I need a fill....bad!!!

I am hurtin for a fill, Wednesday can't come soon enough.  I spent this whole weekend just snacking away, some 'good' snacks and lots of 'bad' snacks.  I just can't seem to keep on track on the weekends, this is something I need to really wrap my head around and figure out.  All week long I eat my meals, have a protein drink when I am hungry, track all my food, ensure I am getting my liquids, but I think on the weekends when I do not have a schedule I lose track of what/when the plan is.  Uggggg!! 

Then I get mad at myself for eating a handful of chips that I don't really even want ans I find myself torturing myself by hopping my chubby butt up on the scale.  I can't seem to keep myself off or it so I sat myself (Blanche) down and gave her/me a good talking to.  I know I am working my ass off in the gym, I am eating great at least 90% of the time and holding myself accountable for everything.  Eff the scale, stupid effing thing.  I continue to weigh myself but I REFUSE to let it rule my mood and my life.  I know I am lifting heavier weights, completing my circuits faster and running harder/longer than I have in 8+ years, these are the yardsticks I will measure myself by, not a silly little number given to my by a demon filled piece of poop!! 

Soooooo......a couple things that could possibly fall in the TMI catagory, you have been warned.  I have never ever farted so much in my life as I do since I got banded.  I knew that being 'a little gassy' was a possibility, but I am a farting machine!  When I was planking (see pic below) the other day at the gym, I was going for a new personal record of a full minute and I felt 'it' coming on.

 'It' was there and 'it' was going to be BIG.  I don't know if planking is the same for everyone but when I do 'it' I shake ALL over, this quivering of my entire body was shaking something loose.  At around 30 sec into it I knew 'it' was coming and there was nothing I could do to stop 'it'.  Luckily Mr. Muscle and I were the only ones in the training room at the time, so I just let him know that I was going to make it to the minute but I was also going to have a delivery and he might want to back up.  He started laughing, that made me laugh and that made the shaking even harder.  When 'it' finally arrived it was a frickin foghorn!!! I am not easily embarrassed, but even this honker echoing through the room got me blushing....BTW I did hold my plank through all of this for the full minute!

The other thing is my monthly cycle, I don't actually have the equipment to have one but all of the sudden it seems like I have a PMS week.  Craving chocolate sooo badly I could cry, crying over anything and everything, retaining water and even kind of crampy.  This is really really weird, so much so that I made an appt with my gyno to get checked out.  She said everything looks fine in the crotchal region but did take blood tests to check hormones.  Strange and kind of scary. 

One last thing before I go...I love the smell of my sweat.  Not like the sitting in a car with no air conditioning in August in Texas sweaty stink, but my lifting, running, pulling, pushing, planking, stepping, jumping sweat.  I love the feeling of it dripping down my face and body.  I like to see the puddle forming under me when I am doing push-ups.  And I LOVE to give my pits a little sniffy sniff.  That wonderful aroma is 'exhaust' from my engine (hahahaha, maybe my farts are the exhaust too!) burning through my fat ass and jiggly gut.  Whenever I get home from the gym I try to get Peaches as excited as I am about my bouquet, but he is just not nearly as excited as I would like him to be!!  He did however let me know my butt is getting 'butt shapier', apparently my butt and thigh are no longer just one big slab of meat.  There is an actual butt shelf, a little sumpin sumpin to cup!  Yah for my butt shapier, butt.  I will be doing some pics on Friday, my two month bandiversary.

TTT a little late...

I missed TTT so I am just going to hit it a little late!  

1.     Tues was the 5th anniversary of my mother's death.  It's always a hard day, but I try to do something to honor her memory and this year I volunteered to be a chaperone on a field trip for a class at the local 'juvenile' detention center.   My mom devoted her life to helping kids in crappy situations, she would have appreciated this.

2.     My 'Jillian' trainer had another client at the time I was requesting so I agreed to work with someone else, he is a hunky young pup (Mr. Muscle) and I HATE him!  Well...I love and hate him at the same time.  If we are doing step-ups and he wants to add resistance and I whine a little bit about it, he just says 'Great!  You just bought yourself two extras, want to keep going?'  When I told  him I hated him, he just asked 'Isn't that why you come here, to hate me?'  He is pretty awesome! 

