Vacation Pics and Being Hard on Myself

Yesterday, my friend sent around a link to his photos from Abaco. He is a really good photographer, and the quality of his pictures is really amazing. I love the one of Brooke and me above. That said.... this is the first time I've ever been on vacation where I didn't have a pretty strict Don't-Photograph-Me-In-My-Bathingsuit-Without-My-Express-Permission policy, so there were quite a few photos of me in my swimsuit.

Looking at these photos in the throes of PMS was not the smartest thing I've ever done... I was really feeling very down last night. I guess that, after three years of working my @$$ off, I thought I was going to look like a Victoria's Secret swimsuit model in my bikini. By the light of day, I remember how grateful I am for how far I've come, but last night I was engaging in a pity party.

I normally tend to be a positive person, but I was really in the dumps last night. Steve called, and I was telling him how I felt, and his response was "Well, if you feel like you want to lose a little more, you have the tools to do that." OK, that wasn't his ENTIRE response, but it was the part that I took away from the conversation. It totally bummed me out. Wasn't he supposed to say "You're totally insane! You are perfect!!"? Actually, after we got off the phone, he knew I was upset, so he called again and did say all the right things. ... Which was really nice because I was in total PMS crybaby mode. How ridiculous is that?! I should be celebrating the fact that I have come as far as I have, not nit-picking my imperfections.

Disclosure: The Lap Band does not magically make cellulite disappear....

Note to self: Never, EVER, ever hold your arms out like this in a photograph. It's the one position where my arms look bat-wing-y. Also note to self: You should feel so freaking lucky that this is the case, instead of being upset when you saw this photograph.I don't just want to focus on the photos that weren't so flattering because (a) that's not the full picture and (b) I really don't want to put them all up. So, let's put some of the nice ones up.

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Disclosure: I totally knew this one was being taken and had time to suck in the ole stomach. Much better!

I liked this one, too.
And, I thought this one of Steve and me was a keeper.

I'm not sure yet what my take-away is from my PMS-induced wah-fest. I guess it's not to be so hard on myself and to remember how far I've come, and to be grateful for that. I DO feel that way the vast majority of the time. It's amazing (in that it's so incredibly ridiculous) that I spent even 5 seconds feeing bad about that arm photo, given that I got there from HERE.

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I also was reminded that Steve never knew me in my pre-goal iteration, so he never even saw me 10 pounds heavier than I am now. I know that it is hard for him to understand just how hard I worked to get to goal since, for him, how I look now is how I've always looked. He really was very sweet and supportive last night, especially during that second call. I just kept thinking --- oh boy.. he is going to think I'm totally disfunctional for freaking out like this, but he could not have been nicer or more understanding.

Confession

I am really, really tired tonight. And, the ONLY thing that is keeping me from cancelling my spin class is that I have this cute new Lululemon shirt to wear. Vanity... thank goodness it comes in handy once in a while....

Abaco was a Blast-a-co!

Steve and I had such a great time in Abaco with our friends, Brooke and Stew! I've been great friends with Brooke for the past 15 years, and absolutely love her husband, too. It's so nice that they and Steve like one another, since that made for a really great mix on our vacation.

Self portrait... oh boy... my hair was a disaster the entire trip!

Steve, at the beach behind Pete's Pub, our go-to spot for delicious rum drinks called "Blasters" and incredibly fresh fish!

Brooke & Stew, enjoying Blasters at the beach!

We used a cute little golf cart to get from the house to the beach. It was a bumpy trip, but a lot of fun! The house belongs to some family friends of Steve's, and they were so nice to lend it to us for the trip. We felt very lucky to be able to be there -- it was really a spectacular place!

On the cart with Brooke!

Me, on one of the docks at the house! The house was very cool, and had three pink "pods," each having a separate function, including a bedroom suite and a living/dining/kitchen suite.

On one of the days, we drove out to a community called Cherokee, to see the longest dock in the Bahamas. It was in an unbelievably beautiful setting, and we spent a good part of the day soaking up the sun there.

