Whoooossshhhh!

That's me driving by! Things are hectic with me trying to get everything done before leaving for Mexico. So, just a quick post and I'll be back next week!

Weight. I forgot. While I divorced the scale, the nurse was adamant that I had to weigh. I explained to her why I didn't want to, but she was honestly a bit of a )(@#*$)@(#$* so I just stepped on the scale. I had clothes on and weighed 130 lbs, so this no weighing stuff is really working for me. The last time I had weighed, I was 129 lbs in my b-day suit (nekkid).

Oh, and the doctor did say that was horse crap and would note it in my file for the next time so that it would be my choice if I wanted to weigh or not. She's very happy with my journey and how I have maintained my loss (ob-gyn). She has other patients that also have a band and I guess it hasn't been a smooth ride.

Slumpville. Ya me! My stretch goal for the "slump" week was to get 4 camps in. Working through my slump on my blog just seemed to work me out of it and I put on my big girl panties and got to it! : )

Nails. I had that gel nail polish put on my nails. It's not supposed to come off like regular nail polish and grow out. I thought they'd be perfect for time in the pool. Um, 2 days. That's right. 1 day in the pool and sure nuff those puppies started peeling off. Grrrrr! I think there was something wrong with the application. I am going to try and fit in a trip back, but not sure I have the time between now and when I leave.

Exercise & eating. I am planning 3 camps minimum before I leave. If I have room in my suitcase, I will pack workout clothes, but I don't have any plan to use them. But if the mood strikes me, I'll have the clothes to do it. I find the water aerobics and other "active" activities to be a hoot, so I plan to participate in those. The objective for this short trip is to relax and be "off the grid". I plan to eat and drink what I want and do a whole lot of hanging out, reading, and napping. I can hardly wait!
 
Nos vemos la próxima semana! Adiós por ahora!
 
Disclaimer & soapbox thought: I am not fluent. I speak brokenly and usually have a ton of errors, but I think it's better to attempt to use the native language than not at all. It amazes me (appalls actually) that Americans go to Mexico and are upset because everyone isn't fluent in English. Um, it's Mexico????

Weekly Round Up
•6 bootcamps
•Calories: 3503

Clothing Coupons Pay Off!

I went to 0ld Navy. Now, I don't think it's the highest quality, but what I get there is usually so trendy I really only want to wear it for the current year anyway. Personally, I think their "original" prices are high for what you get, but when on sale or clearance, it's pretty good!

I picked up 8 items for a total of $136.28. All items were on sale or on clearance, but my final price was $63.14! HUH? So, here's how it worked out. I knew that all clearance items were marked down an additional 50% off. Add to that I had a one day coupon for an additional 20% off with no exclusions and WHAM-O, SCORE! : )

Here's a picture of the loot:

I didn't realize what an idiot I was in my last post. After mentioning about my car, I should have told everyone that I am just fine! Thanks for the concern though. : )

If you have an 0ld Navy close by, I'd go check out the clearance section! I believe the sale is still on...uh, what are you waiting for??!!! (oooo, and post your loot if you go!!!)

Hmm, they multiplied!

Well here's what happened. I bought one bikini and my husband loved it! I didn't really want to wear the same one the entire time, so back to the store I went. Surprise! They were now even lower priced! So, the one turned into three (mix and match line). I am sure every woman would have done the same thing...right? : )

Um, I may not have mentioned a few of the sarongs that are with the suits to the husband. A couple I had, but a couple are new. Shhhhhh...

OK, this seriously is NOT a whine. This week has turned hilarious. In other words, all I can do is laugh at this point.

The spa part of the pool emptied for some unknown reason overnight. The pool is not my job. Here's what I can tell you about the pool. "Hey, there it is!" Needless to say I panicked and my husband is out of town all week. Mysteriously the pool service doesn't know why it emptied either, but thankfully it has stayed filled since they came out and checked it out. Who knows.

My phone died. I took it to get it repaired and decided to just drop it off to get back quickly and back to work. Eh, not a big deal. Have a phone plan. Well, then on the way home, I was rear ended. Yep, I couldn't make this stuff up!

Thanks to all of you that read and comment on my blog. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to meeting those of you that are able to go to B.O.O.B.S. I have my plane ticket, roommate, and we have our hotel reservations!

Yup, it's confirmed...

