So close!!! Only .8 to go to goal!!!

It's an Easter miracle!! This morning the scale moved down 2/10ths of a pound! Normally, I only get a little excited about a loss that small . . . but today. . TODAY!!! That loss means that the first three numbers on my scale are my goal weight number!!! WOOOOOOO-HOOOOO!!!! I am so excited!!

Me, taken yesterday by my lovely mother

My mother is in town right now for Easter, and we've been having a fantastic time! Yesterday, we went into a chic boutique in the West Village. . . and I saw a gorgeous green dress on the 50% off rack. It was calling to me. . . but then, I saw that it was an 8. A boutique 8. . and they didn't have it in a 10. My mother and the salesgirl encouraged me to try it anyway, and it fit!! Will post a photo soon!

Mom & me, having lunch in Soho yesterday.

As some of you may know, my mother is an avid follower of many bandster blogs. She posts as "Kathy," so you might not have made the connection if you have seen her comment on your blog. Among her favorites (to name only two of many) are Cara's and Roo's blogs. AND, I wanted to let Roo and Cara know that my mother is planning to be in Dubai later this year -- and hopefully Australia the next -- and that she would absolutely love to meet you both if you happen to be free for lunch when she is in your neck of the woods!

I also want to thank the lovely Camille and Roo for nominating me for The Stiletto Award! I am honored to be in such good company with your other nominees!

I am also delinquent in thanking Cara, Manda, Gilly and Beth for their very kind nomination of me for the Sunshine Blogger Award! I love all of you girls and really enjoy reading your blogs. It is so great to see all of the progress we are all making, and to know that we are all in this together! xoxoxo

One last thought I wanted to share with you today is that I'm actually going to go for my aspirational goal of 10 pounds less than my current one. A few people have posted to say that they hope I won't stop blogging (like some of our old timer favorites) when I get to goal. So, at my current rate of 2 pounds a month, that guarantees at least another 5 months! And I don't plan to stop after I get there.

Have a wonderful Sunday!! :)

The Sisterhood Strikes Again. . . With Closet Shopping!

Yana & me at my apartment last night!

Yana has a few events coming up, so I suggested that she come by to try on a few of the nice dresses that I have from before my surgery. Other than those few really special pieces and my two pairs of "before" pants (so I can play Jared from Subway!), I have pretty much gotten rid of every article of clothing I have that is in a size above 14. I should get rid of the 14s too. . but all things in due course.

There were two dresses I had in mind for Yana, and they both fit her really well and looked great!! So, I lent her both of them and will look forward to seeing photos of her enjoying wearing them! She really looked fantastic in both!

This is my favorite of the two dresses. . . I am wearing it at my friend Sharon's wedding in Italy in September 2007. The girls next to me are two of my best friends, L and Nadia.

The other dress has navy and white polkadots, and I bought it to wear to another friend's wedding in Italy . . this time in June of 2006 (doesn't anyone get married in the USA anymore?. . LOL). The men on either side of me are Scottish, and they are wearing kilts! Unfortunately for you, I didn't like how my body looked so. . . as per my usual old practice. . . I cropped liberally. Sorry ladies!! :)

And, for comparison's sake, here is me in the Karen Millen dress that I wore last weekend!

Saturday in Brooklyn

I was looking at some photos on FB this morning, saw someone's outfit, and had a revelation. . . I am going to buy some white pants this summer! I love how they look on other people, but I've always felt that darker colors were better for me because they hid my weight better. But now, I think they might actually look good. Definitely going to try some on when I start shopping for summer.

OK. . . so on to more interesting news. I haven't blogged about this, but after I called things off with C, we had a serious conversation, and he told me that he really wanted us to stay friends. This wasn't the usual "let's be friends" thing, he actually meant it and has been making an effort. In fact, if he'd put this much of an effort into it in the first place, I would have been much happier! So, about a month or so ago, he invited me to have dinner with him at an Indian place that I like, and we had a really good time -- great conversation. He treated me to the meal and even walked me home afterwards, which was very sweet.

At dinner, he said that he wanted to make plans to cook dinner for me at his place (which I actually had never seen -- he lives in Brooklyn). He followed up, but there wasn't a good day for us to do this before he left to go to South by Southwest in Austin and I headed to Houston. Anyway, he got in touch after he got back, and we made plans to have brunch out in Brooklyn yesterday.

Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope, Brooklyn (they have amazing coffee)

I met him at his apartment, which was nice to finally see, brought a bone for his ridiculously adorable dog, got the apartment tour, and then off we went to brunch at a very cute Latin American spot in Park Slope. We had a great time catching up (I went to college in Austin, so I was really interested to hear how he'd liked the town, what bands he had seen, etc.) and then we spent the afternoon walking around and going into all of these cute shops on Fifth Avenue. The weather was gorgeous, and we had a really fun time.

We also went to a really cool local beer shop where they have tons of varieties, and you can buy beers, really good cheeses and sandwiches and enjoy them on these long wooden tables that you share with other guests. We had a beer there, and C took this photo of me.

While there, we had a chat about this whole "friend" thing and how it's working out. Both of us agreed that it seems to be working out, but that it's a little tough because there is still a lot of chemistry and attraction there. And. . . cut to about 30 minutes later. . . when all that platonic resolve went right out the window. . . Oy! But I did have a pretty fantastic day. . .