Stew, on arrival at Long Dock Beach

This is the first vacation of my life where I had a different bikini for every day of the trip. In looking at the photos (and let's face it, I'm not putting the ones I'm talking about up on the blog! LOL), I see that I could stand some improvement in the stomach and thigh area. But, it's such a big improvement from where I started that I don't really care.

This bikini is a $20 number that I picked up at Target! Oh, how I love that store!

The day after we were at Long Dock Beach, we booked ourselves on an island hop -- which involved us going on a dive boat to a few reefs for snorkling, and then on to Harbour Town on Elbow Cay to see the amazing old lighthouse there.

Me & Steve at the top of the lighthouse.... you can still see the mask lines on my face! I made it too tight! Ack!

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Steve is a really good guitar player. So, when he found out that a few musicians were going to be jamming at Pete's Pub on Friday night, he offered to join... and wound up doing a set while the main performer went home for a shower! (I love island life!) :)

On our last day there, it rained a bit in the morning, and we were treated to a FULL rainbow -- we could see it, end-to-end from the terrace, and it was truly spectacular!

And, that's what I did on my five day vacation! It really was a great time, and we're already thinking about what island to explore next in the Bahamas! (I think Harbour Island may get the vote... but we'll see!)

I'm Back-o from Abaco!

What a great five days!! We had some beautiful days, and such a fantastic time with my friends Brooke and Stewart, who joined us for the trip! More to follow.... camera still isn't recognized by my computer, so I'm having trouble showing photos! This one was taken on the longest dock in the Bahamas, where we spent part of a gloriously sunny afternoon.

Eek though... got on the scale this morning and saw a recent high... 157. That's two pounds above my goal weight, and I try never to be above that number (155). Looks like I'm going to have to be on the straight & narrow for the next week or two. We really did eat very well in Abaco... but maybe I didn't need cheesecake two nights in a row.... Oops. Oh well.. as long as I nip it in the bud, it's not that big of a deal, and I'm not going to waste time feeling badly about it. Just wanted to put it out there.... will let you know how I do at getting back into the comfortable zone!

New (or should I say Na-Na-New) Celeb Spotting

I can not believe that I forgot to mention this earlier! On Friday night, I took Steve out for dinner as a thank you for several really nice things he's done for me recently, and we went to Nobu in Tribeca. Guess who was at the very next table?!? Robin Williams! AKA Mork!

Being NYC-ers, we didn't bother him (and tried to act like we were too cool to care -- er, which we're totally not), but there was a table of French tourists who basically accosted him as he was leaving. There were FIVE of them, and they asked him to pose individually with each of them!! That seemed really outrageous to me, but he could not have been more lovely or gracious. He even broke out a few French phrases when speaking with them, much to their delight.

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On a less exciting note, I was shopping in the Meatpacking District on Sunday, and former Bond Girl, Jane Seymour took her sweet d@mned time hogging the door at a store I like as she was coming in and my friend and I were trying to leave! She may be a door-hogger, but she was extremely well-dressed and beautiful.

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That's it, lovelies!! Had a great workout at spin tonight, am trying to SHRED IT for a trip to the Bahamas next week, and have got to get to bed! Sweet dreams.

People Who Missed the "Fat" Years

Photo of me from the summer of 1996, when I was still in l-a-w school.

We hired a guy who I knew from l-a-w school about a year ago. He had some serious health issues during the last year, and has just come back to the o-f-f-i-c-e after a long leave. Fortunately, he's doing well and on the mend. He's a really nice guy, and I'm very glad he is OK.

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Late in the day yesterday, he popped by my office on the way home to say hi, and we were talking about whether he felt like his whole experience gave him any new perspective, and how he feels about the whole thing. I said to him (forgetting that he never saw me at my heaviest) that -- while recognizing the major differences between our two situations -- I had a similar experience from getting my weight under control, and that it's made me so much more appreciative of being able to be healthy and fit now. He looked a little confused/uncomfortable (like he didn't understand what I was talking about on the weight front), and so I said "Hmm... that's right... you may not have known this, but I had gained quite a bit of weight for a while, and then got it off."

