No Sparky kibble for you!

Never knew eagles were so large. We were walking Sparky last night at Kelsey Creek Park, and we had heard an unfamiliar bird call earlier. While we were walking by the creek, an eagle came down and stood by the water - so close! That majestic bird was at least 3 feet tall. I swooped down and picked up the Sparkster real quick; wasn't sure if the eagle had spotted him or not, but I wasn't taking any chances. We hurried back to the car, but then we thought the eagle had flown off. Put Sparky back down so he could enjoy & finish off his walk, but then it showed up again, flying overhead. Too freaky - picked up the pup again and headed for the safety of the car. I've seen videos of eagles carrying off large goats, so I have no doubt if he was hunting and saw Spark, he'd nab him. So beautiful to see, but very disconcerning.

And two more pounds :o) Still working - lovin' that!

Size 12!

Went shopping at Costco Saturday; found a pair of very light pink jeans - size 12 - and guess what? They fit like a glove. So very jazzed. I feel so pretty wearing these jeans. JC Pennys had a nice sale, so we went there; Special K got a couple pairs of new pants and I got a bunch of Springy stuff - short-sleeved hoodie, shorts, capris, light tops. Very fun, oh - and a couple pairs of sandals.

And wonderfully, my co-worker is coming right into the sizes of all those lovely clothes that Miss R gave me, so I bagged them up over the weekend and brought them in to her this morning. I'm so glad someone will get use out of those pieces. Only things I kept were the vest (since it fits so nicely) and the black and white blouse, which I know is way too big, but I can't bear to part with it yet. It is just so my cup of tea, and it's a clingy type material, so it doesn't look too over big.

I had a revelation Saturday; Kathy and I were walking through a little mall from Rite Aid to Seattle's Best, and we passed a dress store. Typically my eyes would gloss over and I'd pass the store, not really paying attention to what was in the window, since 99.99% of the time, the store wouldn't have my size. I started doing that Saturday, when it suddenly occurred to me; wait a minute - I can fit into all these styles now. It's OK to look! If I were to see something I really liked, I could go in and totally expect them to have my size!

Wow.

Still working...

Wow - stepped on the scale this morning and another 2 pounds gone - 172. That makes a total of 161 gone. Still amazing.

A co-worker gave me a size 10 pair of black jeans. I thought, ok, cool - I'll fit into them one day, but Special K told me to try them on, and guess what? They fit (sort of...)! Now, I had to really suck it in to zip up, and it was a little hard to breathe, but I'm a lot closer to that 10 than I thought I was.

Of course, it's all just numbers. Just over the weekend, I tried on some 13s and 14s, and they didn't fit so well (although I think it was just a weird cut - if the waist fit, the legs were too tight; if the legs fit, the waist was all baggy). It all depends on the manufacturer. That's why while I'm mostly in large, some XLs fit nicely, too.

Miss R was cleaning out her closet (getting ready for their big move down to California next month :o( ) and gave me a huge bag of clothing for which she said she no longer had any use. Some really beautiful, quality items - nice suits, beautiful blouses. Only bummer (and she said this may be the case) is that most of it is too big. I'm wearing one of her blouses today; it's gorgeous but it is a little bit too big (16-18, per the tag). The only item that fit perfect was a little black vest - so pretty! I think I'll ask one of my co-workers here what size she's down to and see if she can get any use out of this stuff. Oh. A coat to die for - almost like a swing coat with a fur-lined hood. A beautiful evening coat. Could've really used that this past winter. I'd love to pass it on to someone that will get good wear from it.

161. Man. I know I overuse this word, but it's still just so amazing.

Mind set; nothing short of amazing!

I'm telling you - having gone from hating to shop for clothing to loving is nothing short of amazing, still. I'm nearly 11 months out - down to 174 and hanging, and I'm still in constant amazement over my body. It's like it's someone else's. I don't know if I can explain this right or not, and perhaps if you've never been very heavy, you won't understand, but I have a hard time, sometimes, seeing myself in the mirror. You may find me vain - it really isn't that, though. I'm staring because oftentimes, I still cannot believe that it is, in fact, me staring back.

Going clothes shopping brings this home even further. I "know" I'm now a large, but I'm finding it hard to bring larges into the fitting room and finding them fitting just fine. I'll start with XLs only to have to go back to get a Large. When I fit a pair of pants on and I see myself in the mirror, it's incredible to see (for me, anyway) me staring back. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be fitting quite nicely into Larges and a size 13-14 pant, I'd say you were nuts. I don't think I really expected to do this well with the tool I've been given.

