Survived the weekend and was ready to go shopping on Monday.  I can't wait to tuck in my shirts and show off my slim profile!  Must note here that it was not that I felt fat, but that I had this saggy, baggy skin there.  If I raised my arms and my shirt was too short, you could see my shrivled belly.  My friend, Sam, once lovingly told me that it looked like a deflated balloon, which was a pretty accurate description.  Last year, my mom started knitting me a form-fitting sweater for Christmas, but I was very specific that it couldn't be too short b/c of my belly.  Don't have to worry about that now.  Yea!!  She came and picked me up and helped me take Elijah to school.  We then went to my office, so I could turn in my time to get paid for this week.  From there we went to her house, so she could finish up a transcription job.  I read while she worked.  Next we did some shopping and, at this point, I started to feel liked I'd pushed it.  I think I was actually going through withdrawal.  I had gone 8 hours without a pain pill.  I was shaky and had to sit down.  We went to eat at El Porton, so I could get some food and take a pill.  Felt much better after that.  I went home and rested until Elijah got home from school.  That night we finalized Elijah's birthday plans.  He turns 5 on Wednesday.  Had trouble sleeping that night for various and sundry reasons.  My back still hurt and the drains were uncomfortable.  I was tired of the binder.  My consolation was that the next day was my doctor's appointment, and I would be getting rid of one of these drains.  Oh, forgot to mention that I had to get some assistance from Fleet that a.m. so that I could go to the bathroom.  You know it's bad when you're dreaming about taking a crap!  Ha!Ha!  Everything's working just fine now.   After taking Elijah to school Tuesday, I took a long shower and shaved (first time since surgery).  After checking email and playing web boggle for a little bit, I went back to bed and stayed there until 2 p.m.  I wanted to get plenty of rest b/c the previous day had been so busy.  My mom picked me up and took me to the doctor.  They seemed to be backed up, but when Dr. Laurence took me back to remove the drain, he was so focused and unhurried.  I cannot say enough good things about him and his staff.  They are considerate and accomodating, and when you are in their care, it is as if you are their only patient.  He numbed the area before removing my drain, which was such a relief b/c I had heard that was the worst part of the recovery process.  A lot of doctors just yank them out b/c it's over so quickly.  I guess they think it's not worth the extra time to make the patient comfortable, and this is just another example of how Dr. Laurence is set apart from other doctors.  He is truly a blessing!  He stitched me up and then removed the bandage, so we could see my new belly button.  All the dark crusty scab came off, and my belly button looks great!  He also serviced my left drain, which had been "compromised" and was causing the discomfort.  I was so much more comfortable by the time we left.  I took half a pain pill when we left the doctor's office before the local had time to wear off.  We met the boys for dinner and from there, my mom and I went to Wal-Mart to get birthday cards and cookies to take to school for Elijah's birthday.  I rode around on one of those shopping scooters (my first time) and felt a little like an idiot, self-conscious I should say.  They are fun to drive though.  Decided I needed to take the other half of the pain pill b/c my tummy was starting to hurt from all the manipulation.  Decided I'd go to bed early and get a good night's sleep, but my belly button woke me up throbbing at 11:30, after only an hour of sleep.  This time I took a whole pain pill.  Wow!  I couldn't believe how sore it was from removing that bandage.