Michele asked me what a Lap band is. It is a type of bariatric surgery, done laparoscopically. This band fits around the intestine forming a fake, smaller stomach. Saline is injected in a port that cinches the band tighter - until the patient gets to the right "restriction" (in terms of how much she can eat). Unlike gastric bypass, nothing is removed, the surgery time is usually no more than an hour (mine was 35 minutes), and the recovery time is no more than 2-3 days (and even then, you're on your feet, you just need to take it easy). You lose weight slowly, @ 4-10 pounds a month if possible, though that varies with individuals.

I had this done in July, and I've so far lost the weight that I had gained over the last 2 years - probably about 50 pounds. I'm amazed at how much better I feel. I still have a long way to go before I get even close to my goal, but I'm making really great progress.

Okay, I forgot about my blog. I admit it. I simply, totally, forgot to even feel guilty about not blogging. I'm a bad blogger. Shame, misery, misfortune, on the scale of a Greek tragedy. Curses!

And I've had stuff to blog about. So let me get started.

Today, a friend and I ate at Applebee's Restaurant in Ada, OK. Now, I love this chain of restaurants - the best nachos you can get in a non-Mexican restaurant. However, our waiter was way too chipper. He kept telling us about why he loved the bruschetta burger, which is what I ordered. He detailed his usual dislike of tomatoes but that in this burger, he enjoyed them. He raved about the pesto on it and asked if I had ever had pesto before. I was thrilled to get the guy to leave our table and actually put in our order.

I also ordered a strawberry, frozen margarita. I wanted a Mojito - a delicious drink I've just discovered thanks to my dear friend Jon. But, no mojito on the menu. Anyway, the drink came out a very pale pink - not enough strawberry. And it had an odd flavor. Not bad really, but not the way I like my margaritas. So I drank about half of it. And I ate about half of my burger. It was delicious, but with my lap band, I have a hard time eating a full burger these days.

When the waiter came to bus our table, I swear to you: he asked my friend if he wanted the rest of my burger! This was after he asked if I had liked the burger, if I thought the pesto was too strong, and after I had assured him that I was simply full and the burger was quite tasty. Once my friend, Jeff Cox, declined finishing up my meal, the waiter took our plates. He then came back with the check and asked me if I was finished with my margarita. I said yes, and (you guessed it), he asked Jeff if he wanted the rest of my drink. I mean, he even asked twice when I guess we didn't make it clear to him that Jeff didn't want to lick my plate for me.

I have never had a waiter ask someone else at a table if we wanted someone else's leftovers. It was so bizarre! Jeff dislikes perky waiters anyway. He really hates it when they want to tell you all about what they love on the menu before you even solicit such information. It was really quite funny because I knew Jeff was probably grinding his teeth. ;-)