I AM B.A.D.

This was my entry on my obesity-help blog yesterday:

Yup, I am B.A.D. = Blessed And Delivered and I am claiming it every day ... I am a blessed mess at times but blessed anyway...

Just in the nick of time I finished my dress and my friend's dress for a wedding we are both in this afternoon at 4 pm ... and to think I did a Samba in heels workout this morning and I am heading out to Zumba at Workout on Whitney with my DD at 10:00 a.m. this morning ... then to worship ... then to awesome fun as my friend reaffirms her vows in an awesome ceremony...

Okay I have to steam and press this with my dressmaker's presser which is warming up ... this is the dress I finished last night...




and my comparison collage... the back was a PITA and took the most time with adjusting the straps .. DD was asleep and DHs fingers were cramping and he could not help me much with pinning so I had to use my homemade duct tape body form in my size ....



On Saturday night I went out with DH and friends to an awesome gala and benefit dinner dance and I wore an awesome Rubber Ducky dress in a size S that I bought 6 months after my surgery never ever dreaming to wear it ... wore it for the first time Saturday night and had to pull it apart and adjust the TOO BIG SIZE SMALL bodice go figure..... and I love taking pictures of my labels even...



I won't ever forget YESTERDAY and TODAY... 203 pounds lighter from a highest weight of 327 pounds ... no more diabetes, no more hypertension, no more sleep apnea, no more gerd, no more hyperlipidemia .. I am healthy and fit and living life to the fullest without impaired mobility and shortness of breath ... I am loving me!

I love love love this blogspot too ... regardless of all the ups and downs I embrace diversity and the sharing of experiences and information ... I have received many blessings from many in cyberspace ... check me out with an awesome pocketbook made from a cigar box by none other than an awesome OH sista Julie .... we traded crafts ..I painted an awesome canvas of her and her beloved partner and she made me a cigar box pocketbook woot ... I am wearing it today ... first I did Samba in heels and I have my sneakers in my bag as I go off to zumba like this....



Heel aerobics? HOOT! good for the calves ... started out with Brazilian Samba ... lawd please don't let me break my neck LOL but no ... I GOT THIS... I have been wearing heels all the way from my highest weight ... I got too.. everyone in the house is over 6 ft tall but meeeeeeeee... what gives? LOL





I love making comparison collages for my empowerment journal A picture a day keeps the pounds and the inches away...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE BEING B.A.D. (BLESSED AND DELIVERED) we all are ... it has nothing to do with theism ... I rest assured that no weapon formed against me can prosper ... as long as my heart is in the right place ... as long as I own my actions and my words and as long as I am able to say I AM SORRY AND MEAN IT!!!!

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE.. Another goofy post on the run ... just to encourage myself and someone else ... there is joy and there is misery in equal measures in the world a friend dear to my heart once told me ... I am embracing joy and making it happen to me EVERY.SINGLE.DAY ....

HAVE A BLESSED DAY EVERYONE ... OFF TO ZUMBA AND A BUSY SUNDAY ... THAT I MAY REGRET ON CRAZY WORKDAY MONDAY lol....

AM VS. PM ..... GIMME MY HAIR!!!

I swear while it is comfortable it is work ... I just can't deal with my own hair for more than a week ... I can't afford to be late in the mornings farting around with this ... it was holding up well all week and this morning it was just too cold to meander out with wet moussed hair which is the only way it would stay the way I want it .. so I went to work with my short hair ... came back home and slapped a piece on while running out to the pool and coming back to weave someone's hair....

I have been hiding behind my weaves/wigs/extensions for too long they have become a part of me ... plus they conceal my big ears and take away from my big nose and half conceal my now protruding collar bones ... and lets face it ... above all .. I JUST LIKE/LOVE IT!!!! GIMME MY HAIR!!!!

This is me ... this morning versus this evening ...


I did hold it natural for over a week though...




I am losing mega fret weight again ... need to eat need to eat ... I am supplementing with protein shakes ... when I think about my sister my throat clogs up and I get panic attacks ... each day she is feeling stronger and more determined which is good ... we have this... she got this! is responding so very well to her treatment yet the side effects are so harsh on her it is worrisome ... but she is strong and a pillar of heath in the past .... a non-smoker forever ... she WILL beat this!



