Today is my friend Shannon's memorial service. She died after eating her usual peanut butter on toast for breakfast, from anaphylactic shock. How weird and random is that? And it just shows us how fragile life can be. It just isn't fair that someone so funny and pretty and full of life  and love should die so young for such a stupid reason as eating peanut butter, which she did EVERY DAY! I knew her online only, but that doesn't make the loss or the hurt any less real.We interacted together on the Woofboard, a Boston Terrier forum.

In the past when one of my online acquaintances died, I felt a loss of an opportunity to get to know them, as they were all just people I knew of, not really that I knew. I feel differently with Shannon because I feel like she was a friend, not just an online friend. It's just so, so sad. She was so kind to me when Java died and took the time to send me some kind words to help me feel better. I just wish that things had turned out differently. Rest in peace, dear Shannon. We will miss you.

So last year, just before the Disney trip, I went to the informational meeting for the bariatric surgery program at the local hospital. It was very informative, as an informational meeting should be. I learned that surgery is not an "easy way out" by any means. After surgery, you still have to exercise and you still have to diet. In order to prevent your stomach from expanding, you have to eat by taking tiny bites and chewing them dozens of times before you can swallow. Yes, the physical surgery itself does something that puts many diabetics in remission, but then again so does weight loss.

I decided that before I have myself cut apart, I'm going to try one more time to do it the "hard way". So I joined Weight Watchers and started going back to the gym. It's been a week since I started the WW, and I can't say I've felt hungry at all and I've been making some really yummy meals. I've worked up to walking on the treadmill for 35 minutes a day. I get weighed tonight and I'm hoping for good results.

Robert has started a blog. It's here. 

I am blogging from the car. iPads are so cool!







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