Trinity Pet Hospital

Both of the dogs needed shots and their yearly checkup.  Chloe has never been sick...thank God!  AND Molly has not been sick in a year...MIRACLE!  Anyway, Nathan helped me take them to the vet last week...they are both healthy and totally caught up on their shots and tests!  We love our puppies!

Wordless Wednesday #59 ~ Iron Infusion

Darrell Finished the TRIATHALON!

Darrell participated in his first ever TRIATHALON...and he did awesome!! I was so proud of him...

We were at the finishe line to congratulate him...the event was at Lake Mission Viejo and it was a dreary day, perfect for a hard workout! He was 1.5 miles...

Then biked 26 miles on difficult terrain. He ended by running a 10K...it really is unbelieveable that a person can endure that kind of physical exercise!

Here he is beginning the swim...can you see him...he's the one in the purple cap!

His friend Steve was there also. He is one of Kyle's baseball coaches from long ago...

We are so proud of you Love...

Gastric Bypass Surgery

The above photo was taken on February 1, 2011 right before I went in for Gastric Bypass surgery. That was 53 days ago...and I am feeling great! It was a long, hard road to get here. I took classes for several months and underwent numerous lab tests and procedures. For 3 weeks after surgery I was on a complete liquid diet and then for 3 weeks I was on pureed foods. NOW...I am on a "regular" modified diet including tons of protein and mostly bland foods. I am NOT hungry at all and my energy is slowly coming back.

So far I have lost 40 pounds. This is not the greatest picture, but can you tell a difference?? I feel really great.

Medical Leave

I was out on "Medical Leave" from my classroom for 5 weeks...this is what I returned to today...a desk piled as high as it could go. I missed my families and am happy to be back to work and in a routine!

Darrell Finished the Half-Marathon!!

Darrell has been training and working really hard, and today he finished his first half-marathon in L.A. It was so exciting and I was so proud of him, I couldn't believe he could run 13.1 miles!!! I hope he's never chasing me, because I can barely make it around the block!!
HOORAY....for an injury-free finish!!
Resting his legs after the race!
MGD was giving away free beer to all who finished the race...wow, run all that way for a free beer!!!
These shoes have clocked many miles, and I'm sure many more to come. the orange band on the shoelace is a computer chip to track his mileage and time.

Good job Love!!! I knew you could do it!!

Larry Had Surgery...and He's Doing Great!!

Larry had a big surgery today (I'm not sure if he wants the World to know, but he had his prostate removed) and he's doing great. The boys and I went to visit, Darrell is on a business trip this week, and he was eating Jell-O, asking for real food, and telling the nurses that he wanted to go pee.

He was cracking us up...singing the Jell-O song as he ate his food!

He FINALLY got some real food and it was horrible. We think it was either meatloaf, Salisbury steak, or a hamburger patty with gravy.

We're so thankful that Larry made it through his surgery and is recovering now. We love you so much Larry aka Grampy!!!

Wordless Wednesday #41 ~ 24 Stitches! OUCH!!

Kyle's elbow 1 week Post-Op! Bruising, Swelling, and tons of Stapes!!!

A Beautiful Saturday!

I painted an old ugly red frame and put one of our World Vision Childs drawing inside...much more beautiful than anything I could buy. AND Nathan went for a walk and picked these flowers for me!!! Made my day!

Anyway, we are kind of getting back to "normal." Kyle is finally feeling a little better and is having all of his baseball buddies over for pizza and to watch a fight on TV tonight. Nathan still has a bad cold (and so do I) but he was able to sleep last night. Soooooooo......all is well, almost, in the Groff house!

Kyle's Surgery

Pre-Op...

Waiting...

The Pre-Op talke with the Drs...

Had to have hospital bracelets on his ankles because both of his arms were having surgery...

After surgery...we were so happy to see these two guys with smiles on their faces. The surgery went well. They removed the torn ligament, relieved a pinched nerve and removed a bone chip.

Waiting to go back to the recovery room...

Just waking up...