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And then he admitted to me that he actually did know, but not from anything I'd said or from seeing me. Apparently, he went to an event at the f-i-r--m where I was speaking, and the people at his table commented "THAT is Catherine?" And they were commenting on how much my appearance had changed. So, they were the ones who had told him about me being so fat.

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Honestly, I feel kind of weird about the whole thing. I'm a little uncomfortable knowing that while I was up there speaking in front of a big group (AT MY W--O-R-K, no less), a bunch of my colleagues were sitting there in the audience, talking about my weight/body. I guess I feel a little better knowing that whatever they were saying was probably positive -- and that knowing my old l-a-w school friend was present may have shut it down a bit -- but that just seems really inappropriate. I don't exactly care that they told my friend about my weight (it's not like that was a secret from anyone...), I just feel more weird/violated that they were all talking about me while I was up at the podium and they were supposed to be listening to what I was saying. I guess this is human nature, and to be expected when there is a big change in someone's appearance, but it still makes me a little uncomfortable. And.. I have another big speaking event at the f-i--r-m on Thursday. Hopefully they're over it by now...

A Telephone Tickle

Soooooo.... last night, at around 8 p.m., I was at the office and texting with Steve to figure out our plans. At one point, I texted him to call me on my work phone. My phone rang a few seconds later, showing his area code on the phone.

Me: Hello, Darling!!
Other person: HAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAHAAHAHAAAA!! That's the most cordial greeting I've ever had from an adversary!!

Um, yeah.... It wasn't Steve!! It was my opposing counsel on a very contentious matter!! We both had a good laugh, and it actually set a great tone for the call.... and we wound up settling the dispute. Too too funny. I was 10 shades of red for a good while though.... :)

@$!%!!

Guess what I gave up for Lent? Cookies? No. Ice cream? NO. Pork products? Have you lost your mind?! I gave up saying bad words.

Want to know how it's going? Not that +!#*%* well! I have messed up more times than I can count. But, I'm trying, and I'm at least being conscious about it, so hopefully that is a step in the right direction. I just thought that Lent would be a good excuse to clean up my act and stop dropping the F and S bombs in casual conversation. It's very common in NYC for people to say the F word (in its many forms... noun, verb, adjective, with an -er appended to it, etc.). But, I do notice that when I hear other people who I don't know very well drop that word into conversation, it doesn't sound all that great.

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Are you giving up anything for Lent? Or just working on anything specific right now?

Technical Difficulties and Mountain Visits

My technical difficulties over the past few months have kept me from blogging as much as I'd like! Now that I finally replaced my old computer, I'm still having problems with my camera. Basically, no computer I have tried will recognize the type of device that it is, so I can't download my photos unless I put my memory chip in someone else's camera. Soooo... yesterday, I finally Googled how to fix this and found out that I could buy a memory card reader for $8. Problem solved! Hopefully it will get here soon so that I can actually use my own photos for new posts!

This past weekend was a blast. Steve and I both took off work on Friday, so we had a four-day weekend. We drove up to his parents' place in the Adirondacks with a group of eight friends (so we were 10 in all) and had a fantastic time!

On Saturday, I went up to Lake Placid with Marjorie, Steve's cousin and his two sons for the first time and checked out the town and the Olympic ski jump. Steve took another group cross country skiing, and we all met up afterwards for a drink and dinner. I was very happy with how dinner worked out. I had made two lasagne -- one mushroom (with shitake, Chantarelles, Baby Bellos and other mushrooms) and one more traditional one (tomato sauce, ground beef, eggplant and zucchini) and froze them to take on the trip. They heated up perfectly and were a big hit!

