Californi-beautifi-CATION! and some other exciting info

Life has been pretty good these days. I have made it to the gym at least once a week which, after all of the health issues, and car issues, and kid issues, and marriage issues, and work issues that have been going on... that is an accomplishment! Another accomplishment is this right here:
That's right... that is a 3 you see. 139. WOW I finally broke into the 130's! This is beyond exciting for me, as I have been stuck in the 140s for months now and I have definitely shrunk (hello size 4 jeans!) but the scale was flip flopping around 141 for awhile. When I saw the 139 I was THRILLED! Plus I had sort of accepted 140 as being a successful loss number and although I have been trying to lose more weight, my doctor was spot on at the difficulty of losing weight when you are already at your healthy weight.

Something I realized the other day is that although I talk about my work in bits and pieces I have never really delved deeper into what it is I do. I am in sales for an event rental company. Meaning: If you are having a party at a venue that is literally just a place, you would call me for tables, chairs, linens, pipe & drape, etc. OR if you are a wedding planner who has a client needing any of those items, you call me. I make site visits, do tours with clients, play "wedding" in our showroom, and also attend many "networking events" which I will get into in a moment.

My work history is comprised of planning events at a world renowned golf course (no lie... Tiger played there multiple times ; )) and also planning them for a couple of hotels in the Bay Area. Those jobs were fine, but my job now is comparable in pay, and provides me with amazing flexibility. Basically, so long as I am getting my work done, my boss is pretty lenient. And the same goes for attire. Most days I wear a dressed up version of jeans and a sweater, and that seems to suffice. But I don't exactly show up ready to go looks wise :) In fact, I am surprised my boss hasn't asked what happened a couple of these days :P

But again, lucky me, the way that the office runs, and is set up, we have a private ladies room, with a lovely outlet, and a little cabinet with a drawer reserved for my curling iron, hairspray, and whatever else I choose to store in it :P And myself, and my cowoker Kelly are famous for taking 5-10 minutes to curl our hair....generally around the 10 o'clock hour! haha. So here is a little photo-synopsis of how I look in the morning and what I end up looking like!
hair is up to start, wild when combed out, and then wayyyyy crazy curly sue when done.

So I exit the bathroom looking like Shirley Temple but due to my lovely hair that barely holds anything, it falls out in about 15 minutes and sort of looks like this. I attempted to take this picture like 5 times because I didn't like my hair in it, so here it is down.... and here it is half up. Either way you get the general idea of what it is supposed to look like.

Now there are also events that I attend in the evenings that encourage me to actually dress cute. And perhaps part of the reason I love fall so much is a) the multitude of events peaks in the fall because that is when weather is best around here b) I may or may not have a slight obsession with knee-high boots that I can now wear and zip over my calves with no problems! and/or c) I love the holidays and Fall is the ramp for all of the good ones! Either way I have been dressing cute this week and forcing Kelly to document my clothing choices before I leave for these said "networking" events!

See, here I am yesterday! Love the dress (which I might add someone asked me if it was Missoni.... sorry, $6.99 Ross clearance find, but THANKS!!! lol), and love my new "suede" boots from Old Navy of all places. Love wearing tights w/boots, love wearing fun jewelry, love having my hair look presentable in a photo, goodness gracious! Yesterday was a good fashion day! And that's just another bonus of my surgery.... I can finally wear what I want and have it look cute, and get compliments on my outfits. IT FEELS GREAT! I am not going to lie! I posted this photo on facebook yesterday because again, I love it, and I got over 10 responses. I figured a few girlfriends would like my dress, but was shocked at how kind people were. I felt special :)

A comment that kept coming up was how "skinny" I am. And I know that in the grand scheme, I am skinny compared to the old me, but when I look at this picture, I don't see "skinny", I just see "normal". I wonder what I would have thought a year ago if a friend of mine posted this.... would I just say "skinny" in relation to how they normally or used to look, or would I say "skinny" as in, this person is a thin person? I am not sure. But on the skinny topic, seeing people's faces when I tell them "yeah I have lost 105lbs"..... it's priceless!

So back to these events I am going to, because not only do I feel compelled to get all gussied up, but the extent to which people go for marketing their venues is amazing. Last night was absolutely spectacular, at a venue in San Francisco that ironically I used to go to for my family's company Christmas dinners. Well, the city has revamped it and last night they truly decorated/catered/lit/fed/entertained to the best of their ability! They had 5-6 different caterers, 5 bars, a cigar bar, live latin music, 3 DJs..... incredible! Here is a link to the photos of the event if you are curious: ok just kidding the photographer seems to have yanked the collection (maybe he is adding more?) so I will update this post when he fixes his site. But basically picture a gorgeous historical building redone with a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay. Yup, I am so glad I was invited to that one!

