VENI, VEDI, VISA

I came, I saw, I did a little shopping.....

I went on a girl date with myself yesterday. I have business travel starting next week and lasting for a couple of weeks. After that I have a trip to my parents and then two (yes, two) real vacations; the one in August involves both a family reunion and a high school mini reunion.

And of course, most of my clothes don't fit me and have already been given away. I am existing by recycling the same capris and skirts every other day but even they are getting loose. I will actually need two sets of clothes:  some that fit now and some that will fit in two months as I continue to lose weight. I don't want to wait until August to look, because by then the racks will be totally picked over - so I need to guess what size I'll be in August! Such a dilemma. Add to that the fact that I need three categories of clothes:  dressy, business casual, and very casual, and it becomes pretty daunting.

Well yesterday I decided to tackle some of it. First stop was Dress Barn. What a blast! (No, really!) I tried on a gazillion dresses and skirts, different lengths and styles and even different sizes. Some that fit now and some a size 18 knowing that in 2 months they'll fit just fine even if they are too tight today.



There's so much to say about this whole experience it's hard to distill it down, but I'll try:

Femininity

When I am gaining weight, I feel I am losing femininity. One can argue with me until the end of time that weight does not create masculinity and I will tell you that, for me, it is just my reality. I equate large with masculine. Dresses and skirts didn't even feel remotely pretty on me at my larger sizes. I didn't wear flowery things. I wore khakis and capris and t-shirts and could not stand to look in a mirror. I didn't wear makeup. I didn't "fix" my hair. I didn't wear jewelry  I hated the way I looked and no part of me felt "girly." I felt very unpretty.

That's all changing, and rapidly. I enjoy fixing my hair, picking out makeup, and trying on girly clothes! The flowers, the bright colors, the skirts and dresses. My coworkers can tell you I went from never wearing dresses/skirts to wearing them all the time now. I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN. Oh, I am a woman. But I kind of like acting like it nowadays!

Accessorizing

I didn't even use that word before. In December last year, as is our tradition, my friend Chrissy took my son out shopping for me for Christmas. I asked her to please find me a top or two and to accessorize it for me since I would have no clue what to wear with anything if it didn't come with the outfit.

Well, after trying on all those dresses at Dress Barn I realized I don't have the right shoes for the outfits. On a whim, I stopped at the Super Goodwill to see what they might have (for clothes and accessories). A friend suggested I try getting clothes there or at Salvation Army since I keep losing weight so fast - it would save me tons 'o money.

Well, I found a pair of shoes or seven!




Goodwill

My new most favorite place to shop. OMG. I bought 7 pairs of like-new shoes, 5 tops, 1 pair of shorts and 1 pair of capris. The grand total?  $54.00!!!!


If you are losing weight and going through sizes rapidly...shop at Goodwill or Salvation Army! They had everything from skirts and dresses to jeans (great name brands, too!) I will most definitely go back there as I continue to shrink. And I just may shop there even after I reach my final goal weight. Heck, why spend $50.00 on jeans when I can buy the exact same thing for $5.00? Holy cow what a discovery!!!!

Wrap Up

Shopping can be fun! Now that I have all those amazing girly shoes, I will need outfits to go with them. And once I have outfits to go with them, I will need to find places to go to actually wear them! And that's EXCITING! I think I'm ready for that. It's taken a lot of years of hard work to get to this point. I'm pretty happy to have lived long enough to see it all coming together like this...because just a year and a half ago, between the smoking and the obesity, I didn't think I'd live more than a couple of more years.

Amazing what hope can do. Never let go of your dreams. One day you'll find a way to make them happen.

♥♥♥

P.S.  I only bought three things at Dress Barn: that khaki skirt and a top, and one summer dress that I didn't show a picture of...it's too tight right now, but by August it will be just right. I'll show it then!

P.P.S.  I do need one more dress for this upcoming trip...would you pick any of the ones I showed up there? Cast your vote! lol