Patent. . Prom!

Ever since a Google Alert outed me to a friend, I'm a little paranoid about actually mentioning the name of events that I attend! Hence the ". . . " in the title of this post!

This is an event that I attend every year. Basically, all of the attorneys in my field who are in or have contacts in NYC come out for this event each year. It's a big black tie event, and I generally run into a ton of people who I've gotten to know through the years.

My friends Kathryn and Monique.

At last year's event, I was already 34 pounds down and feeling much better than I had in recent years. This event was always a tough one for me because I'd have to run into people who knew me before I put on the bulk of my weight, and up until last year, I was progressively heavier every year. I put a story about that in a post about last year's event.

Why?! Why is this man not into women?! So handsome though. . :)

This year, things were so different. I feel just great about my weight right now (thank you God, band, boot camp, and so many more people and things!) and had that amazing Karen Millen dress to wear. I just felt great and was excited about seeing old friends and colleagues. The event was so much fun, we had a really great table at our dinner this year (since I put it together of clients and one of my partners who I really like), and it was really nice to hear all of the positive things that people who I hadn't seen for a while say. NSV!!

We joked that Kathryn was trying to see if I have a six pack (um, yeah, not quite there. .) but maybe she was trying to feel my port! LOL!

Hijinx in Houston!

Hi, everybody! I was in Houston for a long weekend and had a great time! I'd gone down to visit with family and friends and to see my best friend (Grace) & her husband's new house. Grace incentivized my trip by getting tickets to see Muse for us both, and her brother and sister-in-law (good friends of mine who you may remember from my 4th of July post) came down from Austin to go with us.

But first. . . we had some amazing TexMex. Honestly, I could put so much food porn up from my weekend, but I'll spare you most of it! I had forgotten how much better the TexMex is in Texas than it is here in NYC! It just does not compare!!

Ridiculously amazing mango margaritas and queso. . .

The concert was great. . Silversun Pickups opened, and were really good, and Muse had an amazing stage and put on a great performance. And, of course I got a kick out of having to wear a wrist band (we had floor "seats") that says "Entering Moshing Area Is At Your Own Risk" just a few months before my 40th b-day! :)

Here is Muse's set . . they came out on lifts in these skyscraper-like structures. Later in the concerts, the lifts went down to stage level. It really made for a cool presentation, and the music was great!

I also got to spend time with my dad and Margie (my step-mother), and we had a blast going out for margaritas and fajitas (yum yum!!) at one of my favorite spots in Houston. Funny thing. . my band seemed to have gotten tighter on the flight in, and it has stayed pretty tight since then. So, despite that I had plenty of TexMex and drinks during the visit, I wasn't actually able to eat all that much. The scale is actually still being friendly. As of this morning, it's only bounced 2/10ths of a pound above my lowest weight, which is a very small bounce and makes me optimistic that I may get that last pound off sooner than later!. . .Stay tuned!

Me, Margie & Dad having a really fun night out!

SEVENTY-FOUR!! It's a St. Patrick's Day miracle!!

I could hardly believe my eyes this morning!! The scale was at 74 down!!! This is particularly surprising because it's TOM, and I don't usually lose anything while that is going on. This means that I just have ONE POUND TO GOAL!! One measley little pound is all! I am only one pound overweight!!!

My BMI has gone from an unhealthy 37 to 25.2 . . . just .3 from my ideal range. I almost feel like I am dreaming because it is so amazing to me that I was able to take off virtually all of my extra weight. Wow. Looks like getting back on track with exercise last week and this week is doing the trick. I did 2 Boot Camps and yoga last week and have done yoga and one Boot Camp so far this week.

And, on another note, Happy St. Patrick's Day!! That warm embrace from my scale this morning may be the only kiss I get today, but that is OK with me!! :)

Sunday Vlog

I had a bit of trouble getting this file small enough to upload, but finally did it! Of course, nothing to be done about me cutting off my chin in half the video! :) By the way, here is a link to a great site with instructions about how to shrink video size using QuickTime Pro.

And. . . for all of my complaining, the scale was down another .2 this morning! I know it's only a fraction of a pound, but I'll take what I can get! I am now 2.8 pounds from my goal! (And 12.8 from my aspirational goal!) Woo-hoo!

What should you do when you finally get what you want? Everything!

A conversation that I had with Yana at brunch on Sunday really got me thinking. We were talking about events that we had sat out on in the past because of our weight. I was thinking of a day about two years ago when I was out on Shelter Island with PP and a few other (super athletic) friends, and everyone wanted to go kayaking. I didn't have anything appropriate to wear, and I was worried about being able to keep up with the ultra-fit, ultra-competitive crew. I felt really humiliated by this and felt just terrible. PP encouraged me to go, but I didn't want to be out there holding him back from enjoying it with his friends. So I decided to stay at the house by myself, supposedly reading my book, but really just feeling terrible about the whole thing.

Cut to today and I'm fit enough that I would go along without a second thought if that opportunity came up today. And I could wear my bathing suit and be decently comfortable (OK. . assuming it was still summer!) if I didn't have anything else packed that would work.

So. . that got me thinking. What ELSE is there that I was avoiding because of my weight and/or fitness level that I would enjoy doing now?! And, I made a list. I'm pretty sure that I've only scratched the surface in terms of ideas. . Also, I hope you guys will put your own "to do" lists in the comments. . am sure we will get great ideas from one another!!