Tonight I am headed to the W hotel.... slight twist of scenery but hopefully something fabulous will happen and I might just have to blog about it ; )

Through the Looking Glass

***I have tried to edit the spacing on this like 10x and it is not cooperating so I apologize for the big gaps :(

I know, I know...another post already?! Well I got such a nice comment from the last one that it has inspired/encouraged me to be more regular with my posting. So :P Another thing that happened based on the comment was that I went back and re-read my posts from back in December of last year all the way until recently.

To be honest, my first thought was "wow, I was pretty depressed". I mean, 80% of my posts before, during, and right after surgery were complaining about one thing or another. And while I find that disturbing, it also reinforces my relief/gratitute/and or joy for having had this surgery.

I have truly come a long way from where I was this time last year, both physically and mentally. I feel like I am able to deal with personal issues better (I didn't say "well" I said "BETTER" for those of you who know my troubles). And I am amazed daily by how my physical appearance has changed so drastically.

I have an iPhone that I love dearly. And one of the main reasons that I love it so, is that it takes both videos and photos. I have photos from so many occasions where I "forgot my camera" and I am very grateful for the memories! BUT because I like using it for these two things so very much (along with Facebook... oh geez!) it has been running really slow lately and the only thing I can think of is that I must have too much stuff on it. So, last night on the ride home from the city I decided to start at the beginning of my 1600+ photos and videos and start deleting ones that I didn't need/want to keep. Let's just say the experience was interesting!

I swear every single time I find an old picture of myself pre-surgery that I had forgotten about, I am shocked at how big I was. It is very easy to forget the "old" me. These pictures were taken July 4, 2010. And the one on the left, I thought that was a "good" picture of me. Perhaps because Aidan's leg somewhat cuts off about 1/3 of my body? But oh wait... it reappears on the other side of her. Oy vey! And then the one with both kids, there are no words.... I was just big. And the one thing I ALWAYS think with these pictures is: I look so bloated! Like someone took a hose and inflated me! Nope.... I ate away my stress and unhappiness and in the process ballooned. Again, SO GRATEFUL for this surgery!

Interestingly enough there are days where I fall back into old habits (like inhaling chocolate halloween candies like they are going to disappear) and then days like today, where I am right on track for a good day of food consumption.

I like to start my day with a starbucks non-fat latte, which doesn't help my bank account but it does start my day with a little protein from the milk. And lunch really varies depending on if I have a meeting with a client for lunch, or if I bring it, or if I walk across the way to Mr. Teriyaki (YUM) and enjoy their lunch bento box. I always get the same thing: miso soup, salad, rice (which I pick at, but really don't eat much of), and then double sashimi (salmon usually). The lady who works there knows it's me on the phone as soon as I say "double sashimi". What can I say other than if I eat a regular piece of sushi too fast it comes right back up, so I try not to risk that.
When I bring lunch from home it is generally similar to this. This is about 1/4 a yellow bellpepper, 1/3 a cucumber, and 1 chicken tender, all diced and tossed with lite balsamic vinaigrette. The tender is not the kind from a fast food restaurant, it is the kind you buy at the grocery store and cook yourself :P

I like to eat lunch at my desk because in between bites I can stop and type, look on the net, etc, and let my food settle. Basically it forces me to TAKE MY TIME. And let's just say that trying to eat this during a meal time at a table with nothing else to do... I would stuff myself with about half and be ready to get sick. To this day, I find it hard to slow down and eat and chew and relax. And sometimes I pay the price by praising the porcelain gods. Trying to get better abotu this!

The most important thing I would like to point out is that this meal is essentially perfect (minus the .0000048765847654 tblsp of breadcrumbs on the chicken) because it is a lean protein and fresh veggies. In the past this would have definitely been a "snack" lunch.... I would have been STARVING afterwards. Now I can eat this and be totally satisfied. I still have about half left right now and am starting to feel full which is a sign I should probably be saving the remainder for later on. It just amazes me how different life is now.