Me at work last week...

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AWESOME INVESTMENTS....

...and shopping in my closet ... running home again in another week for a long weekend .... bringing and leaving as many of my summer duds at my destination...

My best investments ever are my BFFs forever .... and they are not even human ... they are my Singer, my project runway Brother and my sergers .... gotta love 'em cause this goofy sista loves to sew ... before... during... and after ... and TODAY...

At my lowest weight sewing my reaffirmation of vows gown in 2008 and today finishing and hemming a dress a few minutes ago....
 

I just love to sew.... the best tool that helped me out majorly the first year post op ... to fight cravings and head hunger I kept myself occupied with my sewing machines and my canvas and my brushes ...

I love love love love shopping in my own closet today and fitting perfectly or better in the same duds that I wore at my lowest weight since weight loss surgery 5 years and 4 months ago (in 2 days is my monthly surgery anniversary and I am celebrating today as I do every day)... one of my best investments ... taking all the money I would blow on take outs and fast foods and expensive lunches from take out and invest in fabrics and duds that I bought wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy in advance for my dream weight .... I working my way down the sizes ... I loved it....

Me at my lowest weight and prior to panniculectomy and modified brachioplasty and me wearing the very same dress .... just dragged it on for pics early this am for my empowerment collage and just because I was going through my closets making boxes to give some of these clothes away... yikes I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE REBOUND ... I HAD LOST WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY TO LOW .... AND TODAY I AM MAINTAINING SEAMLESSLY WITH NO REGAIN... don't sweat the rebound ... the body will stabilize ... yikes ... I hate wearing my short hair ... it is work .. it exposes my big ears and nose and I just love love love my wigs/extensions and weaves ... but it is summer ... and it is hot ... so I am trying to hold on...


Another great investment and FUN for me cause I love pics ... I take pictures of everything... oh my poor ferrets LOL they even have their own blog.... I love my goofy tool my empowerment journal that I named "A picture a day keeps the pounds and the inches away" I track my journey... my food and ALSO my FIT in clothes every day ... I want to see my journey and I want to look back...

Pictures of my before ... my transition and today encourage me... I do not want to go back to limited mobility and life with 5 co-morbidities...


I love still fitting my tiny Juicy Couture jumpsuit that I put on my old arse over a year ago .. a gift from my DD and fitting it the very same fit and comfort today ... as I shopped in my closet ... I am having FUN can you tell... I am hanging around the house today dressed like this ... relaxing the rest of the day....



My first Sunday dress ... in white and wearing the Penny loves Kenny heels my DD gave me for Mother's day ...


Yesterday I went to my friend's daughter's reception ... and I wore this green gown that fit like a glove ..


My digital journal allows me to go back and look back and plan ahead ... I love it ...


I adjusted this dress down to my size this morning ... wearing it to work tomorrow ... unless my mind varies LOL



EXERCISE... ANOTHER GREAT INVESTMENT.... Yesterday I did 2 hours of zumba toning ... did the class at the Wellness Clinic that my DD conducts and then I followed her to Viva Z where she subbed another class...



and now I will hang out with my 8 furry critters who own my heart and tell me what to do ... YIKES ... this is me with my first ferret Maximiliano .. (Maxwell) their names have been changed to castellano because they will the panamanian hurones in the near future ...


and this is the goofiest post ever... I POST NOT TO BOAST ... BUT TO ENCOURAGE MYSELF AND MAYBE ONE OTHER ... THE JOURNEY IS NOT EASY ... BUT IT IS SO WELL WORTH IT ... WITH NEW FOUND HEALTH AND MOBILITY I AM ENJOYING MY LATER DAYS ... I AM HAVING FUN ... TAKING IT ONE.DAY.AT.A.TIME ..... Life offers great things all the time along with challenges .... and when it pitches me lemons ... I am going to make me a virgin SF Margarita ... and keep it moving...

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE....

CREATIVE TIPS FOR THE LOOSE BITS

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE LEGS!!!.... AWESOME TIPS FOR THE LOOSE BITS ...

