I read a blog by someone here named Crikett, whose blog is currently titled something like, "I will NOT be a Fat Bridesmaid!"...and it brought back one of my favorite memories of myself...a weight loss triumph, as it were. My Bridesmaid Dress story! Pull up a chair...
Back in 1994, I am on the way to serving as a bridesmaid for my friend Rommy, who is to be marrying my friend Eric the following year. Very cool! The wedding party is big, I live far away. I travel to NJ to go with my bride-friend, Rommy, to see the dress she picked for the group, get measured, etc. I think I weighed about 230, 235 at the time. I was wearing a 20 or 22, but when I was measured I was told that in formal dress sizes, I was a 24. Okay. But then I was told...size 24s pay $50 more than the list price...for the 'extra fabric.'
Really. So, I ask, what size do you have to be to not pay extra?
They tell me, a size 20 only pays $20 extra.
Again I ask, what size do you have to be to not pay extra?
They tell me, a size 16.
I tell them to order me a size 16. PANIC IN THE DRESS SHOP! You can't do that! We can't make things bigger, only take them in! This will never do!
I remain calm, cool, collected. I am the one paying for the dress, and I am paying for a SIZE 16.
After a bunch of arguing with each other and attempting to argue with me, I am told I must sign a waiver in order to buy the size 16 dress. It's something like 10 months till the wedding. I have recently moved to Atlanta - I am single, I know no one, I have joined a gym. I hit the gym 5-6 times a week, loving it. I've taken the measurements, according to the dressmaker's shop, for a size 16. I'm a 16 in about FOUR months.
The dress is BRIGHT RED with a flattering sashed waist and v-neck that does lovely justice to the cleavage with which I am naturaly blessed. I look awesome.
And half of my ex boyfriends from college are at the wedding.
oh, YES! It was one of the happiest days of my life..and it wasn't even *MY* wedding!
Of course, there is now a part deux to this story..but I'll have to post about that one...tomorrow.
I've noticed a few scattered nods to scrapbooking around here, so figured I'd 'share the love' about a few of my favorite scrapbooking websites!
Come visit me at my online scrapbooking homes! My first real 'home' on the internet was and is Scrap Spot (www.scrapspotonline.com), where I'm known as "Ladybug" (don't ask!), and the best Scrapbooking resource site around is Scrap Friends (www.scrapfriends.us), where I'm 'stampme' and I'm on the Review Team and have more than a few scrapbooking how-to articles under my belt :) . If you love a challenge, my favorite kit club is Kitspirations (www.kitspirations.com), where I do the 'challenge kit' ever month - for 5 bucks and 2.50 shipping, you get a surprise-filled kit. Complete a particular challenge using the kit (and little else) and you could win a cool prize! I won a Making Memories tag maker a couple of months ago. Fun, and really cool to see what everyone else does with the same stuff! I'm on the Design Team for Memory Villa (www.memoryvilla.com), an online store with a good selection of standards AND the latest and greatest, and I also like to shop and chat at Moments-2-Remember (www.moments-2-remember.com), which is a brick-and-mortar store in MI with a growing online community. And my most recently discovered haunt is called Have Your Way with Paper, (www.haveyourwaywithpaper.com), which is an online forums-and-gallery community with a bunch of super nice ladies in every nook and cranny :). Turns out several have their own extrapounds blogs, even!
I have to tell you - there are a BUNCH other cool sites I'm at all the time - the National Scrapbooking Association forums, ScrapLovers, Imagine Create Scrap, and Scrapping with Style, among others - but why overwhelm you? *grin*
If you DO come and visit, let me know! And happy scrapping! :)
'eh' day so far here. DH got an ok report from his cardiologist the other day, does seem to think it's a muscle pull and not something serious. But DH woke up in a cranky mood again this morning - his new Saturday morning MO, unfortunately - so I'm taking advantage of the few minutes he's out with the dog and the boy to enjoy a peaceful yogurt and post a little here.
