Justine Forrest: Sorry I've not blogged for a while! Well Camping w...

Justine Forrest: Sorry I've not blogged for a while! Well Camping w...: "Sorry I've not blogged for a while! Well Camping went well and all 13 of us enjoyed ourselves immensely. We never stopped laughing all weeke..."

Sorry I've not blogged for a while! Well Camping went well and all 13 of us enjoyed ourselves immensely. We never stopped laughing all weekend, god it did me good. When we got back on the Sunday, Chris took me back to hospital because my leg was playing up and I started to feel a little feverish. They put me straight back on antibiotics and sent me home, but within an hour my right leg had swollen badly and I was feeling very unwell so Chris took me back again to the hospital and they sorted me out with some strong pain relief and I was told I had another infection in my right leg this time. Within the week my leg had settled down and I was feeling much better. It is still leaking fluid and I have to wear a colostomy bag over my leg for the time being. I keep telling myself  'well I put it in and now I'm paying the price'! It is a small price to pay after nearly eating myself to death over many, many years. So going through all this is actually nothing, I'm so happy I lost the weight and now the way I look at it, this is just the final stage in my weight loss process.
Last Wednesday I was asked to do some public speaking for Macmillan, which was a lot of fun. I spoke to a luncheon of about 70 ladies about my achievements and experiences over the last three years. They were a wonderful audience and from that one I've had another two bookings for my public speaking!!!  Brilliant, because its something I love and enjoy doing and I'm so passionate about helping and advising others who want to help themselves and live a healthier life and maybe even lose some weight and feel happier and healthier about themselves. Life can be very strange at times, who would have  thought three years ago, when I started to lose weight, that now I would be speaking to audiences and inspiring others on how to do it and how I achieved it. My motto is 'it's not easy but it's not that  hard either'. I'm a firm believer that, in life, if you want something enough - you can achieve it, I'm living proof!
It's a big weekend  for us this week, as it's our oldest daughters 15th birthday. Millie is so exited, we're a little mad in this family as we really go over the top with birthdays and Christmas's, we love them!!  We're going to shop till we drop on bank holiday Monday and go for something nice to eat to celebrate. Then Millie wants a sleep over in half term and she wants me to make her one of my white chocolate birthday cakes!!. She's then taking three friends to soccer six at Burnley Football Club the following Sunday instead of a party. She's soooooooo exited lol! Millie's a very special girl. She was born with a cleft lip and palate and then at six months old she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy which effects her all the way down the left side of her body. She's so inspirational, everyone who meets her loves her. I credit Millie and her little brother Christopher with my weight lose, as I came to my senses and started to reallise that I had choices with what I was doing to myself, but two of my precious children didn't have choices with there medical conditions. My family are my life and I never want things to get that bad I'm damaging their future ever again. Life is so sweet ♥
   

Well, my recovery after my thigh lift surgery is just over two weeks now and it's going really well. I've had a few hiccups along the way, but nothing serious - I'm happy to report!!  Had a bleed on my side, where they also took some skin away and it didn't stop bleeding for 24 hours. I had it redressed at my doctors surgery and they thought it looked like a pocket of blood that needed to escape, so it was quite normal for that kind of thing to happen. I also went back to my ward last Sunday  when I felt like my left leg was going to explode. One of the doctors took a look at it and thought I had an infection, so they put me on another lot of antibiotics. For a couple of days this week all I could do was sleep, but I must have needed it. I've also started driving again, which is ok.  I had to, because my hunk of hoo, Chris, is working away in London, so I've had no choice. We have had lots of friends offering their services, but I did want to start to get back to normal as soon as possible. I do thank everyone, though, for their wonderful offers, I don't know how we would have managed  without help from our wonderful friends.
I've been asked a lot over the last two weeks whether I really needed the surgery I've had so far or even on occasion whether I thought they, themselves,  would eventually need something like I've had. All  I can say to those questions is 'yes' I do believe I needed it, after losing all the weight I have, it left me with a lot of hanging skin and no matter how hard I exercised , it just wouldn't shrink back. I did it for me, for me to feel good about myself and to give me the confidence back  I've not had for so many years. I used to hide behind sacks of big, baggy, black clothes and I found even after losing the weight I still had to hide certain areas. This is the final chapter in my journey and it's totally worth every minute of it!  You could only really understand if you've been through the same thing yourself or even seen me in the buff lol!?!?! . As for the other question, I don't know if, when other people have lost a lot of weight,  they'll need any surgery, it completely depends on how they then feel about their body and whether there is a lot of empty hanging skin left, I really don't know the answer, all I know is it is right for me. Having had the surgery, I would say it isn't easy and it is something I have brought on myself but I would also say it is the only bad thing about losing the weight, my life in comparison to how it was is absolutely amazing. I am really living for the first time in my life and I love it!
Oh, I have to tell you about my new buys. Well as I've been laid up with nothing much to do, I went on one of my favorite websites, Lakeland. I needed to order some stuff for my cake business so I treated myself to a few new gadgets too. I am a bit of a foodie geek at times so I love anything kitcheny. I bought a pasta machine. I've wanted one for those for years now and we do love our pasta here. It was only really cheap and clamps onto my kitchen island a treat. Soon as it came I made chicken and bacon carbonara, delish! I make the sauce using a tub of creme fresh with grated Parmesan cheese, really simple and easy. I also bought an electric juicer, that was also only about £20. It's very simple and quick to use. All you do is halve your citrus fruits and press them onto the juice extractor and hey presto, jobs a goodun. I make loads of Lemon Snizzle Drizzle Cakes daily, so that should save me loads of time and effort. I also bought some more soup freezer bags, there an excellent invention and very handy to have if you're a bit of a soup freak like myself. I ordered some different sized loose bottomed flan pans too, so I made one large almond tart as soon as they arrived and then cut it into slices when it was cool, looked very pretty when it was all done. Getting that lot delivered really cheered me up. Had to order some new clothes as well, lifes a drag lol. Only because I dont actually fit the usual stuff I wear on my bottom half because of all the swelling on my legs. The other day when I had my bleed I actually ran out of things to wear as the blood was coming through my dressings that fast, I was washing clothes and bedding all day.
Anyway, must get on, the kiddy winks want to snuggle and watch some more episodes of Gavin & Stacey, we went through the entire two series of Faulty Towers last week with them while Chris was away. Well Faulty Towers is very educational you know lol ♥