3.     In February one of my puppies blew out his knee and had surgery to rebuild his cruciate ligament, all was going well with his therapy and recovery until Thurs.  I came home from work and he was not putting any weight on his leg, his knee was swollen and hot.  We are going to the vet in 30 min to get it checked out.  I am sure he blew it out again, now I am faced with a shitty decision...do we do another surgery or just do what we can to keep him comfortable.  Affording the surgery would be a little hard, I would either need to dip into our 'NEVER EVER' use savings or take out a loan from my 401k.  Also he is almost 10 years old (and a big dog) and this will be his 3rd surgery in 6 months and that can be hard on an old dog.  It breaks my heart to think of him in pain and I have been crying on and off all morning.  

4.     My portions have slowly been creeping up in the last week, my weight loss has stalled and I have some major urges to snack.  I scheduled an appt for a fill next Wed.  I can't wait!!  Peaches is going to go with me and is excited to see the huge horse needle they use. 

5.     I went in on Monday to see my weight loss doc and M, the facilitator, for my 6 week check up.  Everything is looking good!  My lean mass has not changed at all, this means I am not losing muscle mass, and my body fat percentage is down by 10% since I started my pre-op liquid diet!!  I had a perma-grin during my visit.  While I was there M asked me if I would be alright with their marketing department contacting me for participation in their ad campaign.  I agreed right away, they want to do a 'story line' on me, basically they will follow me on my journey.  Also there was talk of a billboard or TV commercials.

6.     My manager told me that I will be going out to NY in June for some training on a new software program that is being introduced to our department.  I will be in Bethpage (on Long Island) for a week and I am super excited.  A friend of mine, who lives out there, already got tickets for us to go see Wicked and we are planning on a trip to the Comedy Cellar while I am there as well.  

7.     We got a new addition to our family this week, his name is Gideon (I re-named him, in honor of one of my favorite novel characters).  A friend of a friend had him for several years and due to some medical issues needed to get rid of him.  Say hello to Gideon!   

8.     I love living in Montana!!  I have lived in Colorado, Wyoming and Texas and none of these can hold a candle to Montana....however I hate surprises like the one I woke up to this morning.  

The snow was super heavy and I lost some branches off my baby Red Maple because of it, boooo.  

9.     I think one of my nieces spilled something on my laptop, my 'V' and 'B' buttons are really really hard to push and feel kind of sticky.

10.     As soon as I post this I will be heading to the gym to do a little treadmill work.  I made a commitment to a friend of mine (she is also a bandster turned crazy marathon runner, much like Terry) to run a half marathon in July 2013 with her Missoula, MT.  I told my trainer about this goal and he has put together a training plan for me to use.  

She's baaaack!!

I wrote here about changing my relationship with Sugar and last Sunday I unthinkingly let her (Sugar) back in my life.  We had taken Peaches' mom to Olive Garden for mother's day and when those delicious little Andes mints came I just popped it in my mouth.  As soon as it started to melt and all the chocolately deliciousness was on my tongue (and I had a small orgasm) I realized my mistake.  I thought about spitting it out but realized I am too much of a lady (and I was enjoying my orgasm too much) so I finished it.  Then I spent a lot of time stressing out about it.  Did I just open the flood gates?  Was I going to go on a binge from hell now?  Was there enough chocolate in the whole state of Montana to satisfy me?

I think the stress about succumbing kept me on the straight and narrow for the first several days, by day three I was all about the granola bars.  Not the good kind, the Quaker Chewy ones...specifically the peanut butter chocolate chip ones.  I was deluding myself that because it was a granola bar the 100 cals per didn't really count.  So the more upset I got about eating one the more I wanted the next one, this lead to an incredible 5 at one sitting and a horrible tummy ache.  Once I had hidden all the wrappers and my stomach stopped hurting enough for me to breath, I sat myself down and gave myself a little chat.  My obesessing/fear about bingeing was what kept if foremost in my mind and created the shitstorm that I fell into.  So I had a mint, so I had 5 granola bars in 10 min, I was not going to dwell on it, shit happens.  (These are all lessons learned from you ladies during the Cadbury incident.)  Once I had recovered a small sense of logic and reason I spent some time  contemplating Sugar and how I was going to deal with her.  I was going to take our relationship for a test drive, a sane test drive.  She was back in my life and that's fine, I would see her once or twice a week maybe.  I would not sleep in her driveway, call her house 500 times and hang up, I would not try to steal her dirty undies or drive cross country in a diaper to hunt her down.  This is not an obsessive relationship, that was my down fall before, this was a normal, casual dating type relationship. 