To do (and not necessarily in this order):

1. The first photo above is an item on the list for sure. . . ziplining in Costa Rica!

2. Hike the Inca Trail and up Machu Pichu. It's a 4-day hike, with camping in tents at night -- and I am so up for that now! Not that I wouldn't rather stay at the St. Regis, but apparently there isn't one on the trail! LOL! :)


3. Go scuba diving in the Galapagos Islands (I'm advanced certified, and actually . . this was on my pre-weight loss list too!)

4. Get -- and actually wear in public -- a cute bikini (when I'm just a wee bit closer to my aspirational goal)

5. Enjoy shopping and trying things on (OK, I've been doing this, but I'm going to do it MORE!)

A photo from Agent Provocateur . . . not that I'm going to wear a big bow on my bottom. .

6. Buy loads of lovely lingerie (and hopefully have a nice boyfriend at some point soon to appreciate it. . !)

7. Run the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (5K) again this year

8. Try new workout activities and classes (because I know I'll be able to keep up and not embarrass myself!)

9. Enjoy being out and about in hot weather because I am going to be so much more comfortable!

10. Wear clothing that shows off the fruit of all this work with my band and at the gym (within the boundaries of good taste, of course!) instead of seeking to camoflage my body. And yes, that may mean. . more color. (But not too much. . I do live in NYC for goodness sakes!) :)

So, what about you? What are you going to do when weight no longer holds you back? :)

Fun With the NYC Bandster Crew!

I had such a great day today. I met up with some of my favorite NYC area bandsters for brunch this afternoon, and we had such a fantastic time! There is something so great about being able to talk "band" with other bandsters. We were talking a mile a minute, and I would have been happy to stay for a few more hours! We also were all cracking up because when we ordered guacamole for the table, the waiter recommended that we get a double portion. . . and we were all like . . um, a single is just fine! :) I don't think we even finished it!

After lunch, Tracy and I went dress shopping at Lord & Taylor (best dress selection in the city). I found two that I liked -- one from Elie Tahari, the other from Cynthia Steffe, but with yesterday's Karen Millen purchase, thought I should cool it! Tracy found a few really cute dresses, and wound up getting one of them for an upcoming event.

One of my favorite things about hitting the 70 pound mark is that I'm finally in a size 10 -- which means that -- for the first time in YEARS! -- I can shop basically anywhere. It's actually FUN again to try things on. I thought I had lost that enjoyment forever! I didn't realize that it was so tied to my weight. Well, it turns out that it was.
It is so great that I no longer have to kill time, feigning interest in shoes and accessories waiting for my friends while they try on cute clothing that I can not wear. That was a bit torturesome, and it just reinforced all of the negative feelings I had about my weight and how I'd let it get so out of control. Cut to the present, and I'm in there grabbing an armload of frocks to try on, and having fun!

The clothing thing is something I'd been looking forward to since I first wrote out my List of Pros & Cons when I was deciding whether to get banded. It's funny though -- I only mentioned it by listing "better clothes" among the pros. I was thinking about having a broader fashion parameter and being able to wear different styles. But I don't think I fully thought out all of the petty humiliations that go hand in hand with shopping for bigger sizes when you don't feel good about your appearance. Now though, bit by bit, I'm noticing that those things no longer apply. It's a very freeing, wonderful feeling to be liberated from this. I definitely count this as a big NSV.

Just a little comparison shot. . .

It's strange, but I keep forgetting that I was ever so big. And, while I don't enjoy seeing the photographic evidence, I think it's good for me to remember that I actually let myself get that way. It reinforces the correlation between what I eat, how much I work out, and my overall appearance. So, here are some pre-band photos of me at my friend Sharon's wedding in Tuscany in September of 2007, next to a photo of me out last night in my new Karen Millen dress.

Scar Attraction Revisited. . .

I bet at least a few people might be curious to see how surgery scars look 16 months post-op, so I'm going to bare my tummy for all to see. . yikes! Most of you will remember that my doctor (Dr. Rumbaut of Monterrey, Mexico) was able to do my surgery with only two incisions. There was a little incision, which you can see toward the top of the photo, and a larger one underneath.

(If you click on this photo, you can see a bigger version. . if you dare!)

Dr. Rumbaut helped coordinate my follow-up treatments with NYU, and I've been seeing Dr. Ren (who is fantastic). She told me that my lower scar is a bit "keloid" and that I may have been allergic to the sutures. So, that scar really hasn't faded as much as it should have by now. I'm not thrilled to have it, but it does so much less to hurt my appearance than the 72 pounds it helped me to take off that it's hard to care too much!

My port is just a bit above the big scar, and it's not visible at all. I can definitely feel it if I touch it, but C never seemed to notice it during the four or so months that I was seeing him. I asked one of my best friends about it a month or so ago (he's actually someone I dated for several years, long ago) and let him touch the port (I kind of like to freak out my closest non-bandster friends with this) . . he said that he would have definitely noticed it if he was in C's position.

By the way, does anyone else like to say "port" in a funny voice? It's one of those words like "laser" that just cries out to be pronounced in a weird futuristic voice! I'll do a demo in my next vlog. . I promise! :)

SEVENTY-TWO!! AND ABOUT TIME, TOO!!