I desperately need a vacation and I swear my hormones are out of whack. Evidence:

• I am grumpy to co-workers. (Oh, and kinda HATING my job right now!)
• I was talking to my husband on the phone today and started crying for pretty much no reason...niiiiceee!
• I swear I am having hot flashes, but I've never had one to know for sure, so I'm not sure. Women have tried to describe what it feels like to them and I kinda think it sounds like it, but then not really....arrrggghhhh!
  • Recently visited the doc and all hormones, vitamins, and other such full workup crap is totally normal. While this is good, I really wanted something to be off to explain what is up with me!
  • And more TMI on this bullet, I had a hysterectomy and experience fake periods, but all of this is just different.
• This is manifesting itself during a super bad (no not the movie, although I highly recommend it) time as this is an off week for camp. The trainers have been a bit flaky, so I only have 3 days of camp, but am trying to see if I can get a 4th day.
• Why yes, I could get my a$$ out and do something on my own or *shudder* go to the gym, but please see other bullets as to why that just ain't happening at this time. : )
• I haven't been reading blogs! The horror!
• Eating for the right reasons is very hard right now. (aka - I want to eat crap food all the time)
• I'm whining in this post!
• Unfortunately, I think my first stop toward making it to my vacation destination is Slumpville....*SIGH*

OK, so I'm over it. : ) Well not really, but I will be and I am working through it...Anyone have any cheese?

Weekly Round Up

• 5 bootcamps
• Calories: 3064

Coming up this week *drum roll*

• No more posts with whining!
• Get caught up with blog reading.
• Camp 3 times minimum
• By request, a picture of the swimsuits.
• A post about why coupons are good for clothes shopping! OK, it's really about the clothes that I got super cheap 'cause it's quite a pile even for me the queen of bargain shoppping and coupons. : )

And I will leave you with another creature that appeared in the yard:

It's hard to tell because, go figure, I didn't have a ruler with me to put next to the turtle, but the shell was about 15 inches in length! (The turtle is sooo over me taking the pictures can't you tell?)

This just in...

I bought two bikinis for my trip to Mexico. I will wear them...by leaving all other swimsuits at home and having no other choice. I don't know anyone there except my husband anyway, right? But yet, it still makes me feel a bit self conscious. I've always been shy, so when I would wear a bikini in the past it has always been with board shorts.Hmmm, I better leave those at home. Oh well, there will be plenty of liquid courage at my disposal to help me get to the point of not caring. : )

That is all...

Wild Animals

This year I decided I wanted a bird and a squirrel feeder in our backyard. The bird feeder has been awesome from the get go and we now have two pairs of cardinals, a woodpecker or two, and some other wild birds that are visiting frequently. But the squirrel feeder is another story.

The squirrels were hilarious jockeying for a turn to sit on the ledge and open the lid to get a treat in our first feeder. But every night by morning the feeder would be empty. Well, there had to be something eating it and I figured it had to be an o'possum (yes, there is an "o") or a raccoon.

Enter squirrel feeder version 2. There's just NO way the night eater is getting in right?

And the first night:

Why yes, that is Rocky with his arm shoved in the feeder. BUT he can only get whatever he can grab through the little hole and not all the treats in the glass part.

Or, so we thought, until we checked the next morning and saw this:

As long as we only put enough food out in the morning for the squirrels, it seems like the situation is managed. Here are some more pictures because I think they are hilarious!

The squirrels get really pissed when I'm stalking them with a camera. One got all worked up flapping his tail and eventually went up to a limb and started belting out a war cry to his friends...luckily there was no one in range and I was safe, but here s/he is looking ferocious:

Yes, I too am wondering why I went to Fossil Rim when I have the wild kingdom in my backyard!

Farewell my friend

Well, my friend the chipper left.

Check out this comment from Justaflower. I about peed my pants:

Okay, there should be some unspoken rule that if a blogger is having a chipper at their house for a limited amount of time we get a heads up!!! I have no time to find a way to get my "unwanted" there before it is gone!!!

No worries my friend. I anticipate that the chipper will be back this same time next year. Please start planning now. I've reserved you a room here at my casa!

And, check this out:

Voila! It's gone! (yes, the chipper ate it)

Saturday (little bit snug pants be damned), I went shopping. And, it's a miracle, I even bought some stuff. I have totally gotten over my pale not so good legs. People can just suck it! I'm wearing skirts. It's going to be hot and I'm wearing them. And that's all I'm saying about that. : )

Sunday I had a really nice visit with Beth Ann (who continues to shrink before my eyes!). I wore a very light colored khaki wrap to lunch where I proceeded to spill stuff all over the arms. I'm not even sure how I did it. Thankfully Beth Ann was OK with me dipping my sleeves in my water to try and keep the stain from setting *sigh*. Next time, I will be rockin' one of these plastic rain ponchos!