Tuesday was my 'reflection' day and since then I have eaten several pieces of licorice, two bites of milky way and a 1/4c of frozen yogurt.  I feel ok about this, I have logged it all in MFP, I have done it openly in front of Peaches and my friends.  No hiding in the bathroom, no midnight runs to the alley to throw away the wrappers.  Right now Sugar and I are just dating, nothing serious.  You may even call it a mere flirtation.  So here's to hoping I don't go all Fatal Attraction on her!! 

Taking some time for me!

After two long weeks of putting everyone else first I am taking some time for me today!!  There has been a HUGE amount of drama with Peaches' family and that on top of some crazy work deadlines has kept me hopping and grumpy for entirely too long.  I have decided that his mom (B) is never going to change (stop drinking and abusing prescription drugs) and as long as we know his little sister is safe then we have done our job.  Peaches' mom has made a series of poor choices that resulted in her being homeless and  admitted to the hospital with liver failure at the age of 56.  The saddest part is she has a 13yr old daughter (G) that she has continually put in horrible situations.  After this last crash Peaches' and his brother sought custody of their little half sister and were awarded it.  Since then it has been nothing but guilt trips, lies and piles of BS from B.  I need to realize I CAN'T fix her.  So I am letting go, I know the G is safe and happy and well taken care of, that is what really matters to me.

Whew!  It feels good to say that.  I just hope I can keep myself convinced.

Now, on to me and my day.  I am not doing anything I don't want to today.  I am going to the movie with my girlfriends, What to expect when you're expecting, sitting on the couch watching TV and blogging.  That's about it!!  I also have reached my first goal of 20lbs lost and will be rewarding myself with a Shellac pedi on Tues afternoon.  I still do not feel restriction, I can and have eaten bread, rice, lettuce all with no ill effects.  This does mean that I have to use more of my willpower when it comes to not over indulging or snacking but I am determined to lose weight and this has been going pretty well.  My trainer is also kicking my ass A LOT!!  Last Monday I was feeling tired and grumpy, I tried to not go to the gym  but I found myself pacing around my house, restless.  Finally I recognized that I was angry at myself for not working out and went.  After I got home I felt SOOOOO much better about life and myself in general.  I like the weak legs feeling I have after squatting and lunging!  

Here are some recent stats, still losing my tatas at an alarming rate but I am happy to note that Hot Duchess finally decided to show up to the party and give a little up.  

Date Neck Arm Bust Chest Waist HD Hips Thigh Calf Weight 03/18/12 16.75 14 48.5 40.5 43.25 52.5 48.5 30.25 17.25 263.4 04/01/12 16.5 14 47.5 41.25 42.5 52 47.5 30.25 17 253 04/08/12 16.25 14 47.25 40 41.75 52.25 47.5 29.5 16.75 249.8 04/16/12 16.5 14 46.75 39.5 41 50.5 47 29.25 17 246 04/22/12 16 14.25 46.5 38.5 41 50.5 47 29 16.75 243 05/04/12 16 14 45.5 38.5 40.5 50.5 45 28.25 17 243 05/19/12 15.75 14 44.75 38.25 39.5 50.25 45 28.25 17 238
Peaches assures me that even though Hot Duchess is not losing much around my body she is lifting a lot.  He used to not be able to see my hoo-hoo at all, HD hung down so low she almost rested on my thighs.  Now he can see all of my hoo-hoo and more!!  HD refusing to give up more inches still makes it hard to find pants that fit, they can either fit in my waist and ass and be TIGHT on my gut or fit my gut and look like I am carrying a load in the butt.  My trainer assures me that we are giving HD a run for her money and she will start to disappear soon. On my two month bandiversary I will post some side-by-side pics so you all can enjoy the my newly exposed hoo-hoo area!

Holy Schmoly, it's been crazy!

I have been having a crazy five days, but I think it might actually be slowing down again (knock on wood).  Peaches and I had two of his nieces again this past weekend, they are in a pretty horrible situation at home right now and we try to add a little bit of stability/sanity to their lives by taking them regularly.  Usually two weekends a month and several times during the week.  So as always, having kids around forces me to run my butt off!!

