Lets talk to my Doctor

My Doctor told me that I would be a great candidate for the Bariatric Sleeve. She also told me that they have a ton of pre rec's but my insurance would also cover it. "What you talking about Willis"?
This is something I had never thought of. She went on to tell me that ALL my appointments would be down in Seattle at the University of Washington and also the surgery. That I needed to see a physical therapist for 12 visits, a psychologist for 12 visits a dietician for 12 visits, be weighed every week and to loose 20 lbs. Had to have a huge panel of blood work done, an EKG, an upper endoscopy, a online class and a sleep study.
There probably was more, but I can't remember. She said I had to dot every I and cross every T perfectly or my insurance would not cover any of it.  Ok, that makes total sense to me. They want to make sure that I am a person is completely on board with this entire new lifestyle.
Now off onto my new journey. I did everything that was required of me and I was just at the point of going to Seattle to meet my surgeon for surgery, when I get a letter from my insurance company telling me that my insurance is running out and I need to pick a different one.
Easier said then done. Every State is different, but in Washington State, unless you are with  insurance from your work, bariatric surgery is NOT covered. "NOT COVERED"!!!!!!!!!! "WTH"

Over weight, Fat, Obese, Morbidly Obese

I woke up in the middle of the night with ALL this on mind, so I decided to write about it. But if you are expecting perfect grammar, perfect spelling, and a natural born writer, then you are at the wrong place. LOL I write exactly like I talk and it is in no way shape or form anywhere near perfect.
About 16 years ago, I herniated three disc's in my neck and two in my lower back. I lived morning and night in our recliner. Because it was the only place in the house that I could be to get any kind of relief from pain. So this is where me, beginning to become over weight started. I was in that chair, sedentary for two years.  I have had four surgeries on my neck, and one thing I can say at least, I am no longer living in a chair. But doing the things I did before I was hurt, is a thing of the past. Chronic Pain rules your life and if you don't want to live on pain pills you just try to deal with it all, and gaining weight is only part of it. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, I am borderline diabetic, the list goes on.
 The next word is Fat and then obese. Two words I have come to hate, even though I will be the first one to tell you I'm fat. 
I don't care if you have been over weight all your life or part of your life. If its genetics or from over eating. Being sedentary or being depressed. It doesn't matter. Seeing OBESE on your Doctor's chart notes, is about to much for anyone to handle. And the first time I read MORBIDLY OBESE, I could hardly swallow. 
If you didn't know, I have a little boy who is now almost 7, whom we adopted from Jamaica. God chose Mark and I to be Dontae's parents. We are blessed over and over with Boo being in our life. But he is 7 and a 7 year old is active, and he isn't going to stop being active anytime soon. I can't remember exactly what it was that Dontae wanted to play a little over a year ago, but I couldn't do it. Not just because of being in chronic pain but for being so heavy.  Over the years I have tried everything to get my weight off, but couldn't get more then 25 lbs. off at a time. Then big time depression sets in and you gain it back, plus a little more. Well over 16 years, you have me now.
Kim Lau 240lbs. I got married four months prior to being hurt 16 years ago weighing 140lbs. 
So this day Dontae wanted to play and I couldn't, I decided to talk to my Dr. I want to be healthy and fit and living to put it bluntly for this little boy God entrusted me with.
I had no idea what my Dr. would say to me. Even though my chart says morbidly obese, I didn't believe I was fat enough for surgery. How uneducated I was....

Please don't Judge me

Friends, family and others I many not know. I have been praying about this for quite some time. Trying to decide if I could be helpful to people, or would I just be totally embarrassed, vulnerable, and Judged.  I believe it will be ALL three, maybe more, but God has put it on my heart to tell my story in hopes of encouraging and helping others. So I welcome you to my blog. To come along on my journey of Bariatric Surgery. I only ask that you please don't leave any negative comments on here. Like I said, I will be opening up and posting pictures and videos of me Kim Matty Lau in the most vulnerable state of my life. 
I will be going back to the beginning, to tell you how and why this operation  came to life. My surgery date is November14,2016.  Its right around the corner, which feels crazy because I have been working on this since Christmas of last year.
 So follow me down below, and get an email notification every time I post to here. Go ahead and share this blog with whomever you feel would benefit, or even just want to be educated on a topic that is not really talked about.

Homemade Vanilla

  Happy New Year, This year for Christmas presents I made some homemade vanilla.  I have to say it was so fun and so easy, just took a couple of months preparation, but it was simple enough.
First off I ordered some very cool bottles online, then from Olive Nation I ordered all my vanilla beans. Here is the recipe I used from WWW.HAPPYMONEYSAVER.COM

Cut the each vanilla bean in half lengthwise splitting them in down the middle, but leave an inch at the end that is still connected. Then cut the beans in half the other way so they are shorter to fit in the jar.For every 8 ounces, add in pieces of vanilla beans that total 3 or 4 whole beans

.Pour the vodka over the beans so they’re completely covered in liquid. I bought a 40 oz. of vodka and it filled up my mason jar perfectly. I used 16 vanilla beans in my jar.Next, place the cap or lid tightly on the bottle and put them in a cool, dark place (such as a closet or back of the pantry). Once a week, give the bottles a good shake. The length of time you give them will depend on how intense you want the flavor to be. Six to 8 weeks is plenty, or you can let it go longer. Once it’s done, use something like a coffee filter or flour sack towel to strain out particulates from the extract. Put it back in the bottle or split among smaller bottles for gifts
I then went to pinterest looking for a label that I liked so I wouldn't have to make it myself.  I wish I could tell you who I got it from as to give them credit, but I can't remember. So here is the label I chose.

I wanted to personalize it a little more, so I went to my craft table and pulled out my punches from Stampin Up, and made these to tie on.

I think they turned out adorable and so fun to make and to give as a gift. Did you make anything special this year to give as a gift?

It's about time

 I guess life caught up with me, or something like that.  I loved writing on my blog but just kinda forgot about it. I said I would never let that happen. So LeeLou blogs is doing a little work on here and I thought it was the perfect time to just jump back in.  I have a lot of exciting things that have already happened and also beginning to happen, so posts and pictures to come. Stick around.