Tread Lightly!

There's a wood chipper in my yard. For real. The trees are getting a haircut today.

Excuse me sir, but can I take a picture of your chipper? Nope. I'm a whimp and couldn't let them see me taking a picture, so I took it from inside the house. But nobody better be gettin' on my bad side today 'cause there's a chipper in my yard! : )

They will also tackle this dead tree:

I'll let you know how many bodies end up it goes with the chipper. My chipper fascination started with the movie Fargo. : )

Other news:

The desserts are officially catching up with me. I wore my best fitting slacks to work yesterday. A pair that provides absolutely no room for forgiveness and they were a bit snugger than normal. Nah, not sweating it or getting on the scale, but I do need to cut back a bit (no desserts to my desserts!) and tell myself no. The thought of  trouncing around (why yes, I do "trounce") in a swimsuit in less than 3 weeks should also help hold me back a bit!

I am meeting up with the fantastic Beth Ann tomorrow!!

Weekly Round Up

• 5 bootcamps
• Calories: 2854

Booked!

All this talking about vacation gave me the bug! A 99 hour sale popped up for Texas, so in less than 20 days, I'll be going to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico for 3 nights / 4 days!

Estoy apagado practicar mi español. ¡El viernes feliz todos!

Shhhhh, Dirty Secrets

When you have a band, there are some rules. They tend to vary a bit from surgeon to surgeon, but I follow most of what my surgeon requires. I've covered quite a bit what I do, but not so much what I don't. So...

• While I try to generally make good choices, I do eat quite a bit of crap---it ebbs and flows how much. I think I had candy or dessert 5 times the week before last. One day, I had a dessert to my dessert. That single-serve mac & cheese that you microwave? Check, love that alien orange cheese now and then. I manage this though with portion control (hard at times!) and being sure that I really want the crap and there isn't something else going on with me that I am hiding from.
• I don't track calories or protein intake. I just try to generally eat a balanced diet. I do take daily gummy vitamins.
• I drink soda now and then. It's diet, but it's soda. Yesterday at Target diet orange soda kept staring at me at the checkout stand. So, I drank it!
• When I go out to dinner, I will have wine or some other adult beverage. Sometimes my drink is booze and soda! (I find that if I stir it up with the straw, I can knock some of the carbonation and don't have any issues.)
• Since my band is essentially empty, I don't eat little itty bitty bites of food. They are pretty normal sized.
• Most people think I workout a lot, but in addition to the health benefits, I do it to manage stress. My morning workouts make a huge difference in stress management through the day. If I go for a second workout, it's usually because I am in a bad mood or don't have anything better to do.

I don't really think these are "dirty secrets", but I liked the title and thought I'd share my reality. Does that mean maintenance will look like this for you? Or if you are in maintenance you "should" be doing the same? Hell no! Figure out what works for you and remember don't compare. Just because it works for me, doesn't mean it will work for you. And, that's OK! : )

Jefffffreeeeeeyyyyy!

This past weekend we went to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. You drive through the park in your car with the windows open and feed the animals. It was my first time to vist, but my husband had been before. We left early in the morning to get there when they opened, the animals were hungry, and the heat wasn't high.

This was a smart ostrich. Right there at the start!

There were other animals.

Zebras, but instead of black stripes, they had brown.

These guys were aggressive! And their horns while rock hard as you would expect, but they had super soft hair all over them.

But then, my main reason for being there, the GIRAFFES!!! Toys r Us used to have giraffes as their mascot. The name of one of them was Jeffrey. So, here's Jeffrey.

I dubbed this one his wife Josephine.

It was a ton of fun and the weather was perfect. It wasn't the most active weekend for me, or for that matter workout wise, but that's OK now and then. I felt pretty sloth like on Sunday, but not enough to go do "real" exercise. All the rest helped me kick it up a notch at camp this morning though!

Weekly Round Up

• 4 boot camps - 2628 calories

Cinco de...

Ugh, let me just say that as I get older my ability to drink goes down. It's an inverse correlation or whatever the right term is. While Cinco de Drinko was really the joke goal we set for our girls outing, after two I was d-o-n-e. I switched to water, but with a late night and what I did drink boot camp was not in the cards for me this morning.

Ironically, when the alarm went off for camp, a dog pretty much started barking for the next couple of hours. How is it that the owner doesn't hear that? Hmmmm, maybe it was a sign that I should have sucked it up and gone to camp??? 