SEVENTY-TWO!!! NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL ABOUT FREAKING TIME!

OK, so it took me one month and four days . . . and a bunch of complaining. . . but the scale is finally down another .4, making me officially 72 pounds down as of this morning. WOO-HOO!! My initial goal is now exactly 3 pounds away!

I know that I'll probably bounce around for another few weeks before I see 73, but I have to say that it felt so good today to finally see an new lowest weight number! Thank you, God!! :)

Boo! More Boing!

I'm getting a little tired of this boing-ing act that I have at my current weight. I keep going up and down in a range of 3 or so pounds, and I've been bouncing around right here for about a month, despite my recent fill. It's so annoying because I'm in one 10-pound range on the high point, and another one in the low, so the way I feel when I see the number really varies based on what follows the 1!

Anyway, I keep reminding myself that I am happy and feel good at this weight. And, it wasn't too long ago that I was just thrilled to be in Onederland! So, it's not exactly a hardship to be this close to my goal, and I do realize that. But I'm SO close to goal and it's taking so long to get there! (Not that I've been perfectly focused. . as my recent post reflects!) Unfortunately, I've had a twinge in my left knee this week, so I took off of boot camp and running to give it time to heal. So, I'm not expecting much downward movement on the scale this week.

Funny thing. . .yesterday I had lunch with a colleague, and as we were going to lunch, he said "I like walking around with you -- everyone checks you out!" I had not noticed that at all, but after he said that, some man ahead of us (who was too far to be expected to hold the door) stood at the door and held it until I got there and could go through. If not for that, I would have thought my colleague was just trying to butter me up! I have to admit, it was a nice feeling! Am counting this as an NSV! :)

Clarification of my last post

I thought I'd better clarify my last post, lest I leave anyone with the wrong impression! I am no angel! I do reasonably well on the food front the majority of the time, but I do allow myself to have treats, and I'm constantly going out to dinner and having good food.
Over the past 17 months, I've definitely had foie gras (it is one of my favorite things), ice cream, and even a few fries now and then. BUT, I have never had all of those splurge foods in ONE meal! That's what I was freaking out about last night. When I thought about what I'd had -- even though I only had a small amount of each thing -- I was like . . Wow. Why is it that I felt the need to do that??

My friend was really enthusiastic about dessert and I wouldn't have thought to get anything if she wasn't so in to it. But, just because she wanted dessert did not mean that I had to have any (or half of it vs. just a bite). No one was forcing me to have it.

For the last 24 days (since I hit 71.6 down on Feb. 1st), my scale has been bouncing around. Yesterday morning was the first time since February 1st that I saw the lowest number again, and I was really happy to see it. So, what do I do that night? Order something light and delicious so that I can creep a little closer toward my goal?? No. . I order three of the most fattening foods on the planet! OK, so the foie gras was a small appetizer and I shared the other two dishes. It wasn't that bad, and the scale is only up 1.6 pounds today -- not an unusual amount for a bounce.

It wasn't really the food thing that was so terrible -- but I think it's important for me to look at this and figure out why I ordered so outrageously last night, given that my goal is to get off these last 3.4 pounds (and maybe another 10 after that). It's fine and I'm not going to beat myself up over it. But I do want to think back on this the next time I'm thinking about ordering something fattening. I'm not saying I won't have it. . but I will at least try to make sure that whatever I have is more balanced.

SELF-SABOTAGE!!!!

Seriously?? At 3.4 pounds from goal, and I do something like this? Am I TRYING not to get there? WTF?!?

-

OK, so . . tonight, I went out to dinner with Marjorie. . and afterwards, we were seeing a friend's band play at a cool spot called Arlene's Grocery on the Lower East Side. We had dinner at (my choice) The Stanton Social, which is really a great spot. But I went a little crazy (in relative bandster terms) at dinner. I ordered the foie gras. . mind you, this is one of my favorite dishes, and it was two tiny pieces of seared foie gras on some risotto that was formed into a cracker shape. I only ate one of the risotto crackers. BUT, M and I also ordered the herbed fries and - - though it was a small plate (think small McD's fries) and we split it, that was a crazy accompaniment. And, after that, we shared the sundae. . which was peanut butter ice cream, with pieces of peanut butter brittle, drizzled with hot fudge. Seriously. This was the most fattening, most un-bandster-like meal I've had in 17 months. And, while I enjoyed it, I don't think it was worth all of the calories. Something for me to remember for next time. . .

-

And, if I don't post the 72 for a while. . . I guess we'll all know why that is. . .

Year of the Tiger!

I know it's not the Year of the Leopard, but whatever! :)

Have I ever told you guys about Operation 2010? Welllll. . . last year, my friend Marjorie and I were complaining to one another that we never meet anyone, and we decided to switch things up to get out of our rut. So, we formulated Plan 2009. . which involved us doing new things that would take us out of our usual orbit and mix it up a bit! Not only did this plan expose us to lots of fun events, but we also have met so many great people as a result of it. In fact, it went so well that we've carried it over to the new year. . and now it's in full-fledged OPERATION mode! :)

So, Miss M decided to throw a party to get together friends new and old, and the Chinese New Year was a great occasion! The party was last night, and it was a big success! About 40 or 50 people turned out for it, and we had a great time. Happily, the lychee martinis that I made were a hit (you can see that they are almost all gone in the photo below)!

