YAY! Muffin Me! :D

Muffin Top

I reached yet another goal this week...I "fit" into my First Date pants! So, okay they didn't exactly fit but I was able to put them on, which I haven't been able to do since 2005!



 But I pretty much look like this when I put them on...I got them on though!


OH! And another thing....

An unspoken goal I have had was to be able to get up from a sitting position without grunting...and I haven't noticed that I haven't grunted ONCE for like two weeks or more! LOL!

YAY Me!!

Month 2 of THE Dress Saga

Sorry for the sour puss look...long day

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Hey! smile why don't ya!

 Hey there Blythe fans! (just kidding) so it is month two of the ongoing THE dress saga where I put on the dress I got married in (see other post for further info) and see how it fits.

THE dress still fits snugly, but my husband (probably hoping to get on my good side) thinks that I am looking a bit thinner in this month's photos versus last month. I cheated a bit because the pictures on the left hand side are of me standing normal and the ones on the right are of me sucking in my gut!

I suppose you can be the judge on how things are looking. I still can't zip up the goofy side zipper and there is no way I would be allowed outside wearing THE dress but it's still early in the game, and anything can happen.

Leave advice, tips, words of encouragement/discouragement, or whatever happens to be on your mind in the comments. Thanks everyone! See ya next month dress...for now, back in the Hope-It-Fits-Later closet...ya, I have one of those...don't you?!

So Happy I Cried!!

Thumbs up for accomplishing my very first real goal!

Okay, so this one is a little blurry but I had to show it first to let you know fitting into the roller coaster ride was a SUCCESS!

















 You can't see it very well, but I am trying to control myself in this

We all just looked back at someones flash photography

 picture because I was so HAPPY!! I wasn't sure I was actually going to make it. I prayed extra hard this morning to be able to fit in this ride, and I DID!

I know there were prayers and fingers crossed for me and I thank you all for that! Of course, after looking at these pictures I had to stop myself from beating myself up for how big I looked. BUT I made it folks!! I actually accomplished a goal I set out to complete! One that I did not keep to myself and let the whole world I was attempting. This has NEVER happened for me.
A friend pointed out that I have made goals and completed them in the past even if I didn't go out of my way to make sure it was done. But I never set out a goal (and stuck to it) that included anyone else. This was for my son just as much as it was for me. He has been looking forward to going on this ride just with me and I did not want to let him down. And I didn't. I made it. WE made it.

Just One of THOSE Days

Do you ever look in the mirror after knowing you have lost a chunk of weight and see something that looks like this?

But when you go and have your picture taken you realize what you really look like is this?!

This was my experience over the weekend...unfortunate too because I had been given a LOT of compliments by very kind friends and family who hadn't seen me in person for a while.

I know, the positioning of my body in the photo could have a lot do with the outcome but it was still a blow to my ego!

Another blow is that in just 3 days from now, I will be testing out my VERY FIRST GOAL of fitting into a goofy little kid ride for my son's birthday party. I still have my doubts because I live by doubting apparently, BUT I still going through with it! How could I not when my kid is looking forward to it so much?! Wish me luck and I will let you know how it goes!

What the NECK is that?!

do you remember all those diet jokes on Garfield where he couldn't even see his own toes? I'm not worried about toes right now (whatever those are) I am more concerned about my collar bone!

I've been so fluffy for so long, I don't remember when the last time I saw my own beautiful collar bone! Since my health kick, I've been trying to get it to pop out but no amount of body maneuvering could encourage the little guy to show...until TODAY!

I make a lot of funny faces in the mirror from turtle neck to...












thumb head. All of them done by tucking my head into my current neck fat to see what grotesque being I can become.


But today I was stretching out my neck (heh heh) in a seemingly vain attempt to see my decolletage and I was blessed with a sneak peek of the wonders that are to come. 

Brave Girls Club Helps

Have you ever heard of the Brave Girls Club? It's a website dedicated to uplifting and edifying women who need an extra push to get through life, really. I had a friend mention it to me a while ago and I have to tell you, receiving those encouraging little emails has helped tremendously!

I haven't been able to rely on a whole lot of people mainly because I don't know what I need (except for something no one else can give). Brave Girls Club already knows what I need before I even know so when I see it, it makes me cry (in a good way). I cry because I see that someone really does understand even if they are only on the Internet and not in "real life".

Most of you know I have been through a lot. I know I can be a drama queen sometimes but honestly the things I have gone through and continue to go through are not made up in my head. These are not things I can easily overcome. These life events are HOLY COW, OMG events that blow the minds of other people who are not involved but don't seem to phase the ones that are.

In comes my virtual home at the Brave Girls Club. I don't know who they are and I doubt I will ever get the privilege of ever meeting them face-to-face but they are the "family" that understands me. They are the mother I don't have. Sometimes the advice is not always relevant but I know it is given with love and so I try to pass it on to others I think might be needing it.

I'm not getting paid or anything from these wonderful ladies trying to make a difference. I'm just trying to let them know how much I appreciate them and hope to pass along their wisdom and love to others in need. Thank you BGC...

I Know Why the Caged Monkey Screams

I used to think that people who put their loved ones in care homes and never or rarely visited were jerks!

I used to volunteer at one and did so for many years. I started many programs including an Adopt-A-Grandparent Program especially for those poor souls who were dumped there and seemingly never thought of again.

Well, now I know why some were there with little to no family to visit them. At least now I can understand some of the reasoning behind it.

It's difficult if you've had a rough upbringing yet still tried to make a go of it, finally getting to a point you can possibly live with only to find out you were wrong.

There happens to be a legitimate reason why things could not, would not, and should not work out between you and your aging loved one. So, you distance yourself for safety and sanity's sake at nearly the same time this particular loved one's health is starting to deteriorate. You're torn, filled with mixed emotions on what to do and how to act. You're scorned by family members (and some friends) that both don't understand and don't know the whole story. Worst of all, they never will and you end up looking like the biggest jerk of all time! Even letting others know you have made your peace and you feel this best for you and your little family, the rest of the big family considers you a heel and continues to swear you off as the overly-emotional-while-simultaneously-being-devoid-of-feelings individual they have come to know and label you as.

While in the background, your aforementioned ailing loved one is moaning for attention which no one gives heed to (and no one openly admits to it but you) hasn't for a long time, if ever.

Being stuck between a rock and the family makes me scream more often then I'd like to admit. But for my part, I'd rather choose the rock.