December 20th already? 2006? Who keeps pressing the fastforward button?

Only a few days til Xmas...

I'm looking forward to spending the time with close family and friends.

My daughter is saying "yeah" now... it's pretty cute... "Ya want some toast?" "Yeah."

She nods her head too.

She's been sick for almost 2 weeks now... poor thing. She's on the mend but it was pretty nasty this weekend! Gasping for air between coughs... yeesh. When she breathed, it sounded like those vacuums the dentists use to clear your mouth after giving fluoride... it's cleared up for the most part now thankfully!

Today should be my last official work day until the 27th... I have a few projects to finish up. Tomorrow we play our SONIC sponsored high school show... that should be interesting!

Sunday marked my "1 month since my last gallstone attack"... I think that means the pills I've been taking are clearing up the stones. I was getting them almost every week since my first attack. It took my wife 5 months to get rid of all of them when she got them, so I likely have a couple months still, but enduring a few attacks while knowing I'm getting rid of them is way better than surgery in my opinion. And according to almost every doctor we spoke with, surgery is the "only" way to get rid of gallstones. Thankfully we know better than to treat the doctor's word as gospel and get some other opinions. I'm still open to the idea of surgery if the pills don't work, but they seem to be working... I'll be scheduling another ultrasound in a couple months to be sure they're gone. Shanda had 3 ultrasounds done. The first one showed several stones. 2 months later, there were fewer stones. 3 months after that, there were no stones to be seen. I hope things go like that for me as well!

Dec 15th marked my "one year without pop". I admit it. I am a pop addict. We have Coke in our house right now and every time I see it, I want some. It's a habit thing. It used to be if I was thirsty, I drank pop. Even after a year it's a hard habit to break. I'm not addicted to pop so much as Pepsi or Coke. I think I could get away with a ginger-ale or rootbeer here and there, but I'm not bothering with that stuff either. I've been opting for iced tea or lemonade, or water. Now, the caloric content might be identical, but there's a huge difference. With Pepsi or Coke, I always wanted more. With iced tea or lemonade, I'll have some, enjoy it, and not give it a second thought. I even had a few Pepsi slushes this summer. With ice cream too sometimes... But again, the difference is I'm not addicted to slushes. I had a few, and I had one since the summer cause it came free with our Nitza's Pizza. But I likely won't have another one for a long time. I feel like my pop addiction is likely the culprit for my gallstones... seems coincidental that the year I stop drinking pop, I get gallstone attacks? According to what I've researched, moderate alcohol and coffee consumption reduce gallstone occurrences. So, I've been making sure to drink both just in case. One cause of gallstones is a major dietary change. Well, stopping a daily sugary intake might just do that, no? When Shanda got them, it was because she had banned ALL FAT from her diet. Not a good idea. Your body needs fat. She learned her lesson (that was 10 years ago) and now neither of us feel guilty about eating anything in moderate amounts. Since stopping drinking pop, I've officially lost 21 pounds. I lost 8 pounds the first 3 weeks! The remaining weight loss came very slowly but steadily. I feel good about that.

I've reached a point where I don't really want pop at all anymore. But every once in a while, I get this voice saying, "Just have a sip. You deserve it. You're disciplined about it now so you can have a sip, just to have a nice taste, and then you won't have any more. C'mon... just a little bit." And THAT makes me realize that I'm still an addict, and likely always will be. I know I won't stop at one sip. Once I let that sweet sweet Pepsi grace my lips again, I can say hello to another 20 pounds within the year. So, I opt for club soda mixed with cranberry juice. Not a chance I'd get addicted to that shit!