Another thing that amazes me is how time just flies on by. While life is happening, it feels so slow, yet you blink and all of the sudden years have passed! Yesterday Aidan turned 4. I cannot believe how much she has grown and matured. She is such a little lady now! She went through a tough patch around the wedding but since then has improved her attitude 99% and is so indredibly smart and beautiful. She reminds me of myself! :P Just kidding... sort of! I was very similar to Aidan personality wise as a child.... I thought I was 4 going on 25, and that definitely described my daugher also! In addition she adores reading, art, and all things girlie. Oh and she has a sassy little mouth that a) you want to wash out from times but b) reminds you of just how intelligent she is so it's hard to stay mad for long! I always wanted a daughter and was thrilled when I found out she was a girl. I am so blessed to have such a special girl as my said wanted daugher! This post made me take a walk down memory lane. Aidan went from a little baldie to a little blondie and just gets more and more beautiful.

age 1age2age 3age4

And a picture of mama & the big 4 year old with our adorable piggy cupcakes that she made to bring to school!

Amazing how she has changed and how I have changed. When she turned 1, I had just discovered that I was pregnant with Benjamin. When she turned 3 I was nearly at my heaviest weight ( my surgiversary is Dec 28). And now we are both doing awesome! Hoping the piggy cupcakes were a hit at school today!

Somewhere over the Rainbow...

Today I woke up to a very chilly morning! The Bay Area is famous for Indian Summers and we had gotten quite a bit of October sunshine, but yesterday mother nature decided that we needed to be shocked back into reality! We went from 70ish degrees down to the 50s! And this morning when I left for work, the car registered the temperature at 41 degrees! Oh my goodness that is COLD! This California girl prefers the lows in the 50s and the highs in the 70s and 80s thank you very much!

But, the great thing about living by the water is that my commute takes me over a bridge that gives a tranquil view every day. Even when there is traffic, for some reason the San Mateo Bridge is calming to me... perhaps it is that I love the peninsula? Who knows! Either way, imagine by joy when I saw a rainbow on my way to work today! Seeing it reminded me of all of the successes that I have experienced recently and the fact that even when times are tough, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, or in this case a pot of gold at the base of my rainbow!

As of last night.... the pot of gold was this:
I went to Old Navy because I had gotten an email that you get an additional 30% off your entire purchase. Well, you know me and my crazy shopping deals, particularly at Old Navy! I am famous for finding stuff for $5 and under and then to get an additional 30% off... sign me up! I have quite an extensive "new me" wardrobe with a total cost of.... not that much really! I don't know an exact figure but let's just say that I am very cheap when it comes to what I will pay for clothing.

One thing that I have made it a point to do though, is buy a pair of pants 1 size lower than my current size to have as a "goal" pair. I am a size 6 currently so I grabbed a 4 without trying them on and bought them as my "goal jeans".

When I got home, I pulled them out of the bag and it occured to me that they looked pretty big for a 4. I mean... what is the difference between a 4 and a 6? I think it is just an inch, right? I don't know, but they looked like they might fit me. AND THEY DID! I can't believe it. I honestly NEVER thought I would be a size 4. Size 6 had always been my dream size so to exceed that goal... incredible.

Now something I would like to also mention is that as a big girl, absolutely no store "runs big" in size. That is solely a skinny person issue. Well, I can honestly say that I do think Old Navy clothes "run big" because I am pretty sure that I am not a size 4 anywhere else. But hey... I'll take it! Plus I am the kind of girl who cannot stand loose/droopy pants. I just won't wear them. So when I showed Roger my success and he said "Are they supposed to be that tight?" I had to laugh. Yes Roger, women's jeans these days are tight fitting. These ones have a little bit of stretch but not *that much, which makes them perfect in my book! And I bought short so that I can wear them with flats to work.

Here is me, enjoying my success by wearing the size 4s the very next day (today!).


Kelly, my coworker with the awesome iphone (mine is a 3Gs so it takes good pictures, but not like her 4!) is 6ft tall, so I made her retake the one of me from behind (directions : "can you hold it to my height so it looks normal") for accuracy.

And the reason is this:
I may fit into a size 4 but seeing as they were "goal" jeans, you can see my rolls over the sides. Normally I would not be ok with this but I am getting to the point where I simply cannot prevent this. It is skin. Not really fat, just the loose yucky skin that should be removed when I can save up thousands for a tummy tuck :) I am proud to say that my butt and legs do not look sausage like (another pitfall of too tight pants) so I am pretty sure that indeed these pants fit well :) In about 10lbs they will fit perfectly, but I'll take "well"! haha And excuse my running shoes but I couldn't find my "snazzy" sneakers....thinking they are lost in my trunk somewhere.