I feel my head is in a healthy place. I've gotten over the wrinkles (that took some doing!) and I've gotten over the sagging skin (it's actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be), but I still find that my mind is set back to when I was big. When I fit into something I once thought impossible, whether it be a top or a chair, I'm thrilled all over again. When someone tells me how small I am now, I'm flabbergasted - just this morning, a co-worker was asking if I was in a medium. Told her no, large - and she refused to believe me. Told her I was still at 174, and she responded that she was 185 (totally didn't look it - she's so much shorter than I am, and doesn't look that heavy at all).

Rambling now - not quite sure what I'm trying to articulate here, other than, even after all this time, it's all so amazing. I wonder when it will become the "norm" for me :o)

Said she who obviously never had a weight problem...

Funny how you never know someone else's story and make assumptions without all the facts.

This past Saturday night, the last trio of ladies in the restroom at the nightclub were doing their thing while chatting with each other; two were sisters, and they were all large. The sisters were very large, as I was at the beginning of my journey.

They were bitching about their bodies and how they couldn't lose weight since the birth of their babies, etc., etc. I was just wanting to start packing it up, standing off to the side, so I piped up "Come on, ladies - you are all beautiful!" One of the sisters looked over at me and said "Says the woman who obviously never had a weight problem in her life."

My jaw just dropped and I started giggling. They asked what was so funny. I replied "oh, I've lost a little bit of weight this past year." The third asked how much and I told her "158 pounds." They all shrieked - couldn't believe. Asked how I did it, so I told them, whereas the two sisters started with each other: "See, I told you that's the route we have to go!" "No, no, no - I'm not going to mutilate myself!" "But we're already mutilating ourselves with all this fat!" Back and forth they went. After congratulating me, they walked out still "debating" whether surgery was their answer or not.

Goes to show you - you don't always know just by looking what a person is all about.

More pictures!

Amazing how I used to hate having my picture taken - now I find I don't mind so much. This first one is our "birthday club." Since our birthdays are all so close, we go out for one dinner to celebrate all three. This year was the Cheesecake Factory - love that place. Such a wonderfully diverse menu, and it's all so good!

Here I am with Mr. T - haven't seen him since before Xmas! He came out our way and we went to lunch at the Coho Cafe. Always so good to see him! Such a sweetheart - we love this man.

And here are the two loves of my life - Special K and the Sparkster. This was taken out at my folks' house - Sparky's saying hello to a couple of the neighborhood dogs.

Got a new camera; well, it's not new, but it is to us. Rita gave it to us (A very nice little Canon digital - having so much fun with it), as she got herself a new one. Nice to have a working camera again.

New Clock/Calendar

How do you like my new clock/calendar thingy over to the right here? Pretty cool, eh? My cousin in Holland (thank you, Janny!) sent me a link to a web site, so I stole the code and changed the Dutch to English.

Weight's holding steady at 175. Jazzed about that, because I'm enjoying pretty much anything I get a hankering for. Saturday was hard - got sick twice. Had left over pasta - that hurt (you know how pasta tastes better the day after, and even better the day after that? No more - too dry, I guess.) and then we went out to dinner with friends. I had the Swimming Rama with chicken - again, too dry. Should've quit when I realized that. Usually Swimming Angel (or Rama, as this place called it) is soaked with peanut sauce, but this place used barely cooked spinach and hardly any sauce. I asked for extra, but it didn't help. I had to go to the restroom and give it back. Then I had to go to work right from dinner (at the nightclub - was a miserable night, even though I kicked ass in the tip dept.).

The weather was glorious yesterday - took Sparky to Marymore park (they have an off-leash area to walk your dog), and man, it seemed like everyone with a dog was there! So much fun. I just love seeing and meeting so many different doggies - too dang cute! Gonna be another beautiful, sunny day today (up in the 70s, they say), so I'm wearing some of my new Spring stuff - a beautiful tri-colored Indian-dyed skirt (peach/green/gray) with a brown camisole and a light shrug. Paired with my newish tan slip-on wedges - Very nice.

I just love how much fun clothes are again. And shoes!

No delete button...

Sorry for the blanks - we were looking into something; didn't pan out. I'm so disappointed that I don't even want to read about it, so after I put it up, I took it down. Can't find a delete in here, so my apologies. No biggie - life goes on.

Not in the mood to write - still bummed. Always thought I'd grow out of this type of disappointment. So much for that.