Sunday, we all went for a 6 or 7 mile hike up a road to a big lake that was frozen over. It was absolutely beautiful, and well worth braving the cold to see. BTW, after being uncomfortably cold last February when we went hiking, I used hand warmers and foot warmers this time -- they were total game changers!! I will not be doing a winter hike without them again! All in all, it was a great weekend, and I was glad for the chance to spend more time with Steve and our friends.

You want to know something kind of weird? I've kind of forgotten that I was ever fat. How strange is that? "Forgotten" is surely not the right word, but it's something like that. I mean, clearly, I remember what it was like and I recognize that I used to have 80 more pounds on me and that this was part of my experience. But I don't think about myself in relation to that weight, and it's hard for me to imagine that I was really as big as I was. I'm also still puzzled about why I let it get as bad as I did, now that I know how good it feels to be fit and much more healthy. A question for the other long-time bandsters out there -- do you feel like this too?

Baby Post Follow-up

Thank you guys so much for your thoughtful comments on my post yesterday (and e-mails, too)! Steve and I have talked about all of these issues, and we're both on the same page. We both want to have children, but we're both a bit terrified of the lifestyle changes. I don't worry about us being good parents -- he's such a loving guy, and I think I could do a decent job, too. But I do worry about the fact that we'd have to rush right into procreation mode the second we get married (assuming that happens.. I don't see no ring on my finger!), and that's a lot of pressure.

On another note, I was at Steve's a few weeks ago and saw a book on his coffee table entitled "Before You Say I Do - Important Questions for Couples to Ask Before Marriage"! I was like.. hello! What is this?!? :) I was really happy to find out that he'd bought the book for us to go over together, and that he'd already read it and left it out so that he'd remember to give it to me. I love the level of seriousness that this demonstrates, and the book has led to a few really good conversations, even though we've pretty much covered all its major topics already.

Hey... if I get married, I'll just might finally get to accomplish the one "PRO" from my pre-surgery Pro/Con List that I haven't been able to accomplish..... not being a fat bride! Hey -- maybe waiting til I was over 40 to tie the knot isn't such a bad thing after all.... ;)

Valentine's Day and Thoughts on Procreation...

St. Valentine's Day Loot for Steve!

I'm hiding out in the bedroom right now, while Steve is preparing a surprise Valentine's Day dinner for me! Happily, he sent me off with a glass of wine, some cheese and Max (my cat), so I thought I'd use this time to do a post.

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On the way home, waiting for the subway, I was thinking about how good things are right now, and I wondered to myself whether this 41 year old version of myself was what I imagined I'd be years ago. The fact that I'm not married and don't have any children is the one thing that isn't what I'd expected. But I am happy in my relationship with Steve and with my other relationships too. I also achieved my ambition of being a partner in a law firm, which is something I'd wanted since I decided on law as a career.

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Things that are even better than I'd hoped include how thin I am. Not that I'm sooooo thin at 150-ish (I bounce between 149 and 153). But, I never thought I'd get to feel good about my weight and how my body looks -- or that I'd feel like it wasn't a constant struggle. I also never dreamed that I'd be this athletic. Those parts of my life are way, way better than what I'd imagined. (The several year period I spent being obese, not-so-much!)

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I very often think about having kids, and what the future holds for me there. I really love children and always thought that I would have two (a boy and a girl, in that order, thank you very much). At the wise old age of 41, however, I see some distinct pros and cons there. Pros being that amazing love I see friends feel for their children, and all the fun parts of parenting. Cons being the constant drains on time, energy and money... and the sense of entitlement that goes along with being a kid, which surely can make any parent feel unappreciated and exhausted.

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I once had a friend tell me... "Catherine, I love my children -- don't get me wrong -- I LOVE MY CHILDREN -- but, if I had never had them, I have no doubt that I could still be a 100% self-actualized and happy person." I think about that often. Also, I've seen enough people who have kids who suck -- from the ones who are just natural born jerks to the ones who are liars, thieves and addicts -- to know that it's possible for even good parents to get a lemon. That scares the cr*p out of me. I don't want to mess up my life!

