i turned 26 last september, still getting used to being in my "mid twenties" but the last couple of years have been the best so i cant complain too much

part of the reason my last couple of years have been so great is DPants. hes my awesome boyfriend whom i love and adore and wholeheartedly believe i will spend the rest of my life with (corny i know, but hey, when you know you know). itll be our 2 year anniversary in april, which we are celebrating with a trip overseas together (our first yet! our first holiday alone together, we've been away with my parents before.) we live together, for almost a year now and things are just getting better and better every day. sure we have little issues that may pop up from time to time, but we're so happy that nothing gets in our way. i love him and he loves me.

another reason for my recent happiness of the last couple of years is my weight loss. i made the choice in december 2009 to have lapband surgery. an extreme and sometimes controversial weight loss option, especially for someone my age, im aware. but it was my choice. i thought i had an idea about how much i weighed, and obviously knew i was obese. at my initial consultation with my surgeon/doctor, i found out exactly how much i weighed, which was alot more then i was guessing, about 20kgs more then i was guessing, bit of a shock! my bmi was 42, which made me a "perfect" candidate for this procedure. i read all the information i could about the surgery, the side effects, the "lifestyle" i would have afterwards, and i spoke to several people who have had this done. some with success and some without. friends of my parents (who were both in their late 40's) have had the procedure. and i have seen everything theyve been through. the pros, the cons. ive seen exactly how hard it is to cope and still have a normal everyday life with what theyve done. alot of people perceive weight loss surgery as the "easy" way out. ive never seen it in that way, especially after watching people i love and admire go through the pain and the sickness of having this procedure. the thing that swung it to mostly pro in my eyes, was id rather get this done and sorted now, rather then be obese my whole "young:" life and have to struggle later on. i eventually want children and i didnt want to be burdened with my weight for that. so after everything i considered, and after consulting with my parents, i went for it. my procedure happened in february 2010, and since the op, i have lost 65kgs in total. its still on going, and will be for a very long time, but for now, at the weight i am now, its all about maintenance. it has been horrible, awesome, heartbreaking, uplifting, nauseating, empowering and everything inbetween. it has also been painful, very painful. i have days and days and days and sometimes weeks where i can barely even drink anything, let alone eat anything solid. but it has all be so worth it. i have gone from a size 22 all over to a size 14 in pants, and 12 in tops. there are even some size 10 clothes in my wardrobe now! i wouldnt openly recommend this procedure to anyone, as i believe its an individual choice what you do with your body and how you lose weight is a very personal thing. lapband surgery isnt for everyone, and like ive said, there have been days when ive hated it. but its worked for me and i do not regret having it done. having said that i wouldnt recommend it to anyone, i have more then happy to talk about my experience, and give any advice to someone asking about it. when i first had it done, i was embarrassed and felt like i had to hide it. but now everyone in my life knows, and if anyone asks me how i lost so much weight, i tell them.

(top & bottom left - me before the surgery. middle - me about 11 mths after. right - me now)

i have an older sister, A and a younger brother, T. i know i mentioned how awesome my parents are in one of recent posts, so ill try not to harp on about them too much! but they are seriously awesome aswell of course. (told you i think my family is awesome) A is 2 years older then me, and is seriously the smartest person i know. she taught herself how to read using mums cookbooks before she was even 4 and went on to be the smartest person at our schools. she was dux in year 12, and has been at uni doing her masters in Mathematics, specialising in Statistics, while working for a child health research organisation in our city. she spent a year living in switzerland after school, on student exchange. she even taught herself how to speak german before she left, and repeated year 12 in german while she was there. and she still kicked ass in her grades. shes amazing and quirky and smart and so wonderfully weird. i dont think im very good at expressing how awesome i think she is, we didnt get along very well while we were teenagers, being so different and all. but the last few years i think im getting better at showing my appreciation to her.

my darling little bro T is also amazing. hes 18. but hes different. he was born with cerebral palsy, and has other disabilities (including being blind) on top of that. he has never and will never be a "normal" kid, but we love him just the same. i was only 8 when T was born, so hes "normal" to me. i was always aware that he wasnt like everyone else, obviously, but i think us being young when he was born helped us "get used" to it easier. of course we do, hes our bro. hes great to be around, despite all his disabilities, he has always been a very happy kid, and such a joy to be around. he brings a smile to all our faces, and has the best smile himself. he has health issues, and occasionally he scares the bejesus out of us when he ends up in hospital, but he always pulls through. he makes everyone around him happy and all his aides, his teachers, his friends and our family friends are always telling us how much they love him and love spending time with him. my mum (and dad of course, but he works shift work and isnt always there for the nitty gritty stuff) is his main caregiver and i dont think anyone in this world could have done a better job. we are always getting so many compliments on mum and taylor and how our whole family has dealt with our "situation". of course, we wouldve loved a cure, and loved for him to have a better life. but its not possible, so our main goal as a family has always been to keep him healthy and happy and keep our whole family happy and healthy together. my parents have always made sure me and A didnt suffer or miss out on anything in any way, simply because we have a disabled brother. and i truly believe we havent, and if anything, our lives have been better. more richer, more appreciative of our family. we're all very close, not that we always were, me and my sister were teenage girls stuck in the same house for a few years afterall! but now, since we're not living at home with mum and dad, or living together, we all get along alot better, and we have a hugely supportive, fun and loving family life.

ahhhh given myself all fuzzy feelings talking about my family like that.

 (my sister A and I, at my birthday last year)

(T, Mum, A, Me and Dad - celebrating mums "Citizen of the Year" award for our home town last year - so proud of her!)

ok so now y'all know the most important things about me and my life right now.

time for bed :)