My fabulous BOOBS!

Where do I even start...


I got home around 1:30 in the morning this morning and went straight to bed. After only getting a total of 10 hours of sleep the whole weekend, my comfortable bed was waiting on me at home. I didn't have a chance to get online last night to tell you girls how amazing you really are.


Chicago was way more than I hoped it would be. You ladies were even more freaking fantastic and beautiful and sweet in person! As if lifelong friendships over the wonderful world of blogger hadn't already been made, meeting each other in person face to face just made it that more meaningful and special. Everyone was so welcoming and supportive of each other, we might as well all be sisters reuniting from different parts of the world.


I wish I was able to spend at least a week in Chicago, not just a weekend! Kim and I didn't stop to relax but maybe for like 30 minutes the entire weekend. We were on the move from one part of the city to the other and yes, I stuck out as a tourist like a sour thumb with my camera around my neck the entire weekend. Just fyi...I managed to take about 500 pictures so I need to condense them a little bit before I post them! And I even forfeited shopping to see the city so it must have been well worth it. I had to keep telling myself "Kristen, you can shop at home. Yes, it's ok. You will be able to go shopping when you get back home."


The only thing I regret it not getting about to spend more time with some of you (and getting humped unexpectedly by a man at Excalibur...some of you others experienced this with me. Thank you Jen for wanting to beat him up for me! HA priceless!) I realize it's just so hard to connect with everyone in only a weekend and that's exactly why we have to keep the BOOBS event going for years and years to come! And thank you THANK YOU to everyone who helped in planning this event! It went so smoothly and I appreciate all the hard work that went into planning this weekend.



Thank you girls for being so sweet and kind and amazing! Thank you for loving our (Kim and I) southern twang and even some of you started adopting the word "y'all" and you didn't even realize it...specifically Carmen and Grace! I love this little family we have created. The trip was well worth the money and I can't wait to reunite again.

YAY!!

So take a look at what I did at work when I was supposed to be working....

...that's right! I was studying up on all my BOOB friends!! I totally felt like I was in school all over again studying for a test. I would only leave the picture uncovered and I made sure the name was covered up...then I would see if I remembered your names!!

I tried really hard to remember everyone's faces but forgive me if I have to ask your name! But look what I was getting paid for at work! HA! Take that boss man :)

Cant wait to meet everyone! Happy travels to everyone flying/driving to Chicago tomorrow!! Kim and I will be on our way Friday!

Tuesday Weigh-In. Chicago Jitters. Blah Blah

Chicago countdown: 3 days!

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I totally forgot to post my "Monday Weigh-In" yesterday until like midnight so I decided to push it off until today. Eating wise, I did really good eating during the week but the weekend had some good and bad moments. I was in Auburn all weekend with friends and family for the Auburn vs. Clemson game....if any of you watched it, it was a little too close for comfort! Pheww! Glad that one is over with! But ESPN Gameday was there and that is always fun to be a part of! It felt like we tailgated all weekend long and you know what that means...hamburgers, hotdogs, BBQ, chips, cookies, brownies, queso dip, candy...and the list goes on and on. Friday and Sunday I was pretty strict on myself and didnt eat bad at all but Saturday I probably messed up the whole week. I felt like I had some self control and didnt go TOO overboard but I had a hamburger, a few chips and a brownie for lunch and then 2 very large pieces of pizza for dinner....AT MIDNIGHT after the game! haha! I never ever eat past 8 (or try not to) but Saturday was an exception apparently.

So that brings me to my Tuesday Weigh-In...
(I updated my post and changed my weigh-in number because when I got back on the scale after I went to the bathroom it was down from 220.4 to 219.8...so we will go with 219.8!)

Last Monday (September 13): 220.2 pounds

Today (September 21): 219.8 pounds

Loss: 0.4 pounds

Not too shabby I guess. Didn't lose much but hey, I am going in the right direction.

But I did have my long awaited doctor's appointment yesterday morning. My last doctor's appointment was almost 8 weeks ago and I weighed 231.5 to be exact. Yesterday (with clothes on mind you) I weighed 221.8! I talked with the NP for a little while and she didn't think I needed a fill. I have 7.5 cc's in my 11 cc band but she seems to think that if I can lose more than a pound a week where I am now, I don't need another fill. I was fine with that because honestly, I dont think I need a fill right now. For the last few weeks my food has been getting stuck more often...I dont know if I eat too fast or what....but I didnt think I needed a fill anyways. So that is my weight lose speed the past two months...10 pounds in 8 weeks (or 5 pounds in a month). That is going to be my goal over the next few months.