Any way, it's friday, the day started with a rainbow, I have to run a work errand to Costco (can you say "free sample as lunch"?! (and for a VSG patient, seriously there is more than enough food from the samples to eat as a true lunch!)), I am wearing size 4 pants, the boss is out today, and although it is absolutely freezing out, the sun is shining. Life is good!

There's no tricking the treating!

Whew! What a busy weekend/Halloween! I was so exhausted last night after trick or treating that I slept like a rock.... that was a welcome night of rest!


But all I could think about this morning was "oh no... how much have I gained?". I don't normally eat candy anymore. Yes, I will occasionally indulge (or is it endulge?) in ice cream or it's its (hey, the factory is around the corner from my office!) or a bite of something sweet, but very rarely do I binge on straight candy. But in the past week or so I have not only been going nutty with Halloween candy, I have been eating cookies, cake, you name it. I have been doing everything that I KNOW I shouldn't be. And I am paying the price. I woke up this mornign and the scale said 143.2. And that was with ZERO clothes on. Ugh.


I really need to sit down and think about WHY I still feel the need to gorge on sweets. I know they are not good for me. I know that I have come so far with my surgery results. I know that 2 pounds are MUCH harder to lose than to gain. And yet I will say yes to a cookie or candy repeatedly. And I also noticed myself "sneaking" food. It is as if I am afraid Roger will say something or judge me if he sees me eating certain foods that I KNOW I shouldn't eat. :( As I mentioned before... the old habits are truly returning and I need to recognize them and get my butt back on track.


One of my biggest pitfalls pre-surgery was the complain that I just "don't have time" to exercise. I have learned that this is truly an excuse because when I go on exercise binges, I know that I can get up at nearly regular time, get to the gym, get a workout and shower in and STILL get to work on time! Whew! But with the time change and it not getting light until almost 8am, the idea of getting up in the darkness holds less and less appeal. But ya know, gaining my weight back doesn't sound so fun either.


I am learning that the maintenance phase is scarier than loss. I am so paranoid about gaining my weight back. Everyone who has is the first to admit that they didn't think it would happen to them. That they didn't want to waste an incredible opportunity. Well, I am definitely one of those people. I can say with 100% clarity that life as a thin person is 10000000x better than life as a heavy person both physically (more energy, more mobility, etc) and emotionally (higher self esteem, much happier!). So now that I finally have a taste of success and happiness with my body as an adult, I DO NOT want to go back to the old me. I cannot imagine being 100lbs heavier than I am now.


BUT on the other hand when I think about my second goal of 125lbs, I think I will never ever get there. My doctor warned me that it would be difficult, but geez.... I didn't realize the mental roadblocks that would slow down my weightloss... I was simply focusing on the physical.

I am resolving that November is going to be a month of success! I promise myself that I will not necessarily lose a certain number of pounds (although that would be very nice!) but I will commit to going back "on plan" meaning high protein, low carb, NO CANDY, and trying my very best to consume way more water. That is one thing that changed so much since surgery... I used to love drinking water. Now I find it extremely difficult.

Wish me luck! And sorry there weren't pictures in this. Oh wait, let me add one for good luck!

Upon Special Request

Let me preface this post with the fact that I wanted to spruce up my iphone pictures so I figured Picnik would be a good idea..... yeah. It was fun... a little too fun! So please excuse my creative editing :) But at least they are interesting! haha.

I got a text today from someone asking how my weightloss is coming along. On the scale, it is still somewhat slow moving. I am at the point now to where I really need to be consistently working out and watching what I eat. With everything going on in my personal life, the last thing I have been wanting to do is work out. But I am proud to say that at least I have maintained my weightloss and even dropped a few more pounds... but I have not lost the 10 that I was hoping for. Cest la vie I guess.

BUT the good news is that bodies like to take weightloss breaks and in the process re-figure themselves in more compact shapes! So, although I haven't lost much in the numbers department I have shrunk some. So much so that numerous coworkers have commented (i.e. my boss "I wanna go on whatever diet she is on! she just keeps shrinking!") and even my mother greeted me with "Hello Skinny!" on Sunday when she saw me.

