was losing focus, and I was very tempted to pull over and call Dan, my mom or Jason for help. But I stuck it out, because more than anything I didn’t want to convenience not only myself (and Alyssa) but someone else, and made it home. I popped a Percocet when I was a few minutes from the house, so right after I got Ryan off the bus (around 3:10pm), it started kicking in. Dan arrived home not long after that, and I zonked out on the sofa in a Percocet-induced nap.

I have an appointment at the hospital [where my gastric bypass surgery was done] next Tuesday morning at 7:45am with the people in lab coats, and it can’t get here soon enough. I had several attacks during the month of August, and now two in one day? Pain aside, I’m starting to get nervous. I really hope my gallbladder isn’t getting ready to rupture. I’m also stressing, because I’m attending Type-A Mom conference, and I can’t not go, because my work is sending me (and covering all of my expenses). The conference pass has been purchased, and so has the plane ticket. I have to go. So with that in mind, if surgery is a must-do as soon as possible, I’m going to request that it be done no later than the 16th. That would give me seven days to rest up and be up and moving enough to drag my crap through the airport, get down to NC, and then make it through the 3.5 day weekend without too much pain (obviously I’d take some painkillers with me). Or… I hold off and do the surgery after I got back, on the 26th, and pray that nothing explodes in the meantime. *sigh*

Speaking of that appointment, I need to call and get more details. They called me with the info almost two weeks ago, but on the morning they called Dan and I were fighting and I was rushing to get out the door, so I jotted down the date, time and “eat a fatty meal the night before”, but no other details, such as, you know, where this damn appointment is even at. So yeah, I need to call today and figure all that out.

Ugh… so much to do and not enough time!

Thank you for subscribing to Jenn.nu's RSS feed! ♥ Jenn | Flickr: kiss-my-kitty | Twitter: @kissmykitty

Then — surprise! — my boss let me know that we will probably be attending a blogging conference on the weekend of the 24th – 26th. The location of this one involves flying, which means that I’ll be switching to Ready to Crap My Pants Mode the day or so before, seeing as how I have a fear of heights and all that. Just ask Dan: I can barely manage to keep my shit together on ferris wheels and sky lifts. (Roller coasters freak me out too, but they’re fun and you’re flying on them way too fast to have time to think about plunging to your death.) No, I have never been on a plane, and no, I’m not really relishing the thought of getting on one. I’ll do it, obviously, and will do my best to avoid having a nervous breakdown, but I think I’ll hit up my doctor for some kind of relaxant beforehand, heh. Something strong enough to take the edge off my anxiety, but not so strong that I’ll be rendered unconscious. I need to find that nice, happy medium. Demerol sounds appealing, though according to Dan I started crying in the hallway as they wheeled me to the OR (for my gastric bypass surgery). I have no recollection of that, though I do remember them initially giving me the Demerol, and I remember being IN the OR and begging to be put out, haha. So on second thought, with the loss of some memory there, maybe Demerol isn’t such a good choice. ;)

Also, I want to go to the beach, my kids want to go to the beach, my boss wants to go to the beach, and her kids want to go to the beach. We’re both about twoish hours from the beach, so it makes perfect sense for the six of us to meet up there for a day trip — and that’s exactly what we’re planning on doing on September 11th, 2010. Speaking of the beach, I have some plus size swimwear laying around that I don’t need. Does anyone want a very gently used (and appropriately washed/stored) black swimsuit, size 14? Let me know!

Alyssa starts kindergarten next Monday, Ryan starts his autism support preschool this week and regular preschool on the 13th of September. Oh, and my brothers come HOME in TWO DAYS. Translation? September is going to be a wild ride. And seeing as how it took me nearly two weeks to get over freakin’ bronchitis and get my voice back (it’s still not 100% though, which is Beyond Annoying at this point), I better get enough rest and consume enough proteins and pile on the vitamins, lest I wind up coming down with the Black Plague by the end of next month.

Speaking of Alyssa (not the plague!), I took her in for a physical this morning. The doctor noted that she didn’t do too well on the vision chart, so I then took her over to our optometrist for an appointment. Surprise — guess who needs glasses? She’s “mildly” nearsighted and has an astigmatism (I have one of those; they suck; Alyssa, you have my condolences!), so her glasses order is in and should be ready for pick-up next Monday. She got flouncy with me when she realized that she couldn’t wear her new glasses* today. Oops.

*$9.00 glasses, heh. I’m not spending more than $20 on a pair of glasses for a FIVE YEAR OLD. Instead, I’ll get another 1-2 cheap pairs from Zenni Optical, so we’ll have backups for the backups!

Well, it’s putting-kidlets-to-bed-time, and then time for me to go stain our tub pink (Special Effects in Cherry Bomb, ooh!), so I suppose I’ll end this entry… here.

Thank you for subscribing to Jenn.nu's RSS feed! ♥ Jenn | Flickr: kiss-my-kitty | Twitter: @kissmykitty