I'm not a particularly superstitious person, but I do like to read my horoscope now and then. Well, last year, when Chinese New Year rolled around, I wasn't in the greatest place. I was still reeling from my breakup, worried about losing my job due to the state of the economy, etc. My friend George -- who is a total sweetheart -- decided to e-mail me my Chinese horoscope for the year. Surely he must not have read it first, because it was THE WORST horoscope I have EVER read! Honestly, it threw me into a bit of a funk! It basically told me that last year was going to be a terrible one for my love life and that it would be very stressful in general -- total gloom and doom situation. While 2009 was a great year in many ways because of my band, that horrible-scope was actually pretty much dead on.

-

BUT! This year -- the Year of the Tiger -- my horoscope is fantastic! It was a pleasure to read. . lots of good news on the love front in particular. :) Very welcome news indeed, and I am seriously looking forward to all of it coming true!

Newbie Welcome

I just wanted to welcome Sherry to the bandster blogosphere and send her best wishes on her March 19th surgery date. She has just started her blog, but her first post is really promising and interesting. I'm excited to see how amazing this next year will be for her, and for all of the rest of us as well! :)

Boinggg Boingggg

So, the bouncing scale act continues. . . ever since I hit 71 down, my scale has been bouncing upward of that amount within a surprisingly big range of six pounds! Because I started out on an even 10 number, that means that this bounce has taken me from one 10 pound range into another. That's the worst bounce of all! When I first see that new number, I want to see it EVERY DAY!

-

This isn't as bad a bounce as the post-Onederland bounce, where one day you get a 1__, the next a 2__, but I still haven't been enjoying it! Fortunately, between boot camp and really watching what I'm eating this week, I'm back in the new 10 pound range this morning. Fingers crossed that I'm still there tomorrow! These last 3 pounds to my first big goal are going to be slow going to be sure. . .

Bandster Bloggers are Beautiful

I just wanted to give a shout out to Colleen and Girl Bandit for including me in their nominees for the Beautiful Blogger award!! I am honored, ladies -- this makes me feel so great!! And, I loved reading your 7 facts -- I read both of your blogs, have met Colleen in person, and had no idea that Girl Bandit was on Ready, Steady, Cook (loved that show)!

I'm also glad to see that you both and so many other bandster bloggers who were on my short list (Roo, Gen and so many more! It was a long short list!) are being recognized as the beautiful bloggers you are -- can't wait to read all of your 7 facts!

**Update!!** I also want to thank my fellow Beautiful Bloggers, Angie, Dawn, Carmen, Stephanie, Janelle, Joey, Gilly and Kristen for nominating me for the BB Award! Ladies, I am honored!! :) :) Thank you so very much!!!

This post is just plain rich with links to great bandster blogs now!!!

Valentine's Day. . .

V. day tends to suck when you are single, but I decided to make the most of it this year. I accepted a date for brunch. . . mind you, this was a first date, so it was a bit unusual to plan it for Valentine's Day, but whatever. That is when I was available. I also went to a benefit tonight for Doctors Without Borders . . honestly, it was PACKED full of ridiculously hot men. Seriously -- one better looking than the next!! Unfortunately, one also was gayer than the next, so that didn't bode too well for my hetero Valentine situation! :) :)

As for my brunch, actually, it was a good date. The guy was very thoughtful and interesting, picked a great place, we had a lot to talk about (don't know when the last time I've had brunch run 4+ hours was), and I really enjoyed myself. That said, I'm not 100% that I am feeling any chemistry there -- but I'm not ruling out the possibility at this point. Am definitely planning to go on a second date to figure it out.

The only downer in the whole thing was when, toward the end, he was talking (in a roundabout way) about his ideal relationship. He mentioned all of these characteristics, and -- as he did, I recognized every single one of them as a characteristic of my relationship with PP. Even though I'm over PP, it was still sad to think back on what I thought was an ideal relationship and to be reminded that he (PP) just didn't get it. I know that a lot of couples wish they had the kind of relationship that he and I had, but he just ultimately couldn't get it together, and that is why I had to move on. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean I can't reflect back on it for 5 minutes on stupid old Valentine's Day and have a bit of a wah about it! So, wah. (OK, I'm done. . has been a year and a half already, for goodness sake. . )

Beautiful Bloggers!

I'd like to give a shout out to Miss Tori and thank her for nominating me for a Beautiful Blogger Award!
Following the rules of this award (no clue who initiated this!) seems like a great way to raise awareness of a few of my favorite blogs. I must say though, that it was extremely hard to choose only seven bloggers to nominate here. I enjoy so many of your blogs, and could have easily found twice as many people to nominate!

Here are the rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you for this award;
• Copy the award and post it in your blog;
• Link to the blog of the person who nominated you;
• Tell seven interesting things about yourself;
• Nominate seven bloggers; and
• Post links to the blogs of your nominees.

My Beautiful Blogger Award Nominees:

1. Amy - Because she is absolutely hilarious, is one of the most open and honest bloggers around, and I always get a kick out of reading her blog.

2. Angie - Because she's feisty and fun and loves her outfits! Plus, she gives good advice and feedback, not to mention encouragement on the workout front and is just as great in person as I thought she'd be from her blog! :)

3. Sarah - Because she's a Couch to 5K champion, a bandster-turned-runner, who is thoughtful, kind and clearly is a really great mom!