We walked around the event and went into various shops. I saw a pair of jeans that I thought were very cute and two of my pals saw me looking at them. None of these gals knew me before or even know that I've lost all this weight. They just see me as I am now.

One of the girls said to me, "What are you a size 0?" I wonder what my face looked like and I'm afraid that it wasn't good and she may have perceived it as snotty or something, but I was really just shocked and embarrassed. She's very sweet and intended absolutely no harm with her comment---it's all me.

I am still adjusting to how people see me as well as how I see myself. I have struggled my entire life with seeing myself as bigger than I am (dysmorphia) and that unfortunately continues. I wonder if it is something that I will ever conquer, but I try to use pictures and looking at my clothes (not while I'm in them) as suggested in counseling, but it's still a struggle.

Thanks so much for all the comments on the scale post. It's interesting to see everyone's thoughts and different approaches. As with most of this banded stuff, I don't think there's a "right" answer to it and the answer is whatever works best for you. I realized that I didn't really flat out say it that separating from the scale was very scary and hard for me. It was.

Happy Weekend! : )

Six Month Separation - A milestone.

I. Don't. Know. What. I. Weigh. And, go figure, it's not because I am hiding from it!

My journey evolved into much more than weight loss. When I started in 2005, I was clinically despressed and I believe I had hit bottom. Since then, I have come to terms with several things personally and professionally that led to personal growth and improved mental health.

Striving for a lower number on the scale was a big incentive, goal, and way to measure my progress. But over time I started feeling that number was influencing my mood, adding stress, and even a little obsessive thought. It seemed to be turning counter productive for me as my maintenance journey progressed. In November 2010, I decided that it was time for a trial separation from the scale.

I told myself I could weigh before Christmas if I wanted. I didn't. I told myself I could weigh after the first of the year. I didn't. And so on. Why? I am actually smaller than I was in November at 129 lbs. And, reality is that if the scale said that I weighed more than 129 lbs would it really matter? Logically, hell no. I'm thinner, fitter, stronger, and healthier than I was in November. But my pea-sized brain doesn't always stay in logicland. So for now, I just don't need to know the number, but again logically I know I have to be right around that same number (come on pea-sized brain!) .

I'm not sure if this separation from the scale will lead to divorce or not, but for now it's working for me to focus on how fit and healthy I feel and how my clothes fit. Sometimes I miss my scale and I even open the cabinet door to look at it and have a "should I or shouldn't I" conversation, but so far I just sigh and close the door. It's funny how the journey takes you places you couldn't imagine going...embrace and enjoy it!

What Size am I Today?

I find clothes shopping a lot of the time to be frustrating. I just want to know that I am a certain size and be able to pick things off the rack with some comfort that it should fit without having to take 2-5 sizes into the dressing room with me.

I agree with the article posted below in the sentiment that trying on 10 pairs of jeans at times does make me feel like there is something wrong with me! At times, I just hit this point that "nothing fits" and am over shopping. There is a bright side though, it's good for my pocket book. : )

Ironically though, I have put some effort into finding some summer clothes and had some luck in finding a few things. If I could get over being a bargain hunter, I'm sure that would also help.

Anyway, if one of these scanners shows up in TX, sign me up! The entire New York Times article follows. Has anyone tried one? Source.

One Size Fits Nobody: Seeking a Steady 4 or a 10

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

In one store, you’re a Size 4, in another a Size 8, and in another a Size 10 — all without gaining an ounce.
It’s a familiar problem for many women, as standard sizing has never been very standard, ever since custom clothing gave way to ready-to-wear.

So, baffled women carry armfuls of the same garment in different sizes into the dressing room. They order several sizes of the same shirt online, just to get the right fit.

Now, a handful of companies are tackling the problem of sizes that are unreliable. Some are pushing more informative labels. Some are designing multiple versions of a garment to fit different body shapes. And one is offering full-body scans at shopping malls, telling a shopper what sizes she should try among the various brands.

“For the consumer to go out and navigate which one do I match with is a huge challenge, and causes frustration and returns,” said Tanya Shaw, an entrepreneur working on a fit system. “So many women tie their self-esteem to the size on the tag.”

As the American population has grown more diverse, sizes have become even less reliable. Over the years, many brands have changed measurements so that a woman who previously wore a 12 can now wear a 10 or an 8, a practice known as “vanity sizing.”

In men’s clothes, the dimensions are usually stated in inches; women’s clothing involves more guesswork.