Weighed myself this morning hoping I'd dropped a pound or 2 after the good workouts I got earlier in the week (more than usual)...nope. .8 up (which to me means 'the same') - *sigh*. Really wanted the boost of a lower number on the scale.
Have some packages to get out this morning, was going to go to the gym while dh took the kids to the library but I've got to tell you - I have NO desire to do it today. None. I tore this place apart yesterday looking for my social security card (Still not found), which I need for something important -- so what I *really* want to do it put everything back. That would be workout in and of itself, I assure you.
Well, hope the day gets less bleagh as I go along. Wish me luck finding that SS card and tidying up (and please send your 'get into a good mood already' vibes to my husband so we can have a good weekend).
Not that I had a SUPER high fat day yesterday...but if you count the fact that I had half a can of black olives, a couple of Tablespoons of peanut butter, a couple of string cheese sticks..I'm sure it adds up. Thankfully I had a nearly no-fat lunch today (DH made a HUGE salad, with about an ounce and a half of fresh salmon on it, and some sunflower seed kernels, that should have been the only fat) and similar for dinner (a few hand rolls)...but I still feel like I should concentrate on haveing a *good* day today. Especially since we're expecting 5" of snow by mid afternoon, which will probably put the kabosh on my gym plans for tonight :(
I am SO in the mood for soup...I forgot to ask DH if he rememebred to get onions and potatoes at Shoprite last night. If he did, I can whip something up at least...the cell phone is RIGHT here and I'm so tempted to call andask him...but shouldn't I burn the calories by just walking over to the fridge and LOOKING for myself? LOL!
At least I know I get snow shoveling calories burned off tonight uggggggg....! I hate that showshoveling is all my job now!! But my husband is never again in his life allowed to shovel snow, thanks to his heart attack - and the weird guy actually LIKED shoveling snow! - plus he's been having some chest pain and getting winded easily the last three days or so, and might see the cardiologist today, so he really shouldn't even be OUT in the cold in the first place, like to be out there keeping an eye on our 2 year old while I shovel. (He has a fit if someone gets to go outside and he has to stay in the house :( ) *sigh* We'll see how today goes. I want to know if the cardiologist wants to see DH...the nurse in his cardiac rehab yesterday told him it sounds more like a muscle pull to her, but that he should call in...*sigh* He *was* playing 'airplane' with the kids a couple of days ago, lying on his back on the floor and 'flying' them around...daughter is 21 pounds, son is 32. I can definitely see how that could be a strain, esp. for someone still in recovery...
Happy Thursday, everyone. Wish us luck with dh's heart/chest pain thing :(
After a February where weight loss was almost at a plateau for most of the month - I think in only one week did I actually go DOWN - I started March off with a bang - 2 pounds down! Woohoo!
Plus, I got good news yesterday - I was the Biggest Loser for February at www.imaginecreatescrap.com! ICS is an online community for scrapbookers, but one of the members set up a weight loss challenge for 2006 called The Biggest Loser. We each sent in a little scrappy prize, and the person who loses the most for the month gets one of the prizes sent to her (or him - there's a guy on there too). I was one of three who tied in January - I figured that was my 'best bet' month, since I was still near the start of my weight loss plan, AND I weigh more than most of the participants to start with (which I know is an advantage in terms of how much weight I can safely lose each week/month)...but I was so slow in Feb. it barely crossed my mind. Looks like it was a slow month for everyone else, too!
So my next short-term goal was to hit 10% of the body weight I had on January 1..which if I'm remembering right is 212 pounds, maybe 212 and change. Well, if I play my cards right here, I'll be there in the next week or two! Wish me luck! Time to start planning what my next short term goal will be! My first was to get into the two-teens...then 10%...for the next one, I'm debating between "under 200" and "under my husband"! He's at 203ish right now...but of course unlike 200, which will always be 200, he's a moving target! Could I catch him? I don't know! Maybe under-200 is safer! By then he should be under 200 also, and then he can be my NEXT goal...