I have been on here long enough for most to know that I love to sew and I just love to be creative be it with my brushes and canvas ... or on my sewing machines .. or with my weaves/wigs/lace fronts/full laces or braids .. or just being creative PERIOD ... I am pretty sure there is nothing new under the sun .. but I am wrapped like this ... artistically goofy LOL and I love love love to share my creative moments with my friends IRL and in cyberspace ...

I shared before with you my upside down pantyhose for the batwings ... remember??? well how about this number here ...

CHECK IT OUT... ECONOMIC ... DOABLE... EASY PEASE ... AND LOOKS HAWT ... SANDA HOSE FOR THE LOOSE/WRINKLED/LUMPY/BUMPY/CELLULITE/SPIDER VEINS/ IN NEED OF SUPPORT BITS ON THE LEGS AND THIGHS....

HEY I HAVE BEEN GETTING TONS OF COMPLIMENTS AND HAVE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE MASSIVE WEIGHT LOSS RENDERED MY THIGHS THE LUMPY APPEARANCE OF COTTAGE CHEESE IN SOME AREAS ... WHERE LOOSE SKIN, WRINKLES, DIMPLES, CELLULITE, STRETCH MARKS AND SPIDER VEINS TELL A TALE OF FEET THAT HAVE WALKED MANY MILES CARRYING UP TO A HIGHEST WEIGHT OF 327 POUNDS... AHHHHHH AHHHHHHH I HAVE SAVED UP FOR MY THIGHPLASTY BUT AM HAPPILY RELINQUISHING THE FUNDS AND SETTING THEM ASIDE FOR MY SISTER SHOULD THE NEED ARISE....

SHARING WITH YOU ...... MY VERSION OF WHAT I CALL SANDA-HOSE OR SLIPPER-HOSE IN THREE EASY STEPS....

You only need 3 items ...

1. Sheer support hose in your skin tone... the best brand for this that I have been using is Legg's Support hose (read SUPPORT NOT 'shaper') or make sure it is a SHEER SUPPORT HOSE IN YOUR SKIN TONE IN A BRAND THAT DOES NOT RUN .... this is the ONLY one I use....



2. Jobst IT-stays Body Adhesive roll on ... best brand on the market can get at Compression sales.com


3. Pair of sharp scissors...

THREE STEPS .. .EASY PEASY...
1. Take a pair of support hose and cut along the seam at the toes or just cut the toe part off but not pass the double fabric into the sheer nylon ... like this.. AND PUT THEM ON....


2. Put on the stockings with your toes exposed and at the base of your toes use the IT STAYS BODY ADHESIVE ROLL ON .. TO ROLL ACROSS THE EDGE OF THE STOCKINGS FROM TOP TO UNDER FEET...

3.. GET DRESSED!!!! AWESOME THIGHPLASTY WITH JUST A HOSE ... AHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHH THIS CRAZY ARSED SISTA IS GIVING UP HER THIGHPLASTY FUNDS TO A GOOD CAUSE ... MY SISTER IS IN THE FIGHT OF HER LIFE FOR HER LIFE AND I CAN DO JUST AS WELL WITH MY SANDA-HOSE!!!

And since I am a picture AW ... I will show you ME with my home concocted Sanda-Hose...
1. Cut hose .. got dressed... rolled the It-stays around the edges like this... see the edges?

2. I put my slippers back on ... the hoses are sheer .. I ALWAYS wear them ... they are totally washable every night too... they come in packs of 3 pairs and I order tons of them and they last for-ever...

Done! I took a picture for my digital empowerment journal 'a picture a day keeps the pounds and the inches away' because I love love love tracking Snippets of my journey in pictures ... I guess these are sanda-slipper hoses LOL...

They work with ANY open toed shoes ... peeps have had to touch my legs because they don't believe I have on an awesome MARTITALINDA GOOFY ARSED SANDA-HOSE!



and DON'T FORGET THE TIPS I SHARED ON HERE BEFORE ... the upside down downside up pantyhose... FOR THE BATWINGS AND LOOSE BITS ON THE ARMS...