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On to other topics.....like CHICAGO!! I have been reading everyone's "nervous posts" about Chicago so I figured I would chime in and let everyone know how I am feeling. I am not really nervous...just anxious and excited and anticipating a great time we are all going to have. Why am I not nervous you ask? I am just excited to finally meet all you wonderful ladies that I have been reading so much about! I am excited to see the city again...I have been to Chicago but it has been like 6 years ago! Like everyone has said a million times...we have been supportive of each other through the good times, the bad times and the down right awful times. We all have created a bond with each other that surpasses outer beauty and connects us heart to heart (that sounds like a corny romance novel but it's true).

Now don't get me wrong...I am freaking out about remembering everyone's names. I can tell faces apart all day long but remembering 55 names is a different story. I was looking over Catherine's cheat sheet (THANK YOU A MILLION for taking the time to make that, Catherine! It's amazing!) and I was stunned that there were like 15 blogs at least of people going to Chicago and I wasnt even following their blog! Oops! I started following them last night so I am doing a little last minute catch up haha!

And I am not worried about what clothes to wear while I'm there or how I am going to do my hair or what color eyeshadow to wear or whether I should wear the big black necklace or the gold one...because that stuff just isnt worth sweating. Although I am worried that all my makeup, jewelry, toiletries and clothes are going to be over the 50 pound weight limit at the airport...because if you knew how much "stuff" I am going to cram into my suitcase, you might be worried too. I told Kim yesterday that there is no way I can just take a carry on as my suitcase...just my makeup and jewelry could fill up my carry on bag!

Note to self: Kristen, do NOT go overboard and pack all your jewelry and makeup. Pack only what you have to have.

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Each and every one of us is beautiful and talented and deserves to be loved and accepted so tell yourself that, know it, believe it and hold it close to your heart. Push away the nerves and get pumped up!! I cant wait to meet you all in Chicago!! I am studying my cheat sheet so I can remember everyone's names!

Pictures I Love: Plus-size models!

I am so excited to share with you this post! These pictures are ones that I love and I know you will love them as well! I love some of these so much that months ago I printed them out and created a collage in my room using these pictures. They are beautiful, artistic, creative, fashionable, striking, in vogue and stylish.

Back in February of this year I posted a blog entitled "Plus size models are beautiful" and some of these pictures are also featured in that post. As some of you know and according to the world of fashion and being stick-thin, plus size models must be at least 5'9'' in height and are typically (on average) size 12 or 14. Sometimes modeling agencies may use a size 10 or size 16 woman but rarely anything above a size 16. To you and me, a size 12 doesn't seem so "plus size" but to the modeling world and to the world of fashion and fame where most of the women are between the sizes of 0 and 6, a size 12 clearly defines you as plus size. There is something very wrong with this. Personally, I feel that some of these plus size women are much more attractive to look at rather than some of the size 0's I have seen on the runway and in the magazines.

As you are about to see, plus size is beautiful. In my opinion beauty comes from the inside and what you are blessed with on the outside is just an extra bonus. We all know it can be hard to be plus size in this world we live in today. Sometimes it can be hard to find clothes, hard to be included at school and in the workplace, hard to find love, hard to be heard, hard to find friends, hard to fit into society. What happened to the days when being fat and having pale skin meant you are beautiful and accomplished?! I come from the opinion that we are curvy and we are beautiful so take it or leave it. You don't have to like me or agree with me but this is who I am and what "they" say doesn't change me on the inside or the outside.

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And now for the pictures I love...I bring to you these gorgeous and sexy plus size models!! Most of these women are either a size 12 or 14 with the exception of the woman in the second and last picture (this is the same woman). She currently does modeling and acting and lives in Paris. She proudly announces her size as a 4X and weighs about 300 pounds. This picture of her is from the Jean Paul Gaultier runway show during Paris Fashion Week. She caught the eye of every fashion critic and helped proved the point that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Good for her!!

Enjoy!

Monday Weigh-In and my crazy scale...

So I better be posting this Monday Weigh-In soon seeing that it is almost Tuesday.