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So, sometimes I think about what it would be like if I just kept on this path. The path where I don't have to pay $30K a year in kindergarten tuition (I am not even kidding) so that I can stay in the city and my child can go to a decent school. The path where I get to relax at night and not worry if a business trip or fun trip crops up. But then, I think about being in my 70s and 80s and not having my own nuclear family to spend holidays with, and I think about not being able to watch a little person I love grow into an adult that I (fingers crossed!) love, like and respect. In so many ways, I think it's better to just have kids while you are young and haven't been spoiled by years of personal and relative financial freedom.

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But darn it. I just really like the little stinkers. What am I going to do? I know it's going to ruin this longstanding party I've been having, but part of me just wants what it wants. Oy...

TGIF....

This weekend, one of our friends got a big group of people together for... a black tie dinner at TGIFriday's, of all places! It was a ton of fun, very kitch-y and brought back lots of memories of eating out in college and high school! Above is a photo of Steve and me at the party. I found that dress at K-a-ren M-i-llen and it was on MAJOR sale... it was originally $360, and was marked down so many times that I got it for $97!! I absolutely love it!

Not too much else to report this morning. Things are generally very good. I hit spin yesterday and am on track on Operation Shred It For Cabo! :) :) I hope you are all doing well!

SHREDDING IT FOR CABO!!!!

Soooooooo... I'm on a mission to get 100% back in the saddle on my workout schedule and to get myself in the best possible bikini shape for my trips to Abaco and Cabo San Lucas during the next few months. On Tuesday, I went to Ph-y-s-i-que 57 with Marjorie, and ... OMG!!! I am so freaking sore!!! The workout is kind of a combination of pilates and ballet, and you do all of these very small movements ... along with pushups, these squats where you have a dodgeball between your knees and have to squeeze it as tightly as you can, and much more.

Yesterday, despite that I was pretty stiff, I made it to Soul Cycle. I got in a great workout, and stretched for quite a while afterwards. But this morning.... I was still so sore from Ph-y-sique! I took a hot bath wih lavendar epsom salts, which seems to have helped and am going to stretch some more through the day.... because tonight, I'm back at Soul Cycle again.

It feels so good to be back in action -- and I am being careful not to over-do it. I'm just sore in that "wow - I really worked out hard" way, not in the "hmm, maybe I pulled a muscle" way!

Amy had a really interesting post yesterday about why she thought the band worked for her, even though it doesn't get everyone to goal. Basically, it all boiled down to her being ready. For me, the same is true. The band worked for me because I was ready to make changes to my life (even if I did make some of them -- like incorporating exercise into my life -- slowly). It also worked because the band let me be successful at losing weight, and I found that really encouraging, and it motivated me to keep making changes and improvements along the way.

I also know from experience that you don't have to be perfect the whole time for the band to work. You just have to follow the rules more often than not and keep trying to work exercise into the mix until you find something you like and can stick with. The important thing is not to give up. Or, if you do give up, to remotivate and get back on the wagon.

Back in Action!!

With Steve at his annual Christmas Dinner (yes that dress is from R-e-nt the Run--w-a-y!)

Hi!! I've missed you guys! I've been reading your blogs, but my home computer completely died on me, so I haven't been abe to post! I'm writing this now on my new A-s-u-s Z-e-nb-o-ok -- it's 2.8 pounds and faster than my last computer. Am loving it so far!

Things are good here. I had a 1 1/2 month hiatus from my usual workout schedule because I was having trouble with my IT band in my right leg being too tight. Turns out it's fine - - I just have to use a foam roller on it regularly to loosen up the muscle, and I readjusted my bike at spinning. The whole problem might have been caused by my seat being a notch too high.

I still worked out during the 1.5 months, I just hit yoga here and there and also tried another trendy workout here called Ph-y-s-i-que 57. It was good, but I like spin better! Am so happy to be back in there. And, surprisingly, I didn't gain any weight during my time off. I watched the scale like a hawk (I get on once a day -- pre-shower, post-loo) and just made adjustments to my diet if it was up a bit. This has been my maintenance strategy all along, and it works really well for me.