Take a woman with a 27-inch waist. In Marc Jacobs’s high-end line, she is between an 8 and a 10. At Chico’s, she is a triple 0. And that does not consider whether the garment fits in the hips and bust. (Let’s not get into length; there is a reason most neighborhood dry cleaners also offer tailoring.)

Ms. Shaw, the entrepreneur, is chief executive of a company called MyBestFit that addresses the problem. It is setting up kiosks in malls to offer a free 20-second full-body scan — a lot like the airport, minus the pat-down alternative that T.S.A. agents offer.

Lauren VanBrackle, 20, a student in Philadelphia, tried MyBestFit when she was shopping last weekend.

“I can be anywhere from a 0 at Ann Taylor to a 6 at American Eagle,” she said. “It obviously makes it difficult to shop.” This time, the scanner suggested that at American Eagle, she should try a 4 in one style and a 6 in another. Ms. VanBrackle said she tried the jeans on and was impressed: “That machine, in a 30-second scan, it tells you what to do.”

The customer steps into a circular booth, fully dressed. A wand rotates around her, emitting low-power radio waves that record about 200,000 body measurements, figuring out things like thigh circumference.

Next, the system matches the customer’s measurements to clothes in its database. MyBestFit currently measures clothes from about 50 stores, including Old Navy, Eddie Bauer and Talbots.

Customers then receive a printout of the sizes at each store that ought to fit the customer best. The retailers pay a fee when they appear in the results, but they cannot pay to be included in the results; the rankings are based solely on fit. (The company saves the data, with ID numbers but not names, and may give aggregate information to retailers as feedback.)

Don Thomas, who manages the Eddie Bauer store at the King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia, said the system was helpful to shoppers. “Nine times out of 10, if left on their own, they will choose the wrong size pant,” he said. With a printout, “if it says they’re a 4 or a 6, they’re a 4 or a 6, generally. So it’s really good for the customer who’s time-starved, which we all are.”

Ms. Shaw says there are plans for 13 more scanning machines in malls along the East Coast and in California by the end of the year.
The sizing variations are a big contributor to $194 billion in clothing purchases returned in 2010, or more than 8 percent of all clothing purchases, according to the National Retail Federation.

The scanners are a modern solution to an old problem. Studying dress sizes in Vogue advertisements from 1922 on, Alaina Zulli, a designer focusing on costume history, found clothing sizes have been irregular for decades.

A woman with a 32-inch bust would have worn a Size 14 in Sears’s 1937 catalog. By 1967, she would have worn an 8, Ms. Zulli found.

Today, she would wear a zero.

Plenty of people have tried to address these arbitrary sizes. Advocating a labeling system called Fitlogic over the last few years, an entrepreneur, Cricket Lee, discovered just how difficult it is to change manufacturers’ approach to size.

Her labeling system divides women’s bodies into three shapes, straight, hourglass or bottom-heavy, and a Fitlogic label carries both the standard size and the shape.

Ms. Lee did tests in the mid-2000s with manufacturers like Jones Apparel and retailers like Nordstrom. But retailers said consumers had trouble grasping the concept. “The manufacturers were so afraid of producing more than one fit in the very beginning,” she said.

Still, she said, she will soon try to sell the sizing system again.

Some brands are taking their own approaches to make the fitting room less demoralizing. Mary Alderete, vice president for women’s global marketing at Levi’s, said, “When we try on 10 pairs of jeans to buy one, the reason you feel bad is because you think something’s wrong with you.”

Last fall, the company introduced Curve ID, a line that offers three styles, depending on how rounded a woman’s backside is — slight, demi and bold. (Levi’s is now testing a fourth style, called supreme curve.) Each of the three styles includes about 29 fits and colors, and dozens of sizes. Ms. Alderete said the company had sold more than one million pairs of the Curve jeans.

Marie-Eve Faust, the program director of fashion merchandising at Philadelphia University, called the Levi’s effort “a good start.”

“The next step is to have the major players sit together, manufacturers, retailers, brands, and say ‘This type of label should be appropriate for all of us. Let’s standardize,’ ” she said.

Dr. Faust said she had been discussing a new kind of label that takes into account the wearer’s shape, but expected retailers to bristle.

Still, Dr. Faust said, change is needed.

“It would be nice just to take the pant, look at the label and say, ‘That should fit me,’ ” she said.

Bah! Monday?!

Wishing Friends.com

The weather yesterday and today is getting to me! It has been cold, stormy, and very dark. I'll just say it, it's Monday, I'm grumpy, and I would like to just go back to bed!

Weekly Round Up

• 7 bootcamps
• Calories: 4706