Here is the short version:
Last Monday (September 6): 224 pounds

Today (September 13): 220.2!!!

Loss: 3.8 pounds!!

My good eating and working out is paying off...it's always lovely to see the fruits of your labor. Amen? Amen!

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Now for the longer, more dramatic weigh-in and crazy scale phenomenon

Let me preface this by saying mother nature sent me my monthly gift yesterday...ugh. This is crucial to the story. I wake up this morning around 8 and make my way to the bathroom. I use the restroom, undress completely and get up on the scale. The scale reads 220.0!! 220.0!! Holy smokes. I woke up quick, wiped my eyes and couldnt believe that I could almost be THAT close to goodbye 220's! I put my hair up in a ponytail and decided to get back on the scale so I could see that number again. I get on the scale and get this. It says 223.8! What?! Huh? What is going on I think to myself. I made sure the scale was level on the ground and I hop on again. This time it reads 223! I was confused to say the least. I think to myself...let's try this one more time. Within 30 seconds I gained 3.8 pounds...that is world record type stuff! I get on for a fourth and final time and it reads 220.2!

I am still not sure what was going on. I have a crazy scale apparently. It freaked me out honestly. It has never done that before so I wasn't sure what to think. I have been slowly but surely throughout this past week creeping down the scale...from 224 to 223.5 to 223 to 221 and then today?! I decided to go with my fourth and final weight as the correct weight. The only reason I thought it might have said 223.8 is because I DID start my period yesterday and you always way more during that time of the month. But then why would it have gone back to 220.2? I have no idea. Should I get rid of my scale? I just got it like 6 months ago and it wasn't cheap.

Oh well...

Long story short, my weight today was 220.2 :)

The End!!

Pictures I Love: Cakes!

I love photography. I have a passion for it. Everything about it makes me happy. You can capture a moment in time and treasure it forever. Photographs can bring back special memories that otherwise might have been forgotten. Photographs can evoke feelings of excitement, happiness, joy, cheerfulness, pride and even sometimes pain, sorrow, heartache and strife.

I want to share with you pictures of things I love. Maybe you love pictures like me, maybe you don't but they are each beautiful in their own way. This is going to be a reoccurring post I do each week and I will entitle each post "Pictures I Love". Each time the pictures will be a different theme!

This week I wanted to share with you some of my favorite cakes! A lot of them are in some way fashion themed and maybe that is why I love them so much. I know...this is a random theme to start off with but currently my mom is baking a cake downstairs and the entire house smells delicious! So I thought...why not? Hope this doesn't make you want to sin! I wouldn't want that but hope you enjoy the pictures :)

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Last but not least, this cake is a life size Barbie doll cake! It was designed by a french fashion designer for the 50th anniversary of Barbie! The top half of the cake is a mannequin and the bottom half is layers and layers of chocolate mud cake covered with icing and sprayed gold! I just love it!

Have a great Saturday night everyone!!

One of my favorite houses....or CASTLES should I say!

So I realize this is a very random post but what the heck :)

I looking at everyone's "Thousand Word Thursday" pictures of things around their house (I will post mine tomorrow) and that got me thinking about how much I love interior design...I should have dual majored in fashion merchandising AND interior design because I am obsessed with both. Then I started thinking about how much I love architecture and beautiful houses and buildings. THEN I decided I wanted to share with you one of my favorite houses.

I have many "favorite" houses. Sometimes I find beauty in small, quant little homes that tell a lot of history and sometimes big, gigantic mansions are the prettiest and sometimes really modern, eclectic homes catch my eye. But whenever I am in a new city, I try to go on some sort of architecture tour or celebrity houses tour or beautiful homes tour. I love it. It's one of my favorite things to do when I travel...along with shopping of course.

(A little background story) Most of you know my boyfriend lived in Dallas before he moved to Alabama. He lived there for 4 years and worked for a company that installed underground mosquito and water misting systems. These systems were thousands and thousands of dollars and as expected, usually only the rich and famous had these systems. He got to meet a good deal of celebrities and athletics because he would service their home on a regular basic.

He knew how much I loved to see beautiful houses and buildings so when I would go visit, he would drive me around to all the gated communities and ritzy communities and show me all the big homes.