Other than that, life is good! Steve and I have two trips lined up -- one to Abaco in the Bahamas next month, and one to Cabo for the wedding of two good friends in May! I can't wait!!

NYC Bandster Brunch this Saturday!

Hey, ladies! Just a quick note to confirm with those of you who can come that we're still on for a 12:30 brunch on Saturday here in NYC. So far, we're a group of about 15! Can't wait to see you all. If you want to post a comment with any changes in your RSVP, that would be great -- or you can e-mail me at chroniclesfrombandland (at) gmail (dot) com.

Looking forward to it!

Some More Catching Up

I am in Florida right now, helping my mom after a surgery that she had. I hadn't posted about this because we didn't know how serious it was going to be, and I was not sure how much I wanted to share about her health on my blog (though she did say it would be OK to mention the surgery). Happily, the surgery went really well -- she had a mass removed, and it turned out to be benign, which was a huge relief.

Unfortunately, that did put a huge cloud of stress over Christmas, so our celebration in NYC wasn't what it would have been under ordinary circumstances. I'm just very glad that things are back to normal now.

I was able to help my mom upload her photos from the trip to NYC though, so I finally can share a few of them now! Nora -- at last!! Photos from our dinner together! :)

At Saks, posing with a giant snow monster on December 26th

With Nora, her husband and my mom at Gr-a--mmercy T-a-vern. What a fantastic meal, and what great company!! (LOL re the expression on my mom's face! Was someone goosing her?!) :)

Mom and Kenny totally hit it off!Nora looked STUNNING!! She is more than 100 pounds down and just looked absolutely amazing!! Major props to her for all of her hard work!

My Word for 2012

I finally got caught up on my blog reading tonight and saw that many of you are picking a word to represent the coming year. For me, that word is "STRONG." What I want in 2012 is to be physically stronger, and to strengthen my skills at w*rk, to be strong in my resolve to act and live according to my personal code of conduct, and to show strength in the face of the many different types of challenges I will face during this year.

Right now, I'm recuperating from some kind of injury to my IT band in my right leg. It's just waaay too tight and is actually a bit painful at times. I am sure it occurred because I've been spinning so often in the past many months and overdid it. So, I am trying to give it a bit of a rest and will check in with a sports medicine doctor I have seen before who specializes in this type of thing. In the interim, I am NOT going to use this as an excuse to sit on my bee-hind, instead of getting some exercise. Instead, I'm committing to do yoga (and any other exercise I like that my doctor will allow) during my time away from spin.

I am NOT going back. I don't even want five extra pounds on me at this point. I have come too far and worked too hard to get where I am. I will not go back. I'm going to cut out some of the cr*p I enjoy.... like an extra glass or two of wine during the week... and cookies... and will get on the scale every morning to monitor how I'm doing. Period. LA FORCE!!!

Whirlwind Holiday Season...

At the F-o-u-r Seasons for a "Holiday Hop" organized by a friend.

I'll admit it.... I am EXHAUSTED from the holidays! I feel like I was running constantly in December. Between work, trying to get in to the gym and holiday parties, I had very little down time during the entire month. It was a lot of fun, but it wore me out!! Hence the lack of blogging during that time.

For Christmas, my mom came up to NYC for a ten day stay. One of the highlights was our trip out to Steve's parents' house so that she could meet his family. The three of them hit it off instantly, and we had a ball! It really went much better than I'd even dared to hope!! So, that was not only a huge relief (because while you expect the best, ya never know!), but also a lot of fun.

With Steve and a zillion others at the P--ar-k Ave-nue Tre-e Lig-h-ti-ng

At Steve's dad's annual Game Dinner (they serve game, as opposed to playing games... P.S. game is not the easiest thing for a bandster to eat....I was SO CAREFUL at that meal!)

