Happy Thanksgiving!!

Tomorrow afternoon, I head to South Carolina for Thanksgiving! I'm really looking forward to seeing my family. I'll be staying at my brother's house for part of the visit, and in a hotel for part (to keep a nice balance of family time and downtime).

In true modern family tradition, here's who will be there. . . me, my brother + his wife and my niece and nephew, my mother, my dad + his wife, Margie (his 3rd wife), and my sister (technically, ex-step-sister . . daughter of dad's 2nd wife) + her adorable little son. I'm so excited to see everyone. I'm very lucky to have a cool family, and I am sure that the weekend is going to be a lot of fun!

I'm also excited to see my dad -- who I haven't seen since I was banded. And, I haven't seen my brother and his family for about 30 pounds (since Easter), so I'm looking forward to seeing their reaction to my progress of the last several months! I'm also packing plenty of workout clothing and will be hitting the gym as many days as possible with my brother. . . who has dropped 90 lbs on his own during the last year or so.

Not sure if anyone will remember this, but I actually haven't told my brother about my surgery. I'd like to tell him, but his wife can be very judgmental and rude (she is Queen of the Zinger. . . sweet as pie until your defenses are down, then BAM! I've been stung way too many times). As a result, I'm not willing to open myself up to whatever unpleasant comments she may have to offer. I feel badly about not telling my brother though. We are close, and I love him to bits, but I can't ask him to keep a secret like this from his wife, so the burden rests on me. Fingers crossed that I don't get totally stuck and have to PB in front of them! :)

I was at their house last Christmas (just 2 months after my surgery) and it went just fine, so I'm not that concerned about Thanksgiving. Anyway, no matter what, I'm psyched to see the fam, to catch up in person and to get to hang with my niece & nephews!

I hope that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I am very thankful for all of you and for all of the support and encouragement you give me with your amazing comments, and the help and feeling of solidarity I get from reading your blogs.