Finding Emilee

  Hello Friends! I hope that you had a really nice long holiday weekend.   It has been really hot and humid here in West Michigan.   I have been hiding out in the A/C this weekend as my body isn't tolerating the humidity very well currently. When I logged in today to write to you, I was not really sure what I wanted to write about.   But I think I'd really like to talk to you about the importance of working through emotional trauma.   Even if what you need to work through may not be considered a "trauma", it doesn't mean it isn't something that you need to honestly process, work through and (eventually) move past. Your mental health matters and it really does require your attention.   If you have dealt with anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder or any other major mental health condition there is a reason why you are experiencing that.    It isn't something you want to ignore. I will forever be a positive supp...

  Hello Friends! Another day, another blog for you :-). I thought today I'd talk a little bit about what I am currently eating per my surgeon's office on a pureed diet. The first "food" I ate when I was cleared for a pureed diet was blended cottage cheese with everything bagel seasoning on top. It was glorious!   I had been on a liquid diet for over 3 weeks so anything probably would have tasted amazing! I found out the next day that my surgeon's office does not require me to blend up cottage cheese - so it is definitely a staple in my diet currently.   I eat it with a lot of things that may be a little thicker/drier to help make sure it makes it through my esophagus. (Side note - because of my hiatal hernia repair, my esophageal tract is very tight and very narrow.   Things get stuck VERY easily currently.   When it happens I can still breath but it's very painful and causes me to panic a little bit.) My second HUGE staple is Greek yogurt....

  Hello Friends! I want to wish you a very happy and safe 4th of July today.   I hope you are with your friends and family that you love and that you are staying cool and hydrated!   We are just making some good food and hanging out at home - maybe play some games but very low key. I wanted to hop on today and talk a little bit about what keeps me inspired and motivated and pushing through the rough moments.   I think it is really important to find ways to keep yourself on track, honest and excited about your goals. Before I even had surgery, my dear therapist suggested that I make an inspiration/motivation board/poster to hang up somewhere I can see everyday.   So the photo above is the result of that assignment.    It took me a couple days but I feel it turned out absolutely stunning.   I included a lot of color and a lot of words of encouragement.   Both things that are dear to my heart. What is listed in the ...

  Hello Friends! Well this entry has been a long time coming and I am so happy to tell you that as of yesterday I have been cleared to return to work and life with no restrictions!  (Except I am still on pureed food). I am ECSTATIC! I know many of you probably want to know how much weight I have lost since my roux n y bypass surgery on June 5, 2025.   I am very proud and happy to report I am currently down 51 pounds!!!   :-) I purposefully did not weigh myself until my clearance follow up appointment with my surgeon because my focus is not on how much I do or don't weigh.   My focus is on my body and keeping it healthy.    But I won't lie, I cried tears of joy yesterday in the office.    This process has been such a struggle and to finally have some positivity out of it was just so overwhelming to me.   I was so thankful my husband was there with me to share in that moment with me. But now the real work begins. I am r...

Hello Friends! No, this is not a current photo - this was during my second hospitalization.   It was a day that I actually felt somewhat human so thought it would be a good photo opportunity. Now that I have gotten you caught up on how my month of June went - I wanted to talk about a few things that happened in the hospital that were eye opening and made me very grateful for the care I was given. But first I wanted to throw out there that the care I received during my hospitalizations (with the exception of one night shift) was absolutely incredible!    I can't really call out the facility or specific staff members but know that you made all of the difference in my hospital stay.   My nurses were so compassionate and shared their stories with me on how long they had been in the healthcare field.    Some of them were in RN school, some were new and some had been doing it since 1994.  I also was able to speak to some staff that were COVID staff...