Did I post the other day that I've been asked to be a MAID OF HONOR* at my best friend's wedding?? WOOHOO!! I am so excited! I was figuring she'd choose her sister in law. How very cool that she asked ME instead! Big happy dance here! And she's not even looking at bridesmaid dresses until the fall, so I'll have slimmed down a lot by then. Remind me to tell you my brides-maid dress story from Rommy's wedding. I'm quite proud of it! But have been a bit blabby here already this morning...LOL
All right, I did it! Signed up for the "I Lost It!" contest at my gym - 8 weeks, after which the top three losers in inches-off and pounds-off categories win prizes. What the prizes are wasn't announced - I'm guessing tee shirts or mugs or the like. But I signed up in both categories. Why not? Another lady who was there when I was, to get signed in...why was SHE there? If this woman had ten pounds to lose I'd be shocked. I think she signed up just for the free extras available to ONLY those in the contest - a shake night/nutrition seminar, group circuit training nights, special classes, the weigh in/body fat analysis stuff...at least I know one of my 'competitors' won't be much trouble! LOL
(Ha - now watch she wins! ROFL!)
I haven't been measuring myself for inches, just assuming that when the pounds stop coming off for a little bit, that means the inches are dropping (always seems to me to be one or the other)...but of course extrapounds JUST added their measurement-tracking feature too (debugged though it needs to be), so I guess I'll track here, too. My BMI was less than I thought it would be. Bonus, I guess...though it's definitely not where I NEED it to be. KWIM?
Wish me luck, motivation, and lots of melting-away in the competition! I want to win whatever it is they're giving away :)
I got extra time at the gym this week since my husband had off for 'midwinter break'...three REALLY great workouts, meaning both a full cardio treadmill workout, PLUS the Strive circuit (or at least most of it - skipped a couple of the machines today to get out 'on time', plus haven't been doing the two that affect knees, since I hurt my knees overdoing it on one of the other machines last week :( ).
I love my gym. I think this is the third I've belonged to. My ABSOLUTE fave was Sportslife in Atlanta. Good music, no wait at most of the machines because there were LOTS of them..and a POOL!! Got to take water aerobics and everything. (Note: I really hate 'aerobics class' setups..except for water aerobics. If it happens in the pool, I'll do it!)
I also belonged to a Bally's, which wasn't much of a gym. Not only were there waits at all the machines, which were frequented by skinny people who seemed to be there to gossip with friends and 'be seen' more than actually work out, but when I moved and there was no Bally's in the area, they said they would stop my 'automatic payments' coming out of the bank account. It took THREE MONTHS of them charging me, me calling them, them refunding the money and apologizing, then charging me again the next month...the big pain of it being that I couldn't close out the account until they stopped. Never trusting a Bally's again, that's for sure!
But now I belong to a gym that I think is a single gym - Results Fitness. Owned by a young guy who I assume is local, they've got awesome equipment, no waits for the machines EVEN right after new years, great music..and they always seem to have a promotion going on! When I first joined (in Dec) they had a fundraiser auction for St Jude's childrens hospital day...they just had an open house where I got to bring DH in for free...and now they're starting an 8-week CONTEST - inches and pounds off.
Well now, WHO can resist a CONTEST? I figure I have a few advantages, and a few disadvantages.
Disadvantages: husband and kids take up lots of time, and tend to disrupt even the best laid workout schedules!; already on a plan, so don't have that 'just starting to workout and eat right' biggie weight loss that usually happens at the beginning of a plan; I'm not a man.
Advantages: still heavier and wider than the average bear, so have the potential to lose more/faster than thinner folks; disciplined; contest-motivated; weight-training AND cardio are part of my regular routine. Anything else?
I'm gonna do it..all I've got to lose are pounds and inches.
