The Gillespie Family: Weighing in on new goals, big girl beds, and the new house

So, it has been a busy few weeks here in the Gillespie household...

1. My parents arrived on April 8th and have helped us greatly getting the house prepared for the move in. All the rooms got painted and almost all of the baseboards have been done as of today. It looks really nice. They are staying here until just after Anisha's birthday on May 2 and while here, will help to maintain the house and do some final touch ups. Alison, Anisha and I are very thankful for all their help.

2. Easter came and Anisha went egg hunting. She knew all about finding the eggs, but as to why we look for them, she had no clue. She knew of the Easter Bunny, but I can't say she was 100% clear as to what the whole deal with him is. Here is a pic of Anisha finding an egg at the old house on Easter morning.

3. The Wednesday and Thursday after Easter was my Colonoscopy adventure. I started Wednesday with my Pico Salax, which is known as a mega laxative. I was warned to get some magazines and not make any plans. While the Salax did it's job very well, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Consuming lots of water, 7-up, and chicken broth wasn't fun. In fact, I think the prep for the procedure was the worst. I was quite hungry that night.

The day of the procedure was just fine, actually. I didn't wake hungry. I got down to the hospital, checked in and then got "dressed" in one of those great gowns that opens at the back for the procedure. Alison came with me and stayed in the room the whole time I went through it. Once the doctor came in, he asked my why I was actually getting this test so young. I told him it was a proactive procedure and that all my relatives, including my parents, have gotten it, so I figured I should too, just in case. Soon after, he gave me the hallucinogen to help me forget the procedure, and that was the best part of it all. I don't really remember much after he gave me the drugs. I do recall seeing a bit of my colon on the tv monitor which I was facing, but that is about it. Later, Alison told me I made the comment that "I have a pretty colon" and that "I have seen this procedure before on the Dr. House show on tv." I had quite the hearty laugh about that. I apparently mumbled incoherently a lot throughout the procedure. Once the procedure was done, I slept like a baby, giving Alison the chance to visit her work for a bit. I woke up dopey about 20 minutes later, but I felt fine. My first meal after that was a wonderful Texas Skillet at Humpty's Restaurant. I was quite tired for most of the rest of the day and wasn't allowed to drive anywhere.
Overall, the procedure went well and I feel great. The results were very positive: nothing to report/clean bill of health, and I don't have to get another one for 10 years. Which is good, because the prep for it sucks a lot!

4. Once we got into the new house on Friday, it became the first night for Anisha to sleep in her new Big Girl Bed. It is a toddler bed so it uses the same mattress as her crib. We also found wonderful sheets at a store in Calgary when we were there in February, so my parents bought them for us. Anisha didn't like or understand the bed the first night. She missed her old room, crib and house. She did a lot of crying as we put her to bed. Then she got up and bashed on the door to her room so Ali went in and put her back in the bed. Eventually she went to sleep. After that, she has done very well in her big girl bed. She has always been a good sleeper, and the transition went well. It is funny: when we go to get her in the morning, she is awake and still in bed, not realizing that she can easily get out of bed and wander around the room or read if she likes. Here is the bed, sheets and her newly set up room and paint job (which I did myself):

Anisha sleeping in her bed at nap time after Church on Sunday.

5. So, moving and getting a colonoscopy does well for my weight. I dropped down to 335 lbs again. I am quite happy with this and, after talking with Alison, I have come up with a new plan for my weight loss. The problem was that denying myself movies wasn't working anymore. I needed something new. Alison recommended just rewarding myself and not depriving. So, what I came up with is that for every 5 pounds lost, I can either a) buy myself a new season of a tv show I want to watch on DVD, or b) purchase a DVD of one of the many VHS tapes I still have to help finalize my conversion of all my movies to DVD. As well, if I can get down to somewhere between 250 and 275 lbs, I will be able to get a big, flat screen tv. No deprivation this time. I can watch movies again, YAY!

6. Alison's show opens this Friday. She is finding it a challenge seeing as how she hasn't acted in years, plus her co-actor is struggling with some of his many monologues, and on the weekend, the lighting board for the show crapped out (which isn't really her worry), so it makes for some extra stress before the show opens. In my history of doing many shows, I think it will all work out in the end and come together; it usually does. I will be seeing her show on Saturday night with a bunch of her co-workers, so I can report on how it will turn out next blog entry.

That is about it for here in Prince Albert. Other than Anisha's birthday and Alison's show, nothing too major is coming up. Have a good one everyone.

Here are some pics of rest of the house (mostly unpacked and set up)