4. Cara - Because she has a gorgeous family, writes AWESOME congratulatory poems, teaches us all about Aussie expressions and food items, and is a great person to boot.

5. Jen - Because she's doing amazingly, is the bandster blogger I've met in person the most, and is a fun, kind, thoughtful real person who is a blast at brunch or on a shopping trip!

6. Mary - Because her enthusiasm is contageous, and I love hearing about all of the ways she gets enjoyment about her life as a bandster (congratulations on being chosen for the fashion show!!) :)

7. The New Me - Because hers was one of the very first blogs that I read before my surgery, and her story was so inspiring and comforting to me that it gave me a lot of confidence in my decision and in my ability to succeed with the band. Also because she's doing amazingly well, despite having a broken ankle.


Seven Interesting Things About Me:

1. I've never owned a car.

2. I love Scrabble and own seven different versions of the game.

3. The summer after my first year of law school, I went to Morocco by myself for a week. For safety's sake, I did this through a tour company. I bought Moroccan music cassette tapes from a kid on the street in Tangiers and played them on my Walkman day after day, looking out the window and enjoying the solitude and scenery as we drove through the Atlas mountains.

Me, in the marketplace in Fes, Morocco - August 7, 1995

4. I've lived in six different countries (U.S., England, France, Holland, Saudi Arabia and The Bahamas).

5. I hope this isn't TMI, but somehow, my bra size went from a 40 DD to a 34 DDD during the last 15 months. I don't even understand the math on that. I am not complaining -- it just is not what I expected.

6. To avoid crying at very emotional events (weddings, funerals, etc.), I do math in my head. Usually adding two 3-digit numbers together is just complicated enough so that I can listen to what is going on, but distracting enough to keep me from shedding any tears. It's not perfect, but it does help a bit. Is that weird? :)

7. I really love the movie The Big Blue. It was my favorite movie for years, and I've probably seen it 20 or more times. The summer after college, I got a grant from the French Minister of Cultural Affairs to go to a theater festival in Avignon, France. Jean Marc Barr (star of The Big Blue) was starring in one of the plays. One night, I saw him in a cafe with some friends, and went over and spoke with him. He was so charming and nice, and smiled just as brightly as he did in the movie. It was clear that he was a little bit tickled by the whole thing, in a sweet way.

Jean Marc Barr. . I still love him!!

Doctor's Appointment, Setting Goal and Q&A

I went to my follow-up appointment with Dr. Ren yesterday and wound up getting that wee top-up to my fill (she was in favor as well). I am now at 3.0 ccs in my 5 cc Inamed band. This was my first fill since March 2009 (about 11 months).

I made a list of questions for Dr. Ren before my appointment and went through them with her. I have to say -- she really does give the best fill. She hits the mark the first time, every time, and by having me do a crunch when she does the injection, somehow minimizes any pain.

One of the things that I asked her was what my goal weight should be. Meanwhile, the goal that they have in their computer for me, based on my height, is nearly THIRTY pounds thinner than I am right now! I would be like a skeleton at that weight! The nurse and Dr. Ren both agreed that that number was too low. Dr. Ren actually told me that she doesn't really go by the scale -- she goes by size -- which I seem to remember is what she told Jen as well.

So, I asked her about my thought of going 13 pounds thinner, and she agreed that sounded about right. Funny though -- when we were talking about it, she said something about how I probably had 5-6 pounds of extra skin -- and she seemed surprised to find out that wasn't the case (she took a look at my stomach). I feel very lucky that everything has shrunk back up into place. I really did not expect that to work so well.

Here is what I learned. The following aren't direct quotes -- they are a summary.

Q: Why do the statistics say that people lose only 50-65% of their excess weight with the band when everyone I know seems to be taking off all of it?

A: That statistic is an average, and it factors in the people who don't lose any weight because they do things like not get a fill or drink milkshakes every day. (Meanwhile, I wish that there was a statistic based on people who actually work their band -- I bet it's closer to 85-90%.)

Q: What do I do if I get food poisioning or a stomach flu -- something that requires me to throw up a lot?

A: Come in immediately for an un-fill. Apparently, people traveling to developing countries often take syringes with them so that they can do their own un-fill if need be.

Q: Does saline in the band evaporate over time?

A: About .1 a year will evaporate.

Q: Does being a year out decrease my likelihood of having my band slip?

A: Not really. If you have a lot of vomiting, the band can slip at any time. (I was kind of surprised -- I figured being a year out meant that my band was really set in there and would be harder to move!)

That's it! Hope that was helpful! :)

The Sisterhood Strikes Again!!

Not to change the subject, but I am THRILLED to see some recent sightings of former clothing of mine that's making the bandster rounds courtesy of The Sisterhood of the Traveling XL Dress! I also want to let everyone know how happy it makes me every time I read one of your blogs and see that you are sharing your clothing, or receiving clothing from another bandster. We have such a great community here, and it is so wonderful that we are supporting one another in this way!!

So, here is a photo of me . . at the Vine Cliff vineyard in Yountville, CA, in September 2006. PP and I had taken a trip out there and had a wonderful time. We bought all of their remaining magnums of Vine Cliff's 2003 16 Rows, and the wine was SPECTACULAR. Seriously wonderful. We rented a convertible and spent two days driving around the vineyards. . most memorably dining at Bouchon and Bistro Jeanty . . though we never could get in to French Laundry. I felt amazing in this cute dress, and am so happy that it's not languishing at the back of my closet right now!!