Work has been crazy too, lots of projects going on and deadlines looming!!  If I could just be allowed to do my job and not be a scribe for someone else it would really make me happy.  Sometimes I just want to say "Guess what Vice-Pres SoandSo, I do know how to write a coherent sentence and I don't need to spend 45 min on the phone with you discussing the merits of using the word regain vs reclaim."   AAARRRGGGGG!!!   I did however spend 10 min complaining to my director after a particularly aggravating meeting and told her that next time I was talked to like I was a 2yr old I would say something about it.  And I don't care who is on the other end, CEO or not.  My director said she would talk to the VPs about it.  We'll see if it does any good or if I will soon be looking for a new job.

Tonight I will update my stats, I have all that info at home.   I just wanted to drop a line and say that I am not dead, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth and I will get caught up on blogs this weekend!

Two NSVs and Sexy Books

First NSV!   I crossed my legs yesterday, and when I say I crossed them,  I mean I really for reals crossed them.  There was no table edge or wall there to brace my leg, there were no quivering inner thigh muscles, working against the resistance of my own fatness.  Nope I just crossed them and left them there, like I was a professional leg crosser or something.  Then I realized what I did, jumped up and started yelling (I was at home, not work), then immediately sat down to cross again.  I needed to make sure it was not just a fluke.  It wasn't, I am officially a leg crosser again!

NSV numero dos!  I made it home yesterday on my jog in 47 min, that means I am at a 11.75min/mile pace.  That is the fastest I have ever been on my homeward journey.  I had some motivation/distraction however....that brings us to sexy books.

I listen to audiobooks ALL THE TIME!  I work as a graphic designer and can often listen to books during the formatting/design stage of the project.  I also listen to them when I am on my jog home, cleaning the house, doing house work, trying to fall asleep, on a plane, on a long drive, sitting on the deck at the lake house.  So pretty much all the time!  Night before last I started a new book, Exit to Eden (ever read it?) it's an Anne Rice novel...and it is sexy!!  Now in a previous post I mentioned that I enjoy the occasional young adult book but I was not always satisfied with the 'sex' scenes.  They were only make-out scenes and mama needs some penetration!!  This book satisfies that requirement in spades, boy howdy.  On my jog home I was so engrossed in this delicious nastiness that I didn't even have time to think about getting tired or out of breath.  I just keep going and going fast!  The problem with an oh-so-sexy book (and yes there can be a problem) is when I listen at work (with ear buds) I feel like everyone knows what is going on.  Yesterday my HR director stopped by to ask me about our new employee handbook that I am designing for our website and I started blushing when I was talking to him.  He actually asked me if I had gotten some sun.  I may have to leave the sexy book time for outside of work.

Ever since my little baby fill (.5cc) I have been doing really well with my food.  I can be satisfied on my 1/2c-3/4c of food and stay full for 3-4 hours.  I have still been having a snack in the afternoon but I am not just grazing all day long, going to hang out in front of the fridge or cupboard staring.  MFP is regularly yelling at me about not getting enough calories in a day, but I say if I am losing weight and feeling good then shut your face MFP!  Just track my food and keep your stupid opinions to yourself. 

Changing my relationship with sugar

Every since the humiliating Cadbury incident I have avoided candy/chocolate/sugar all together.  It's been 25 days and it has been HARD!  I knew I ate a lot of candy/sugar before all this started, but I always thought I was in control of this (just like any addict).  I could stop whenever I want, I don't have to have it...blah blah blah.  Well that was all BS, I don't have any control over my sugar intake, I do have to have it, I am not able to just stop.  Everyday I wake up dreaming about milky ways and sour patch kids.  My brother-in-law came into town for a work conference last Wed and stayed the night with us.  After dinner he ran to the gas station to get some cigarettes and came home carrying a Dr. Pepper and Sour Patch Kids...I nearly knocked him over and stole them both.  DP and SPK is my fav combo of all time, I can remember being 9 or 10 years old and having that at the movies.  I literally spent the night drooling while thinking about them.

When I was 18 I got into heroin, after a bad car accident (while I was high) in which I severely injured my foster brother my family gave me the ultimatum: rehab or leave the family.  At that point the threat of losing my family is the ONLY thing that would have gotten me to commit to my recovery.  So I spent 6 months in rehab and learned some very valuable life lessons.