*whew!* After 2 or 3 weeks of holding, I'm on my way back down. YAY! I knew it wouldn't be long now, but it still feels so good to just look down and SEE those shrinking numbers :)
Today is an OPEN HOUSE at the gym, and I'm bringing my husband! Free babysitting for the kids that morning, 'healthy shakes and snacks,' and I can show him my workout...he can't participate much if any since he's not through with his cardiac rehab, but I'm going to call the nurse there this morning and see if there's anything he can do safely (certain amount of walking on the treadmill, for instance). Here's hoping! If he can do something he'll probably stay longer LOL. But with him and the kids right there, hopefully I won't feel rushed and I can really do the full deal today - lately it's been a choppy (though still good) workout - would love to just go all-out today.
Still working on sorting clothes for giveaway. The drop donations box that used to be on the way to the gym is GONE! Ay, caramba. I'm guessing it's because they never emptied the darned thing. I'm forcing myself to give away ALL 3x's no matter how much I might have liked them (maybe I should see if my sis wants them first...she might be able to wear them. She's always worn loose clothes. The look suits her nicely but looks really frumpy on me! Totally different body shapes between the two of us. Give me at least *somewhat* tailored clothes any day!)
Other than that, working on a review project for tonight, but my husband's home this week for vacation so we'll see whether that ends up being good or bad for the food-watching :).
Woohoo! I've lost quite a bit of weight the last few years, plus of course the 17 or so this year, and recently discovered that my 2 and 3x stuff is just so big on me it's ugly. Frumy. KWIM?
But we're on a REALLY aggressive debt-paydown right now, and I refuse to go buy clothes that fit before I'm comfortable with our financial situation. So I've been hanging on to the frump. I work out of the house, so it's not like I need to look supersharp on a daily basis.
In the last couple of weeks, though, I've suddenly been GETTING clothes that fit me (providence, right?) -- one of my son's therapists brought in three shirts in XL and L that fit me, along with 2 entire warmup suits - she's a thin one, these are clothes she bought for herself when she was pregnant 4 years ago and figured she wouldn't use anymore now. And then in the mail 2 days ago, a random 'thank you' gift from a friend in MS, including an XL MS souvenir tee shirt! I'm so excited to have the smaller clothes to wear that I've decided to clear out the 'worst' of my bigger stuff and get it into donation bags and OUT of the house. WOOHOO! So far, one red sweater and 2 coordinating polo/sweater sets (which I really do like -- but oh well! I can't take them in, and mom lives too far away to do it for me!)
Feels so good to pare down, not only my body but the extra clutter in my house - since that's what the biggie clothes are turning into.
We've been in a bit of a holding pattern the last couple of weeks - no loss, no gain. DH is a little irked by it, but we lost SO much so fast in Jan, I think it's better to let our bodies get accustomed to this weight before ploughing on...our portion sizes crept up a little (not MUCh - I'm talking 3 oz of meat 4oz :) ) and we've had a couple of desserts...made brownies with barley and wheat flours for Tu B'Shevat yesterday...still no butter or any of that good stuff though :). Personally I'm waiting for TOM, which I thought would be here by now...the day it starts is usually a 2-3 pounds 'instant weight loss' via water/bloating disappearing, just have to wait for it...wait for it... I'm one pound up, but I'm not posting it because I know it's not 'real,' just pre TOM water...
waiting, waiting...
The good news from yesterday, since it was Tu B'Shevat (a holiday whose traditions include eating a variety of fruits - we specifically had at least 15 DIFFERENT fruits) we have LOTS of leftover fruit now. As I really DON'T eat enough fruit, this is good - quick grab fruit means more in the belly. And if I'm full of fruit, I'm less likely to snack too much on chocolate yogurt LOL.
Hapyp Valentine's Day everyone!! Remember...ONE piece of chocolate at a time will make it last a long time! :D
