The consult with the surgeon went about as expected. He thinks it's a lipoma, but because of the location (armpit) and the discomfort from it, he's scheduled me for surgery the Monday after Thanksgiving.

I forgot my carrots and celery yesterday. Taking them to work today to supply me for the week. This weight just has to budge!

That's good news overall, Allison.

I guess my weight loss plans include no lunch. I left it on the kitchen counter at home. Might have something to do with getting 3 hours sleep. Ugh. Dewey was a zombie after his dental procedures yesterday (and the bill was WAY more than I expected so now I'm worried about $$ on top of everything else). We couldn't get him to pee last night-- I walked him off and on for 1.5 hours until I gave up at 11:30. Put him in bed with us where he moaned and groaned all night. Dh had to get up at 4 to catch his flight-- Dewey woke up crying so I took him out to pee. Success this time but no more sleep for me. I couldn't get him to go again before I left even though he drank a bunch of water so I hope he holds it until I get home.

Not sure what I'll do for lunch-- probably sushi from Safeway as that's the only thing close enough to get there and back quickly.

Weight is down some so I'm hoping it keeps going in the right direction.

I'm at 153 exactly today.
That's lower than Sunday, higher than Saturday.
The difference yesterday seems to be that 1) I had a heavy weight workout, with deadlifts, and 2) I got hungry in the morning, and again on the way back from an appointment that ended at 7 PM.

I got an email this morning from the co-op's management company. Work has started on my apartment. At last.

Very, very good news about your apartment, saef. Thank goodness.

A bit uphill here with irregular schedules (don't do well with these) and a month of travelling to start tomorrow. Losing weight is not a smooth downhill path. I go off piste. I go astray in the woods. I climb back up the path just for the **** of it. And I trip.

Will try to post a bit more frequently.

Woohoo! Down half a pound!!

Glad the work has started, saef, but it really should have started long ago, right?

A month of traveling, Birchie?! Wow! Don't think I'd do well with that weight wise myself.

Now that the work has started, Saef-- do they have an estimate of how long it will take to complete?

Congrats on the 1/2 pound, Allison! My weight is unchanged from yesterday which is fine with me as my drop "stuck".

Good news on the lipoma, Allison - that relief of stress is probably what's allowing your body to act more normally now.

Saef, glad the work has begun. Hopefully no more pestering will be necessary -

Birchie, why a whole month? Are you going to many different places?

Work is super busy but I finally feel as if I belong here, at least partially. I just hired a research lab tech and will start training her, and am gradually getting the feel of the clinical work (thought I have many complaints about how it is done and what they expect of me). I weighed myself for the first time in several months after some medical and emotional chaos, and it is ok.

Allison - I'm glad that they are taking care of it quickly. Waiting is awful.

Birchie - a month? Long travel. You can handle it.

JZJ - I'm glad that you are settling in!

Saef - glad the work has started!

My rash is much improved. Mainly dry skin left in the impacted areas. Time for some lotion. The cortisone lotion has now caused some cherry angiomas, so I'm definitely okay with stopping it before more of those pop up.

Shannon, my body is a mess with cherry angiomas. Worst are on my torso, but really they're everywhere. Hate them!

Starting a "quickie" dog sit in about an hour - 3 days start to finish. The 2 dogs are good dogs. They have had a new sitter since Friday a.m. and I haven't heard a thing from her. Hope all is well when I arrive.

Unlike last time when the sitter only came once a day, didn't walk the dogs, and decided to "go home" on Friday afternoon while the sit ended Saturday evening. He was my client's house cleaner. Not any more.

Better go eat my mummified pizza and get going. Both my pets are already pulling their faces. They know what the duffle and the bin mean.

Dagmar

Allison - I hate them! I have had one just below my ribs for years. Noticed last Friday that I had four small, new ones. By Monday there were three more. Now I'm up to 7 on my torso, 3 on my arms, and 4 on my legs. The new ones are all super small, but annoying.

Shannon, I've had mine for years. Hereditary as my grandmother, father and brother all have them (as do my kids). I have some that are borderline huge. They are the reason that I don't wear two-piece bathing suits and haven't since my late teens.

For complicated reasons I'm travelling to another town about two hours away over the next month. No pattern to it but lots of to-ing and fro-ing, occasional overnights. As ever, food is a real challenge. I have to remember to eat enough and also that food will not cure tiredness. (And will cause it. Sorry to report I fell into a carb coma earlier. It doesn't take much nowadays.)

Welcome back you half pound. Don't stick around too long, okay?

Back up to 153.7.

Not good, but I've got a feeling of relief this morning.

The debates are over, at last.

I checked on my apartment early this morning, and it's got plastic sheeting sealing off the dining room and kitchen, and I hear dehumidifiers going, part of the mold remediation. This is the first time that anything has happened there since August.

And I sent my resume off to a recruiter who liked the looks of my profile on Linked In. Even if the latter leads to nothing, it's a good feeling to know I've got option.