Same principle ... this time you cut out the toes and the crotch .... slip the waistband over your head and stick your head through the crotch and your arms through the legs ... not to worry... it stretches and support and HIDES AND CONCEALS THE BATWINGS ... I even wore them after my modified brachioplasty because I had swelling for ages and still do... use It-Stays body adhesive roll-on or a bracelet or any finish to the edges at the wrist and voila ... INSTANT BRACHIOPLASTY WITH A PANTYHOSE ... WOOT!


Thank you for allowing me to share SNIPPETS of my journey ... and tips and tricks of a goofy old sista on the journey!!!



LOOSE BITS...SAGGING.. HANGING..WRINKLING..DIMPLING..SPIDER VEINS ... IT SUPPORTS IT.. IT HOLDS IT IN WITH THE SAME COMPRESSION AS SPANX IMO .. I USED THESE SAME HOSES TO CONCEAL MY PANNUS PRIOR TO PANNICULECTOMY... BECAUSE I WENT SAGGING WHEN I SHRUNK FROM THIS ... MY BEFORE ... KEEPING ME FOCUSED ON MY PRESENT...


thanks for allowing me to share another goofy post ... snippets of my journey!!!

A DOLLOP OF NATURAL 'D' LOVING THE SUN!!!

OMG I am sooooooooooooo loving the sun ... what an awesome sunny day this turned out to be although the forecast calls for rain later. Even my DH came out for a dollop of natural D as we walked from home down to the beach .... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the sun felt AWESOME on my skin...


We then went out on our friend's boat for a bit...



Then we had visitors ... and more sun and awesome friends/family fun... now I am hopping in the tub and vegging while our friends and neighbors and DH fart around with the grill ... it is insanely HOT and the forecast calls for storms later ... I just hope there is not lightning/thunder... I will hop in bed and pull the covers/pillows over my head and ears if their is an electric storm... yikes they scare me... We took fun pics... for my digital empowerment journal and because I am a picture AW...

YIKES shabby clean-up job on the beach ... SIGH...



and now back home... hmmmmmmmmmmm the aroma of fresh water fish coming from the grill...nope we did not catch it ... we stopped by the fish market LOL... posting in my OH blog and on the boards and relaxing the rest of the evening..



HAVE A GOOD DAY EVERYONE!!!! Thanks for allowing me to share snippets of my journey.... My before keeps me focussed on my present and future...health and mobility are worth keeping...

I will never forget before ... I was happy and active but not healthy with impaired mobility and 5-comorbidities .... WLS was the best decision I ever made for ME!

NOT FORGETTING...

I don't ever want to or plan to forget how far I have come or how my body felt dealing with five co-morbitities and limited mobility... I shall not allow myself to forget ... while not dwelling in the past I will certainly use it to maintain focus on my present and my future .... I am loving the reality of my life post WLS ... I am mobile... I am healthy and I am happy .... I love being able to breathe at night without the use of a CPAP machine, I love not having to take Toprol XL because my blood pressure has been normal since, I love not taking Zetia for my hyperlipidemia nor Glucovance 500 mg twice daily for diabetes ... I love love not taking Nexium for my gastroesophageal reflux and have not dealt with any type of reflux since surgery .. I love not needing O2 and I love not taking arthrotec for my joint aches and pain....

I want to keep the feeling ... I asked for health and mobility and I love it ... It is not about looks .. to me I was beautiful at my heighest weight and I dressed my arse off back then too... I remember taking the train to Delancey and Orchard and Manhattan just shopping around for sizes and styles a bit different from the standard 16+ and The Answer and Trim Fashions and Lane Bryant ... oh I loved shopping there too don't get me wrong .. but sometimes this sista love that odd piece and if I did not find it I SEWED IT MYSELF ...

Today I am resting and vegging out after a fun night last night with our Oldies Keeping the Flame Going couples group ... we had tons of fun and I appreciate all the input...

At the end of the day I went swimming and decided to just don a pair of earrings my ring and my wet head and I was good to go with my dress and shoes .... no necklaces ... I have past trauma that makes it difficult sometimes for me to wear things around my neck ... sometimes I can but most often the feeling of being choked overcomes me...

