Sorry for the lag in posts.  So here's the run down.

I've been driving again!  Woot!  Yes, 7 days after surgery you can start driving around again.  I've made short trips.  You have to be careful though.  I've been having some big time pain in my left side.  I think they may have pulled a muscle or something.  Last night it was so bad I couldn't breathe.  But after the magic pain medicine of I don't care, it went away.  I think I'm pushing myself too much and I need to just take it easy which is my goal for today.

Tomorrow I check into work, drop off my return to work formy thing, and hit up our sample sale because I want cheap size 18 clothes that I can eventually wear next month.  Yay for working for a clothing maker!!

Okay so now for Jessica's advice on what to get to eat while in stage 2 diet monotony.  I get bored if I don't have a bit of variance.  This diet consists of the following:

Pudding
Jell o
yogurt
protein shakes
water/flavored water
broth/creamish soups
applesauce
cottage cheese

What do I prefer out of this?  Let me tell you by catagory.

Pudding

Jell-O Sugar Free Pudding cups are awesome.  They are remarkably easy to keep down and one is plenty.  60 calories a pop.  They have a lot of new flavors now but I stayed away from the new sugar free Rice Pudding because...well...It's got chunks of rice in it.  My favorite flavors are the new dark chocolates, chocolate mint, and the vanilla/chocolate swirl.  Do we see a theme?  Possibly.

Jell-O

Once again, the cups are AWESOME.  Just one is all you need and they are a whopping 10 calories.  They also have a big bunch of variety now including my fave Watermeleon.

Yougurt

Yoplait Light is win.  Just one for breakfast and you are set.  I love the blueberry but they also have an orange strawberry sunburst flavor (or something pretentious like that) that's really good.

Protein Shakes

Ugh.  Until you get used to these its going to suck.  They have a funky aftertaste no matter what kind you get.  I like conveniance so the best way to go is to get the Muscle Milk kind in those mini cartons which is a full serving.  You can get a big case of them for like 24 bucks at Costco (sadly only one flavor) and considering they are normally 3 bucks a single that's pretty good.  But like I said, variety is a  good thing.  So I went over to GNC and grabbed a couple of single serves to try.

Root Beer Float flavor is something to AVOID.  Oh god.  It was beyond gross and over sweet to the point I wanted to puke.  

Banana Cream is win.  I really like this one.  The flavor combines with the protein shake stuff really well.

Chocolate is the one you will find in most places and it's okay.  I can tell if you whirrled it around with some fruit or other it would be better.  

I still need to try and find some vanilla.  That's the easiest to combine with things, but at this stage you shouldn't be doing that yet.

Walmart has started stocking up on the flavor test tube protein shots.  These are great when you are on the go.  They pack a hella lot of protein in them too.  They come in these hard plastic test tubes.  Typically they run for 3 bucks but Walmart is carrying them now for 2 bucks or less.  Limited on the flavor choices though, they only have Fruit Punch.

water/flavored water

At this point I've kissed caffine goodbye.  And you should as well.  My new love is Propel bottled water.  It's good because its got viatmins and not a lot of sugar.  I'm keeping myself 10 grams and lower on the sugar scale, actually more like 7 and less.  Vitamin Water is evil and don't go near it.  Look at the back and you'll see what I mean.  

Crystal Light single serve packets are great, especially their new White Grape.  But look out as they have started making it now with caffine in them.  Kool Aid also has some great new Sugar Free singles.  Best place so far to stock up on this stuff is Walmart.  Massive selection and really cheap. 

broth/creamish soups

My friend Pam who had bypass surgery over a year ago told me that Tomato Soup was her savior.  She's right.  Campbell's Tomato soup is a happy alternative to broth.  Condensed so you can make it as weak or thick as you want it's yummy and is great with a 1/4  cup of Low Fat Cottage Cheese or Ricotta Cheese.

cottage cheese

I typically have the soup/broth for my dinner along with a side of Cottage Cheese.  It makes it feel more like a dinner to me rather than a pudding cup would.  Cottage Cheese is awesome btw.  If I feel I can eat more than a pudding or Jello cup I just take a couple of forkfuls of cottage cheese and away I go.

applesauce

This is a weird one.  I got the no sugar added stuff in Granny Smith flavor and the blueberry flavor in the Senaca brand (I believe).  For some reason the blueberry stuff went fine.  But the Granny Smith made me not so happy.  I can only eat a 1/3rd of single serve container and it make my tummy hurt.  This may just be me, but keep that in mind.  I've started to shy away from it for right now and I'm doing fine with the pudding and jell o.

So there you go.  I'm off to rest a bit more and maybe watch some old school Pam Grier.