I can finally say that I reached my goal of a size 6! Woohoo! Funny thing though about this weightloss business.... I am never satisfied. I hit my target weight of 145... that isn't good enough. I want to be 125. I swore if I ever got down to a 6 I would have a party and shout it from the rooftops.... yeah not so much. Now I am shooting for a 4. Wow, I wonder if I could ever be a 4. Or even a 4-6 range... just to be able to say it. You know how us women are, never satisfied!
BUT, being heavy the majority of my adulthood, I had a non-scale victory the other day that I was so excited about I had to photograph. Remember me and my jeans tucked into boots? Well that ensemble has been recreated numerous times and I even invested in another nice pair of skinny jeans.... so take a look to your left and notice.... YOU CAN SEE BETWEEN MY THIGHS!!!! Yup, that's right, me standing in a normal position and my thighs don't touch. They still touch up top, but omg you can see through my legs!!!!! I honestly did not ever think that would happen.

***File that under Roger's list of "things skinny people never even think about so it is funny to hear Alexis talk about it".... that list also includes feeling your clavicle, your breastbone, your hip bones, your knee caps, tying your shoes directly upright as opposed to sideways like a pregnant woman... the list goes on and on :P


So after I took the picture from the front I decided to follow up with a side view. I have been noticing my booty is small now. Weird. AND I wear belts a lot now.... now that I can actually reach one around myself :)


So, recently I got the entire wedding clip video from our videographer Josh. Ironic timing, but it was neat to watch nonetheless. But something interesting that has been said probably by about 10 different people is "You have lost a LOT of weight since the wedding". And yeah I have probably lost about 25 lbs... but for whatever reason that 25lbs has equated to 2 dress sizes or so. To your right is a professional picture from the wedding (Y studio photography) edited by me and picnik :P But really I think I look good in the picture... and looking at 99% of the wedding pictures, I am happy with my figure. I certainly was not feeling ugly or fat the day of my wedding. I felt like a princess! So it is just weird to have a bunch of people recognize that I am a lot skinnier now. To be honest I kinda want to go wedding dress shopping just to see what size I would be in those tiny samples! haha At the end of the day though I am just so grateful for my surgery and how much confidence and pride it has given me. Really, a whole new lease on life!

Other than trying to get in protein, drink more water, and exercise on a regular basis, I am just in maintenance mode. I need to be in loss mode but I will take a pound here or there for now. There is really so much going on personally that I feel like worrying about my weight is pretty trivial. I am lucky to be alive and healthy and have a job and roof over my head. Oh and those 2 little kiddos of mine... those two have really made me a proud mom these days. They both are so resilient and so loving. It is nice to have a ray of sunshine around.... well 2 of them actually! :)

I'd like to thank the Academy...

When I blog, I see it as a chance to just get out what is brewing in my mind. Little things happen on a day to day basis, and I think to myself "I should totally blog about that". So sometimes I grab my phone and take pictures for the specific reason of blogging.... others I go back and realize that they pertain to what I am thinking about. But the weird thing about blogging is that although it is a personal reflection of my life, I know that people can and will read it.

I absolutely LOVE feedback. Of course it is nice to hear all of the "great job"s and "amazing!" but when someone takes the time to truly recognize what I have been going through and make a connection with me, it means a lot.

I posted my Goal Post a few days ago along with pictures, and I shared the link on my Vertical Sleeve message boards, http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/ . A few of the posters on that board also have blogs, and one of them was kind enough to nominate me for a blog award. I am not really sure what that means, other than someone is actually reading what I write, but I have to say I feel special!

So here is the rundown on the award that she nominated me for:

About the award:The Liebster Blog Award is designed to bring additional recognition to those bloggers with less than 200 followers. If you receive the award, you should link back to the blogger that nominated you and nominate five more blogs.

So thank you to Sheila at http://thisonebody.blogspot.com for nominating me! I will have to think about which 5 I should nominate to pass on the good juju.

And on to other news: I have not lost more weight. Perhaps because I have not been doing what I need to do to lose weight. This week has been very challenging and I am SO ready for it to be over! I feel like the cold, rainy weather contributed to the general "blah" feeling. But today I woke up and the sun was shining, traffic was light, and despite being broker than broke, i was able to scrounge up enough pennies to get Starbucks. Life is good!

Wish me luck that next week I can start fresh and get back on the gym going bandwagon. It feels so good when I do go.... it just sucks to get there!