1. You can admit you don't have control over something in your life and still be a strong person.
2. You (and others) can and will forgive you for mistakes you made, if you are genuinely remorseful.
3. There is a great amount of power in 'the group'.  The rehab center I spent my time in was a 12 step center, so we spent a lot of time in group meetings/therapy.
4. You need to be an active participant in your recovery, you can't just be along for the ride.
5. Addiction feeds on excuses.  If you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them, forever limiting yourself. 
6. You alone are in charge of your life, you alone have the power to change it - for the good and the bad.

 I made the commitment 12 years, 5 months, 9 days ago and have never touched drugs again.  However, I find myself addicted to sugar now.  I really feel it is an addition, I physically crave it.  My plan when I cut it out last month was just to change my relationship with sugar.  To allow myself the time to see that I will survive without it, that I can just have a treat once in a while and not die.  I did not have a time limit in mind when I stopped my sugar intake, so I will just keep on with it but everyday I get further away from it I get a more confident in my ability to treat it with respect and moderation.  In rehab it gets beaten in your brain that you will NEVER EVER be able to just have a little, I guess I won't know until I try if that is true with sugar.  For now I feel a little more secure distancing myself from it.

Stats update and free clothes

I forgot to post my measurements for this last week.  Something I thought was interesting was I didn't lose anything according to the scale but I lost some major hip, waist and boobage!!  I am glad that I started doing the measurements so I can see that my body is changing even if the scale isn't.  If only Hot Duchess (HD) would get her ass in gear, it's hard to get pants to fit my smaller butt and waist but my still huge gut!

Date	Neck	Arm	Bust	Chest	Waist	HD	Hips	Thigh	Calf	Weight
03/05/11	16.75	16	50.25	42	45.5	53	49.25	31.5	17.5	295.5
03/18/12	16.75	14	48.5	40.5	43.25	52.5	48.5	30.25	17.25	263.4
04/01/12	16.5	14	47.5	41.25	42.5	52	47.5	30.25	17	253
04/08/12	16.25	14	47.25	40	41.75	52.25	47.5	29.5	16.75	249.8
04/16/12	16.5	14	46.75	39.5	41	50.5	47	29.25	17	246
04/22/12	16	14.25	46.5	38.5	41	50.5	47	29	16.75	243
05/02/12	16	14	45.5	38.5	40.5	50.5	45	28.25	17	243

My friend's mom recently lost a whole bunch of weight and she passed along three boxes and two garbage bags full of clothes for me to look through.  They started at size 22 and went through 16, so there was lot to choose from.  However....let me just say that some of the clothes are for a more mature lady.  I picked out some of the stuff but I have plenty left over, lots of slacks and button down shirts.  Also so skirts and sweat pants.  If anyone out there wants me to pass them along, just let me know!

Peaches and I are going to the Costa Rica for 12 days in November and I would REALLY like to be below 200lbs at that time so I can do all the fun things (parasailing, horseback riding, zip line).  This trip was Peaches Christmas gift from last year so I have had plenty of time to fantasize about it.  One of those fantasies includes me in a smocktop dress holding hands with Peaches and walking on the beach.  Just like in the movies, kicking our toes in the waves, kissing...sigh.  So on Friday I went with my friend to Ross (a discount store, like TJ Maxx) and found almost the exact dress I had been dreaming about.  For shits and giggles I put it on and took a pic, now when I get to wear it on the beach in November I will know exactly how far I have come!

It is a size large and that sucker was TIGHT, also Hot Duchess was hanging out in all her glory, this picture just doesn't any justice to just how lumpy I looked.

First fill baby!!!!!

Got my first friggity fill yesterday!!  Yah!!  My surgeon has done over 800 Lapband surgeries and just recently (3 months ago) had her first and only slip/removal.  She told me about this at my first meeting with her and let me know that she was going to be more conservative on fills because of it.  She made sure I knew that this was just her personal view and there is not proof, but was VERY clear that she would not be dropping a whole lot of saline up in my belly right off the bat.  I have a 14cc band, 4cc in a surgery and an additional .5cc yesterday....that's right she THAT conservative!!  She said to give it three weeks or so, see if the weight is still coming off.  If not then we will re-evaluate.  I was a little disappointed when I left, I knew I was signing up for the slow train when I chose band over bypass, but some part of me (probably stupid crazy face Blanche) was hoping that there would still be some element of melting fat.  I called Peaches after I left the Dr office, he gave me a peachy (hahahaha) little pep talk that helped me remove my head from my a$$.  I am back on liquids for two days and my 1/2c soup kept me full all night, so maybe she knows what she is doing.......