Here is that dress on the beautiful Cindy, who had dropped 96 pounds with the help of her band as of the time this photo was taken!! I am so glad that this dress went to someone who looks so great in it!

You all may remember seeing the very adorable Mary in this dress that I sent her months and months ago! Meanwhile, Mary is now down 127 (!!!) pounds and is looking so incredible!! Well, this dress has left her and made it to one of my very favorite fellow bandsters. . . .the inimitable Amy, who is, as usual, rocking this frock with her own spectacular, signature style! Check out her blog for her cute pic and for . . well, lots of good info on others sharing clothing and some other good topics! :)

** Update** How cute is Amy in my jeans (which came to her via Mary)?! I am loving that outfit on her!

Vlog Time!

I haven't done a vlog for a while and figured it was high time I did! This one gets into the issues of To Fill or Not To Fill. . . and friends adjusting to the fact that I'm nearly at my goal. One thing I didn't say, but should have, is that the vast majority of my friends (including the very select few who have access to my blog) have been nothing but awesome in their constant support and encouragement.

WHEW!!

Ignore all of the glare from the flash. . . it's too dark for me to get a good photo tonight!

I am so relieved! My suit turned out really well! The first one was ready today and I just picked it up a few minutes ago and tried it on the second I got home. The tailor really did a great job! I would have thought this suit was initially made in this size, and the stitching looks very good on the inside of the jacket. I am SO cutting out the size tags!! They are not even accurate anymore (and what a shocker that I didn't cut them out already. . I used to always do that)!

Meanwhile, we're bracing for a big snow storm, so my big presentation tomorrow has been postponed. What a let down after all of the work I've been doing to prepare! But it's nice to know I have a suit that I like that is ready to go when it does happen!

Alterations for My Alterations!

One fringe benefit I've noticed about being closer to my goal weight is that I no longer have to buy outrageously expensive clothing to look and feel decent at an event. The two Karen Millen cocktail dresses I recently bought are a perfect example of that -- they each actually cost less than the tax on the last formal dress I bought. (In all fairness, I probably wore that gown 8 times over 2-3 years, so I did get a lot of use out of it. At the time, I splurged because I couldn't find anything else that I felt really good wearing.)

Most of you know that I gave away an incredible amount of clothing over the past year. I did set aside most of the really expensive pieces though (as well as my "start weight" pants, which I like to put on once in a while and play Jared from Subway. . hee hee). :) I haven't done much in the way of alterations up to this point, because I didn't want to have them tailored down to a transition size that would only fit a short while.

-

When I was heavier, I bought quite a few St. John suits. That was basically my uniform for work every day. These suits are gorgeous. . . beautiful material, very flattering, and they look (and are) expensive and polished. They also are all knit -- so forgiving because they can be "blocked" (basically, stretched) up if you gain weight, or blocked down if you lose. That let me wear them for a really long time during this process, but finally I got to the point where they were just too big to wear.

So. .this weekend, I finally took two of them to the tailor. It was interesting to see that she had to move in the shoulders, shorten the sleeves (because my arms are smaller now) and shorten the skirts as well. It's a lot of alteration and I am really curious (and nervous. . I'm kind of up a creek for an outfit to wear to a big presentation this week if this doesn't turn out well) to see how they come out, and whether my tailor can size them down by somewhere between 6-10 sizes. Fingers crossed. . . I'll try to remember to put up a photo.

In other news, I got home last night to find a package in the mail from my very good friend, Christina, who lives in Berlin. It has a note on it telling me not to open it until I get to goal! How thoughtful and nice -- not to mention exciting (!) -- is that?!? :) I can't wait to get there so that I can open it!!

So much for that. . .

I'm pretty sure this doesn't even count as a breakup . . . but I wound up having a talk with C last night and found out that he isn't interested in taking whatever it is we've been doing to another level. So, since there isn't even a possibility of anything else developing, I don't see any point in continuing to see him. It's one thing if that's an unknown factor, but when someone tells you point blank that it's not what they want, that's another story.

This is a bit disappointing because I do like him, but it's not exactly the end of the world or anything. Other than me having a bruised ego that someone I'm interested in doesn't feel the same way, there isn't much more to it. And, while the amazing chemistry has been totally messing with my girl brain, there are definitely some things about C that would have gotten on my nerves if we were in a relationship.

Still, it's annoying to me. I just don't understand guys sometimes. . .

Perceiving Perceptions. . .

Tonight, my friend Lauren hosted a GNO (Girls' Night Out) at her apartment. We tend to get together the same 8-10 girls on a regular basis. . either here or out on Shelter Island. I really like these girls, and among them are some very good friends of mine. . but I'm kind of picky about who I open up to. . . so, only two of them know about my surgery. The two are Erica (of the wedding last summer) and Emily (who is plain old awesome).

Anyway, it had been a month or so since we'd all been together. It's funny . . because the closer I get toward goal, the more each individual pound is noticeable. I mean. . the first 30 pounds, practically NO ONE said anything! But, in the past several months, I've lost 5-7 pounds, and everyone notices. C gave me a nice compliment about that over the weekend, my receptionist at work made mention of it today, and all of the girls had nice things to say tonight. It's kind of surprising to me. I thought the "big reveal" was over about 20 pounds ago. . . . :)

Whatever, it's all good, positive and nice . . so I'm going to enjoy all of it. I hope you all are having nice nights, wherever you are, and am sending you my best.