This is my empowerment collage today for my empowerment digital journal a picture a day keeps the pounds and the inches away...



and last night I went out with my dress and shoes and wet head looking like this...


and my DH just snapped my pic while I waited for his cellphone wallpaper ... he is just goofy like that LOL


Thanks for allowing me to share snippets from my journey.... have a happy weekend all!!! I am going to get some much needed rest vegging out today... there is fish on the grill and grilled veggies for eatables and Zumba tomorrow ... today I am resting my dawgs and relaxing with my palette and canvas ...

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY EVERYONE!!!

DECISIONS.... DECISIONS....

Do the shoes match? lighter hair? darker hair? decisions... decisions... decisions

Asking your opinion while sharing snippets of my journey today celebrating that it is FRIDAY!!! YAY...

I woke up wayyyyyyy too early ... got knocked out by the Flexeril I had for my aches and pains following my bad fall last week due to hit and run by guy on bike and woke up with a yucky hangover feeling ... I hate taking certain meds for the same reason ... but but but ... IT IS FRIDAY ... YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY AND MONDAY IS A HOLIDAY .... YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY AND I AM NOT ON CALL YAYYYYYYYY YAYYYYYYYYYYY YAYYYYYYYYYY...

But back to the purpose of my thread... yikes my wandering mind bare with me I am an old fart after all ....

Later tonight we are going out with our friends from our oldies group (DH and I belong to a club Oldies Keeping the Flame Going)... Our club is a group of old farts like myself and some older and others much younger who have joined in the fun ... we decided to keep the flame of love going in our marriages/relationships/partnerships and once or twice a month we dress to impress and go to a gala event ... whether at a charity or at the Schubert or the theater or a fundraiser followed by an awesome dinner/dance we all look forward to our dance/party/dinner meetings...

This is the dress and shoes that I want to wear ... I really want to wear those bad boys ...they are tall and light like a feather the color is the same as the fabric of the dress and the texture too ... but the beads and that bow seem to clash ...

Your opinion please: do these shoes color-wise work with this dress?


Last night friends said it would be good to see pics of me in the dress I plan so far on wearing tonight unless I change my mind ... and you know me for the picture AW that I am ... so why not? I love taking a picture a day anyway .. it keeps the pounds and the inches away ... and I love rocking clothes ..I did it at my heaviest weight oh yeah I loved to rock my hair and plus sizes just as much or more than I do now...

So I got the dress on and now I have the hair thang kicking in LOL.. so I started wondering light hair/darker hair with highlights ... longer hair vs. medium length hair ...vs naturally short nope ... that is out.. because I am going swimming after work and I cannot afford the time it takes to dry straighten or mousse my natural short mane ....
Decisions decisions... in the life of an old fool... but I am enjoying every little moment of it ... after all I have today ... because I know tomorrow is not promised ... hey .. I had a very close call last Friday, remember??? hit and run in the crosswalk by a biker? jeez Louise that was a close call...

Me in the dress and shoes ... with lighter hair...


With darker hair with light highlights...


closeup of darker do .. I think I am going with this...



... ooops it started getting late...no more farting around ... I grabbed a short bolero khaki jacket to throw over this and headed out the door... it is Friday YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ... looking forward to a long weekend....


I wore this dress way back at my lowest weight in August of 2008 ... and rocking it for the same fit today... YIKES check my arms out ...that was prior to my modified brachioplasty...


I am maintaining for Life ... my life post WLS rocks ... it rocked before too except for the struggle with 5 co-morbidities and impaired mobility that I happily live without today ....With health and mobility I don't ever plan on going back ...that is my reality .,. my tool is as real as my husband's transplanted kidney ... to take care of for life!!!

This is my empowerment collage today ... I am living life to the fullest and enjoying every minute of the day ... the good/the bad and the ugly all combined to make a stronger me....


I copied this off of a friend's FB page and I love it...


HAPPY FRIDAY TO EVERYONE!! IF YOU ARE A KICKASS WOMAN FEEL FREE TO GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE BACK!!!

Thanks for allowing me to share snippets of my journey ... and for asking your opinion on my hair/shoe dilemma .... all done in fun and love...