This is when I learned about the "castle house" as we called it. Although it looks like it could have 50 bedrooms and bathrooms, it has 8 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. It is about 16,000 square feet. I just wanted to share with you this house. Can anyone take a guess of how much this house was on the market for? It may actually surprise you!


I have tons of pictures of my favorite houses in Dallas if anyone likes houses and architecture and wants to see them in a picture post :) Just let me know in a comment if you do!

Have a fabulous FRIDAY!!!

I skipped out on my doctor's appointment...

I know some of you asked me how my doctor's appointment went on Wednesday and well.....

I didn't go :)

I have a few reasons why I didn't go. First of all, at the moment I don't have health insurance with the company I am working with and I am not eligible until October 1st. Therefore, each time I go to the doctor I have to pay $125 for a fill verses only $25. This week in particular I am poor because all of my paycheck went to my mom because I owed her money. That is the first reason.

Second reason...and I'm not ashamed to say it...I ate TERRIBLY Labor Day weekend. Friday wasn't too bad but Saturday, Sunday and Monday were bad for me! When I did my "Monday Weigh-In" I had gained weight for that previous week. And long story short, I didn't want to have gained weight right before I went for a 6 week check-up/fill. Last time I went to the doctor (6 weeks ago), I was 231. My doctor wanted me to have lost AT LEAST 6 pounds and with my little gain for the weekend, I had only lost 6 pounds down from 231. So yes...I canceled my doctor's appointment Tuesday morning and rescheduled it for September 20th...11 days away. I wanted to have lost more than 6 pounds so I wouldn't have to deal with the embarrassment again. (My previous doctor's appointment before the 231...I had a slight gain as well).

All this to say...Tuesday I buckled down hard. I was super strict on my eating and yesterday I was even more strict. I made sure I didn't eat ANYTHING after 7 pm and drank water like it was going out of style. I am going to Moe's today with Kim (FELLOW BLOGGER!) and I'm trying to decide what to eat. And....bummer alert...I can tell I am about to start my period so hopefully that will come and go before my doctor's appointment on the 20th.

So that is the reason I didn't have my doctor's appointment heehee :)

Have a fabulous Thursday!!

Monday Weigh-In

This weekend has been bad for weight loss. Friday I ate pretty well and stayed within my calorie limit but Saturday and Sunday are a different story. I go for a check up with my surgery doctor this Wednesday...as in 2 days!!! The last time I went to the doctor was the last week in July and I weighed 231 (major bummer). She told me she wanted to see me back in 6 weeks and I need to at least have lost 6 pounds by then....which comes out to about 1 pound lost per week. That would put me at about 225 when I weigh in at the doctor, with clothes on of course. So basically what this means is I should starve myself until Wednesday....right?! (Sarcasm obviously....well sorta).

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I will let the scale doing the story telling for this week.....


Last Monday (August 30): 222.5 pounds

Today (September 6): 224 pounds

Gain: 1.5 pounds

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Yeah...it sucks. Seems like the 220's will haunt me forever. I have been in the 220's back and forth since March! MARCH! Goodness gracious. The day I see 219 I am going to kiss the scale...literally.

Do you think I could be below 220 if I don't eat until after my doctor's appointment on Wednesday?! Kidding kidding! I couldn't starve myself if I tried...dont you worry!

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Everyone have a fantastic Labor Day!! I am going to my aunt's house for lunch with my mom's side of the family and to my grandmother's house for dinner with my dad's side of the family! Do you know how hard it is to not go shopping on Labor Day with all the HUGE sales going on?! Very hard...

Anyways, have a fabulous day!

Picture Post!!! College football edition!

Time for another.....PICTURE POST!!

I have had a fabulous weekend so far and it's still not over! Friday night my boyfriend and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner together and went to my high school's football game against their rival team. Saturday I spend the entire day in Auburn with friends and family and we pulled out a victory! War Eagle! We didn't get home until a little after midnight so I have been pretty lazy today. My dad asked me to go walking with him and I declined...just not up for it today. I went to church this morning and since then I haven't done much.

But tonight I am going with Kim, one of our fellow bloggers, to dinner!! I havent seen her in a few months and I am excited to catch up!

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As for the picture post....all the pictures are backwards order. For instance, the first picture was one of the last ones I took and the last picture was the first one I took. I realize some of them are pretty repetitive but enjoy anyways :)

Have a good Sunday night!!