Monday, September 20, 2010

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, September 13, 2010

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!!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

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!!

Friday, September 10, 2010

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!!!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

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, September 6, 2010

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!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

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!!

















Saturday, September 4, 2010

My favorite part of my body....

Even though it is Saturday, I decided to finally post my "Thousand Word Thursday" response. I meant to do it a few days ago but kept forgetting so here it goes.

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I would say my favorite part of my body would have to be (G-rated....right? haha).....my eyes.



Like the rest of yall said, it feels kind of weird to brag about your own body parts but hey, Ill go with it.

Let me start off by saying we all have plenty of imperfections but the trick is learning to embrace those imperfections. For instance, when I was younger I didn't like my nose at all. From the front there is nothing wrong with it. Seems and looks normal. But from the side, I have a huge hump in my nose. I would get so paranoid when people would take pictures of me from the side. But as I have gotten older I know where my "hump" came from. It came from my grandfather and it seems like I am the only grandchild that got that feature from him. Now that he has passed away, I have learned to embrace it. In a weird way it reminds me of him and for that I am thankful!

But as for my favorite feature...it was a tie between smile and eyes. Fortunately and thanks to good genes, I never had to wear braces. My dad has pretty perfect teeth as well and never had to have braces, so I guess I just got lucky.

But I feel most people comment on my eyes. The majority of my family have bright, beautiful blue eyes aka most of my cousins, my dad, my brother, etc. But a handful of us, like my cousin Lauren, my mom and I, got big green eyes. In my pictures, I feel like they stand out the most and I wouldn't trade them for anything else (as if I could trade them haha). So the eyes it is.

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As for today, in about an hour, we are headed to Auburn for the first football game!!! Woohoo!! We are a big BIG football family and college football Saturday's in Auburn is all I have ever known. We have had Auburn football season tickets since before I was born and going to Auburn for game day is one of my all-time favorite traditions! Then I went to Auburn for 4 years and graduated from there in 2008 so needless to say, Auburn is one of my favorite places in the world. It's a little college town full of team spirit everywhere you go, the best restaurants and the cutest shops. I will bring plenty of pictures back for you guys so dont you worry about that :)


War Eagle and have a great Saturday!!