Measuring up . . . at 70 down

At every 10 pound mark, I tend to take my measurements and do a contrast. In the first few posts like this, I was only counting the inches from my arms and legs once (despite that I do have two of each. . math never was my strong suit. . !), but here I've counted them both.

(Having trouble with the spacing. . hence the dots)

. . . . . . . From Start . . . . From 60 down

Hips: ......... 9.75 in. ...... 1.5 in.
Waist: ....... 8.5 in. ....... .5 in.
Chest: ........ 7 in ......... 2.5 in.
Forearms: .. 2.6 in. ....... .6 in.
Thighs: ..... 6.4 in. ...... .4 in
Wrists: ..... 1.7 in. ........ .2 in.
Ankles: ...... .6 in. ....... 0 in.
Calves: ....... 4 in. ........ 1 in.
Upper Arms: 4 in. ........... 1 in.
TOTAL: 44.55 in. ...... 7.7 in.

So crazy. . . I've lost 3.7 FEET. That is kind of shocking to me! Obviously, in a good way. . but shocking nonetheless. I do find it a little disconcerting that this last 10 pounds seems to have disproportionataly come off of my chest. . what is that all about?! Nonetheless, I went to Saks this weekend to get fitted for bras, and everything is still very proportional (and looks proportional to me), so I'm not freaking out about it. . .

Thanks for everyone's nice posts yesterday! I was on such a high all day from hitting 71, and your posts kept that great feeling going all day long!

Since I posted twice yesterday, I wonder if a lot of people didn't see the first one. Was curious to know what you thought about my blog outing. I'm also wondering how many other people who I know have stumbled across my blog and just haven't told me. Slightly disconcerting, but I'm going to do my best not to edit myself because of it.

Have a great day, everyone!!

OMG!!!! SEVENTY!!!!!!!!! SEVENTY-ONE, ACTUALLY!!!

I am 71.6 pounds down as of this morning!!! Holy mother of amazingness, people. I am OFFICIALLY no longer overweight and my BMI is now in the "ideal zone"!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!

So, what does this mean? Well, I've lost a lot of things. . . for example. . .

SEVENTY POUNDS!!;
Compartmental syndrome;
Not liking how my body looks;
Being worried about having to take the middle seat on an airplane (not that I want to sit there now. . worst spot on the plane!);
The inability to shop wherever I like;
Having my feet kill within moments of wearing heels;
Feeling less attractive;
Berating myself about my weight every single day;
Avoiding seeing old friends and colleagues because I didn't want them to see how much weight I'd gained;
Being uncomfortable in a bathing suit;

Worrying about what health problems my weight would ultimately bring;

AND SO MUCH MORE THAT I WON'T MISS A BIT!!

Let's do a perspective check, shall we?!?

I LOST THIS CUTE DOG (I love how worried he looks. . . no puppy, I just lost your weight. . you are fine!)

WHERE OH WHERE IS MY BACKPACK?!?!? Oh wait. That's right! I lost the equivalent IN POUNDS of this monstrosity off of my entire body!! Can you just imagine carrying that thing around every day? Apparently, that's what I was doing!

OMG. . . . . HAS ANYONE SEEN MY EMU?? No, wait. I mean. . . has anyone seen the emu-sized amount of fat that I took off my body in the past 15 months with the help of my band?! No? Good!! Awesome & good riddance!!! Plus, emus are creepy. . :)

Now people. You didn't REALLY think I could possibly do this post without showing you a 70 pound fish, now did you?!?! I didn't think so!!!!! Well, here goes. . . .

I feel so incredibly blessed and grateful to have been able to hit this milestone. I didn't think I could feel better than when I hit fifty, but I absolutely do. I have tears in my eyes as I am typing this because I had so much hope about getting to this point, but it was so hard for me to comprehend that it was really possible and that it would happen -- even though intellectually I knew that it was.

ONLY 3.4 MORE POUNDS TO GET TO GOAL. LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!!

Self-outing. .

I had a really interesting conversation last night. I was at a wine tasting and a guy there (let's call him X), who I've met several times, mentioned that he'd read and enjoyed my blog entry about an event that he had hosted. I was really surprised to hear this, but given who it was, it was OK.

I hadn't realized that Google Alert would pick up my entries, since I specifically set up this blog so that it wouldn't be crawled by Google and other search engines. But, when I mentioned X's group, he got an alert about the post.

Anyway, it was interesting to find out that he'd been able to see my blog. It's funny, since obviously, I'm putting all of this very personal information out there on the Internet for people to read. But, this is the first time that someone I know found the blog independently, without knowing that it existed and without me knowing. In some ways, that makes me feel a bit . . well, naked! But that said, I appreciated it that X told me, and it was interesting to hear his reaction, which was very open and non-judgmental.

So. . . another twist. . ? It's a good thing that X is extremely cool and, while I don't know him that well, I do get the sense that he will be respectful of my privacy. (And X. . sorry. . I know you may read this, and hope that's not too weird. . .) It's such a small world that not only did I used to work with his brother. . but he's also going on a trip with C next month. . . Ack! :)