Ready to go home at 6:30. We had checked in at 11:30...it was a LLLOOONNNGGG day for all of us!! So glad it's over!!

Wordless Wednesday #40 ~ Kyle's Surgery Day

Surgery at 1:30...we're ready...and scared!

How to Easily Make Hamburger Patties...Delicious!!

I LOVE me a good hamburger...especially grilled with Swiss Cheese and Avocado on a Wheat Bun!! I prefer to use fresh ground beef instead of the pre-formed patties, but it is a pain in the butt to get the patties formed so that they are uniform in size and they don't fall apart. Many years ago, I bought a hamburger patty maker from Tupperware! It works SO great...I don't know why anyone who NOT use it!? I know that is not proper English...whatever!

You just section off your hamburger meat. I usually buy about 4 pounds and section it into 12 pieces, so each patty is close to 1/3 pound. Put the handful of meat in the bottom of the Tupperware thingy.

Top it with the handle press. Press and turn at the same time for about 3 seconds...literally!

Lift the handle and...Wa La...perfectly shaped burgers!! It does not get easier that that!

Keep going to use up all the meat. I always make at least twice as many as we will eat and freeze them. It's a good snack/lunch/dinner on a busy day. Especially during baseball season when we don't get home until late, and many days have 2 games in one day. WAY better than fast food, and ready in minutes.

All of these patties took me maybe 5-10 minutes to make. Buy a Tupperware hamburger maker, it is not a gimic, I use mine regularly.

Okay, I must go now...and eat a burger!

Chick-fil-A

SO...we do not have a Chick-fil-A close to us...boo hoo!! However, last week Nathan had an appt with the pediatric neurologist and it is a ways away, but we don't care 'cuz there is a Chick-fil-A on the way home!!! Oh ya baby...I told Nathan I would only stop if he would stand by the cow so I could take a picture.

It was 10:00 in the morning, but they made chicken nuggets for Nathan. He got a 12 pack to eat then and a 12-pack to have for lunch.

This is what I had...a multi-grain bagel with egg, cheese, and chicken. Can you say "scrumptous!?"

This is a Chick-fil-A drunken face. Our dear friends Jill and Brent introduced us to Chick-fil-A about 15 years ago when we visited them in North Carolina...and it still is JUST AS DELICIOUS!! By the way, I think we also had our first Krispy Kreme donut on that trip...wow, that was a great vacation!!

Oh, on a side note, Nathan was released from neuro care, because his headaches have pretty much gone away. Hopefully, that was just a weird couple of months and the headaches will never again rear their ugly "heads."

Wordless Wednesday #37 ~ Kyle Surgery???

Mani...Pedi...

My luxury when I went back to work was to get my nails done. I have had the same manicurist (Tracy) for 4 years, she is Vietnamese and such a sweetheart. A couple of times a year I also treat myself to a pedicure...I feel much better when I walk out of the salon than when I walk in. Thanks Tracy...

How's Kyle Feeling??

BETTER...

Grammy and Grampy came over for dinner last night as my kids and I all have Cabin Fever. We haven't really been out of the house in 2 weeks, except for Drs. appointments. Kyle doesn't have a fever anymore, but still has headaches, sore throat, fatigue, and body aches. Hopefully, he'll be able to return to school tomorrow. He has really difficult classes, and it's hard to catch up when he is absent. The Tamiflu did seem to work to lessen the duration and severity of the flu.

Kyle's Turn...H1N1

Kyle woke up at 3 a.m. with almost 104 degree fever...bummer...huge bummer!! Poor baby. We just returned from the Dr and he was prescribed Tamiflu. Usually, they do not give it to children or people who can fight off the bug by themselves, however Kyle has bad asthma and is allergic to nearly all anti-biotics...so he is taking it. Our Dr is great and had to call the Dept of Infectious Diseases and wait on hold for over 30 minutes to justify the prescription. Okay, today was my 6th day in a row to the Drs. office...and the 10th day of sick kids...and 5 days before that I was sick. Is someone playing a bad joke on me?? It's NOT FUNNY!!