Another highlight of the Christmas season was that the lovely Bahamas-dwelling Jessica sent me my second Sisterhood care package!!! It was full of lovely things like jeans, jackets, a cute sweater and a really adorable sun dress! My camera hasn't been working properly, so I'm having trouble uploading photos -- I hope to get it working soon so I can show you photos! That said, a few things were too big for me, so I'd love to pass them on to other bandsters -- I'll post photos as soon as I can.

My Sisterhood Package from Jessica from Island Bandit!

Another highlight of Christmas was getting to have dinner with Nora, her husband and my mother! We went to a fabulous restaurant called Gr--a-m-m-e-r-cy T-a-v-e-r-n, and Nora and Kenny brought some incredible wine from their collection for us to enjoy. It added so much to our enjoyment of the meal and that beautiful restaurant! And, it was wonderful to get to see how AMAZING Nora is looking -- she is more than 100 pounds down from the first time we met, and she just looked incredible!! It was really nice to get to meet Kenny, too. I felt like I already knew him from Nora's e-mails and blog posts, and he and my mom really hit it off, too. (Nora... I have GOT to get that photo from my mom!!)

And, finally, a group of us is getting together an NYC bandster brunch on January 21st. If you would like to go, you can e-mail me at chroniclesfrombandland (-at-) gmail (-dot-) com and I'll send you the details. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

The Mother of All Comparison Photos...

I'm constantly encouraging newbies to take a bunch of "before" photos, since I regret not having done that. I have very few full-body shots from my fattest days, and they are probably overly flattering, or I wouldn't have kept them.

Cut to yesterday... I was chatting with my sister on the phone, and she mentioned that she had come across some photos from a July 2008 (3 months pre-band) visit. I was all over that... and asked her to send me the shots she had of me that showed my size. We hit total paydirt!! At last! A real "before" photo.

July 2008 vs. December 2011

WHAT A DIFFERENCE.

I admit to you that I'm surprised to see that I was this big. I remember that day, and I remember being uncomfortable because of my size, but I don't remember actually looking like this, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I am so grateful to have this photo (and one more... I'll do another comparison soon), because it really drives home for me just how far I have been able to come with the help of my band, among other things (like this blog, all of you, boot camp, spin class, yoga, friends and family). Thank you, God.

BTW, the dress on the right is a Herve Leger bandage dress (I'm wearing one of the most body-conscious dresses ever, and I felt great!! I can assure you that the version of me in the photo on the left did not imagine I'd EVER be able to do that!). I borrowed the dress from R-e-nt the R-un-wa-y for a wedding that Steve and I went to on Saturday night. The wedding, incidentally, was a blast!

Quick update!

Wow! If I thought summer was busy ... it's only because I haven't experienced the holiday party season with Steve before! We have been out and about a lot -- and I've been making very good use of Re-n-t th-e Run-w-a-y, since I can't show up in the same dress at every event, and -- even though my size seems to be set now -- I just can't stomach buying multiple expensive long ballgowns in one season. So, that site is tiding me over until I gradually build up a collection of dresses in my size.

Here is a dress from that site that I wore to Steve's big annual Christmas dinner party last weekend. That party was a complete blast -- about 100 friends at his club for a really wonderful dinner. It definitely kicked off the Christmas season the right way!

BUT, how am I talking about Christmas parties without telling you how it went over Thanksgiving?? This was Steve's first holiday with my family, and it went really wonderfully. No big surprise, but my family all loves him, and he and my brother hit it off! I was thrilled.

With the fam at mini golf!

Thanksgiving was great -- and it was the first time I've had a family holiday where I exercised every day. On Thanksgiving, Steve, my brother, my niece and nephew, and I all ran the local Turkey trot. I wimped out and did the 2 mile run with my niece (and my brother, who is recovering from a running injury), and Steve manned up to do the 5 miler with my nephew.

Getting ready to run the Turkey trot!

The next morning, I did an hour and 1/2 spin class, and the following day, my brother, Steve, my nephew and I all went for a hike! When I got home, the scale down on the low end of my bounce-range, which was great to see. Not a bad way to come home after a great holiday of seeing my family!