Dr. H also removed my lone little stitch (which hurt WAY more than the fill) and cleared me to start getting it on with my trainer...well not like 'getting it on' but you know.  My trainer is a super hot chick, Peaches would be a happy boy if I got direction from my doc to get it on with her!!  I am going to meet with her on Friday and get our schedule all worked out.  The gym I decided to go with had a choice of five trainers, they all have a BS in either exercise physiology, but that is where the similarities end.  They all have very different backgrounds and personalities, but when I heard they called one 'Jillian' I knew she was meant for me.  I want someone to get in my face and kick my a$$.  She also used to be overweight, so can appreciate where I am coming from.  And what it means to love sugar and grease with every fiber of your being.

Last night was a support group at the Weight Management Clinic, it was for post-op only.  I met another bandster and she had just been through some tough stuff with her band.  Her port flipped then she got super stuck on a piece of steak and had to be almost totally unfilled.  She gave all this information in the beginning of the session, so I started having a major 'what-if' attack in my head (Effing Blanche!!) ...like 'Maybe I should have gotten the bypass....What am I going to do if I have to have another surgery....blah blah blah'.  So I sat and sweated for 45min, doubting this whole thing.  Then at the end she talked about her frustration and said that she knew she was too tight, for TWO months she ate nothing but soup and protein drinks.  The weight was coming off pretty fast, so she thought why mess with a good thing.  Then she tried to eat some steak and it got stuck, like STUCK and ended up in the ER for an unfill.  After that I felt sooooo much better.  The band is not meant to keep you from eating, it's not supposed to cause you to vomit every time you eat.  If that is what's going on, then you need to contact the doctor!!  My faith was restored that if I use this the way it was intended then it can, it WILL work!  After group M, the clinic facilitator/nurse/insurance guru pulled me aside to see if I would like to be the guest speaker for Lapband at the informational seminars.  Of course I agreed wholeheartedly, my first one will be next Thursday.  Basically I will just go over my experience so far and let them question me to their hearts delight. 

Ohhhh yeah!  Do your doctors use frigging horse needles when they do fills?  Sweet baby Jesus, it was like 5 in long!  I almost called the whole thing off.  Dr H did numb me up before she did the fill, so really all I felt was a little pressure and this weird tugging feeling in my tummy.  Strange!! 

The Eagle has landed!!

I was able to successfully complete a poopy this morning, it was heaven.  There was a minimal amount of 'birthing' and I felt much lighter afterward.  Enough so that I jumped on the scale for a second time, I lost 1.2 lbs!!!  Thank you to all of you for your commiseration on the stopped-up butt syndrome and advice.  When my doc called me back she gave me a big thumbs up on the Mirolax, I have now added that to my morning regimen.  The not-so-great thing is that I believe there was some gas build up behind my poopy and I have been relieving myself of that ALL day.  I should also mention that I had egg salad for lunch yesterday....stinky!! For all you new and soon to be banded peeps out there, get the BM regime started right away, don't let it build up.


I am still feeling like I am dieting, I try to stick to the 1/2c per meal, then find myself snacking all day long.  So today i just upped my meal size by 1/4c and made a MAJOR effort to ditch the snacks.  I feel pretty good so far, or maybe I just know (hope) that tomorrow I will get my first fill!!  My surgeon gave me a large band with a 14cc capacity, I currently have 4ccs from surgery.  I can't wait for a little more restriction. 

One of the people that works in the same office I do commented on my droopy butt pants today.  These pants are quite large, but I just can't see spending any money on smaller pants for a month or so.  I have some clothes from 4-5 years ago that I should be able to fit into soon.  I just need to make these last a little bit longer!  I will post stats tomorrow, but I still am not seeing much deflation of Hot Duchess.  I say Bon Voyage daily to my boobies, but my gut just won't leave!  UGGGG!

Peaches was officially offered his promotion today, along with at 17% raise.  I am happy about the money, but I am more excited about the job.  Basically he is going to be building a brand new department from the ground up.  He has done something similar to this two other times with the same company, but this will be the first time he will have the title and salary to match the workload!   

Happy May Day everyone!!  Go outside and enjoy the spring time greenery!