This is me now. My most recent headshot.

I’ve lost an Oompah Loompah. If they were about 100lbs or so, which I am guessing they could be with all the chocolate / cocoa beans they can eat now working for Willy Wonka. In December 2009, I had a Gastric By-Pass. I chose to have the surgery to get my life back and remember the girl I was in the Army and who was very active and healthy. Its now almost a year later and I could say that October 2010 was the month I reached my goal.

Just letting everyone know this blog will be active again very soon. I have been on a hiatus of writing as I have gone through so many life transitions for most of this year.

In addition to the weight loss, I have grown out my hair, changed the style, color, celebrated a year and some change now with the love of my life Joseph Higgs, gone on disability and about to change careers… details coming soon on a future post.

Here I am in early 2009, as I prepped for surgery going to see a nutritionist. I still lived a normal life of activities

If you have connected with me on Facebook you have been able to see the changes virtually all along. I have been posting my progress pictures to an album there. If you are not friends with me there, you have only my flickr to go by and here are some examples from there.

Picture from November 2009, before surgery

Joe and I on my grandmother's porch, October 2010

BTW, Doesn’t JOE look HOT himself. I think he has been getting cuter as I get thinner!

I post now, because I have been re-engaged with the speaking circuit and my Fall and Winter calendar has been exploding (my events page will be updated immediately). I have already been to a couple of events in as many weeks and those who haven’t seen me in a while have not even recognized me. I take that as a compliment, believe me.

I also plan to put up a section on this website that answers many of the FAQs of my weightloss and life transformation. I get emails, PMs and DMS, weekly about my success and I am very willing to share my story.

I am very proud to say I am now at the same weight I was when I got out of basic training. Although that was solid muscle. I am looking now to find ways to stay fit and toned throughout Winter, so your advice and tips will be welcomed indeed.

There is a lot more news to celebrate and share to come, but all in due time. I can’t let everyone know everything yet. Don’t want to jinx the good. So stay tuned.

I am writing this post as a comment back to Steve Radick’s blog in which he commented in how I mentioned part of my drive came from my having met and spoke to Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV.

I suffer from the “fear of missing out” (FOMO). When I want to commit to everything, be logged in on twitter, write my blog posts on whatever network I happen to be on at the time, edit the wiki, be at social media events in DC, and so on…

It is very taxing on my physical well-being, as well as mental. In 2008 I can say this is my sickest on record. I have had more allergies, flu, colds, and just complete exhaustion than before. I am hoping I am learning to self-correct this as I have made corrective measures at home. So when I leave the office and walk in my door at home, I am not attached to my laptop.

Earlier this year I remodeled my den to turn it into an at home office. I do work from home from time to time and I wanted to have a more ergonomic place to go to without the interruptions of other things like the TV or front window. I got a nice wooden desk, lamp and place to stick all my magazines. I even got an ergonomic chair (better than I have at work), for home.

So now when I am working from home, I am working away from distraction and in comfort. When I am in my normal office, yes I do have TVs on (cable news), that is normally background noise as its not one of the many serial dramas I have come to be addicted. So when I am working at home, at least I am not contributing to my bad back or what I am sure will be carpel tunnel syndrome someday.

Also, having my office in another room is making it easier for me to just go to the couch or easy chair and just escape in front of the boob tube. Time usually only spent when I was sick. Now I can watch a couple shows as I decompress from home and then off to bed.

I still can’t pull away completely from twitter or work, but since switching from a HTC Dash phone to a Blackberry curve a few months ago, my ability to stay on top of emails at work has improved and twitterberry has been able to abait some of the FOMO of what is going on with twitter by at least letting me see who is @’ing me and what my friends and colleagues are talking about. Sometimes I see a good debate going on, which I would love to chime in… and I do… but I keep it to a short response when I am in my downtime now. I don’t let it get to the point of where I need to get up and walk into the office right away to get deeply engaged.

At least, that is what I am doing now to handle the balance. I am sure it will creep back more work-less play again. But I am trying. Now that its colder, its harder to get out and just drive the jeep with the top down to the beach. So maybe I will be more active on the Wii again. I love Wii tennis and Guitar Hero. I have also been persuaded to go to Karaoke on Wednesday nights. Will i see you there?