The Day has Dawned

A lot has been going on around here lately and I realized that in the midst of it all I haven't made a blog post to reflect the challenges life has brought my way. Instead of dwelling over the negatives (trust me I do enough of that on my own), I am making myself post about the one shining star hovering over it all.
I woke up Saturday morning and saw this:

I know what you are thinking: the clouds parted, the angels started singing.... yeah I know, you can see it now! But no, it was just me and my bathroom scale standing there in disbelief. I ran to get my phone to take a picture and said a silent prayer that when I got on there again the number didn't change.... that has been known to happen. But alas, I got back on and it was the magical goal number: 145lbs. Exactly 100 lbs lower than when I started my weightloss journey.

I had always joked that when I reached my goal weight I would throw a party to celebrate. We are broke, and my audience was my husband and children so we did the next best thing....

We took the kids to 7-11 and got donuts! The "old" me would have had a donut as well, but the new, skinny, 145 lb me declined the offer. Pat on the back for that one! But the kids thoroughly enjoyed their celebration treat as well as an early morning walk in the wagon (we live less than .5 mile from a 7-11 which is mighty convenient during times like this!).

Also, I thought I would cry when I saw the scale, but I didn't. I just kind of stared in disbelief and casually mentioned to Roger "Oh, I am 145 today" and he responded "Wow, that's really good". I don't know if he necessarily realized that 145 was my goal weight, he just new it was a lot of weight lost in the grand scheme of things.

So you might be wondering how I finally hit goal.... and the answer is simple. Exercise and drugs. Seriously. Once I hit 150 lbs losing weight became extremely difficult. My body has been toying with the last 5 lbs for over a month and I knew that I needed to pump up the volume if I had any hope of reaching my old goal (145), let alone my new reach goal of 125 pounds.

I have been going to the gym 3-5 times a week, sometimes more. I will do Zumba, or go on the treadmill, and I try to lift weights every other day as well as do strength training exercises. I never thought I would be a morning exerciser but with kids it is pretty much my only option. It feels great though to consistently work out!

I also scheduled an appointment with my doctor to check in on my progress. The day I went into his office I weighed 147lbs. Not bad. He asked how I was doing and what my next steps were. And I flat out asked him for prescription drugs. Right before my wedding, when he told me that if I wanted to ever reach goal I needed to buckle down, he kindly prescribed phentermine for me. IT WORKED. It worked well to say the least. And after I explained that 1 more month of it, combined with my new improved attitude about exercise would most likely break my stall, he happily agreed.

I know what you are thinking : she cheated. And ok, depending on your viewpoint, maybe I have. But the reason that I wanted to mention it is because a)I am not ashamed and b) I think it is important to record in how I have lost the weight in this time period. And despite medical intervention, I have also been watching what I eat, trying to consume as much protein as possible, and exercising like crazy. So it is an addition, rather than the end all be all for weightloss.

Today I was on Facebook (shocker) and saw that a family member had posted pictures from a barbeque in 2010. I was flipping through them thinking "oh geez, wait til I see myself in these"... little did I know. This is what I saw:

Yup, that's me in the white! Holy crap, right?! I seriously cannot believe I looked like that. And looked like that for a few years to boot! And to top it off, that wasn't me at my heaviest, which I know because I recognize the jeans in the picture. They are a size 16. I ended up an 18/20 before surgery! Oh and those little cuties are my kiddos.... they are much bigger now!

So, you might be wondering what "goal" looks like.....

It looks like that snazzy girl to the right! Up, that's me the day before I hit my goal weight! I am in skinny jeans (never thought they looked good on me), tucked into boots. My calves have always been SUPER wide, so imagine the size of them 100 lbs heavier.... this fashion statement was simply not possible! But alas, my dream of wearing jeans tucked into boots has come true, and let me tell you, I have a black pair and a brown pair and I am wearing the heck out of both of them!!! Also, I was indeed wearing a sweater for this outfit, but I wanted to show off my arms... I am in the process of "sculpting" them at the gym :P

The last thing I want to mention in this celebration post is that one of my dear friends from grade school got married this past weekend! She looked AMAZING, and it was so nice to attend an event, see people I hadn't seen in years, and not be self conscious about my weight. Most of the people I know have not gained much since high school and still look fabulous. So last summer, when I attended a mutual friends' wedding it sucked to feel like the "fattie". And when I saw the pictures I was horrified. Well, some of the same attendees were at this wedding, and someone's mom walked by my, touched my arm and said "you look amazing". I thought that was pretty darn kind of her to do.

I've lost a 6th grader from my body, but I have gained a whole new outlook on life! I'd say that's a fair trade :)