Nothing You Ever Wanted To Know and MORE

Soooo yeah... For lunch today?

I had this.


(But minus the onions and tomatoes because that's just disgusting.)

I also had these.


(Except I asked for them "well done" which means they deep fry them longer so they get all crispy and grease filled.)

Probably not, ya know, conducive to losing that pesky 25 pounds or so hanging out on my wobbly thighs of death and horribleness.

I'm probably going to have salad for dinner.

Cuz salad for dinner makes all other food choices made throughout the day seem reasonable.

So there you go. I am all about the balanced eating over here, apparently.

*Ahem*

When I started trying to lose weight I weighed 150 pounds. I am now clinging firmly to 129.

Admittedly, as you could probably tell by my lunch, I haven't really been trying that hard. I haven't been counting calories. I've been having dessert every night. 2 desserts even, sometimes. (Most of the time.) I haven't been to the gym since... oh I don't know... the week I signed up?

Really I'm surprised I haven't gained any weight.

I am not happy though. I feel like my body looks exactly the same way it did 20 pounds ago. I am still full of jiggliness. My stomach still sticks out. I am nowhere near toned or strong or... fit.

My body sucks at making me feel awesome right now.

So I'm thinking... Probably I should hop back up onto the wagon. Exercise. Give a crap. Stop slipping slowly back into the awful habits that got me up to 150 and the accompanying double chin.

I'm gonna get right on that.

Seriously.

Also? There is one way that I know I lost 20 pounds. I tried on some pants the other day and literally my butt could not hold them up. I was lookin' like a fool with my pants on the ground.

So I threw them away. Along with a bunch of other stuff that is too big or stained or ripped or irreparable.

It was time.

This month is kind of tight for us financially but my husband took a look at the heap of clothing I had to get rid of and was all "Okay you really need some clothes. Please buy some clothes."

My husband has never begged me to buy clothing before... So I knew this had to be serious.

Possibly life or death?

Okay probably not.

But still.

However, like I said, things are tight. I also really do want to lose that last 20-25 pounds. If I stop being so lame sauce, it could be gone by the end of the year... What's the point of buying shiny new clothes if I won't even be able to wear them in 3-6 months?

No point I says.

I knew I needed some transitional pieces... but I also didn't want to spend a bunch of money.

So I went to 3 of my favorite local thrift stores! Yay!

I wasn't very optimistic about actually finding anything but... after 4 hours and $50... I think I came out a winner.

I got 6 shirts, a tank top, 2 skirts and 2 dresses.

I absolutely love the whole "banded at the bottom" trend in shirts and the more loose/flowy styles. My stomach is not all cute and flat yet and I like having something to hide my rolls behind. I managed to find 3 casual shirts that are loose or banded in black/navy/dark teal.

I also found a sheer black blouse with a victorian-esque ruffle down the front. It still had the tag on it. I totally dig the uber girly victorian style.

One reason I love thrift stores is because I like to dress a little bit quirky. Some of the "old lady stuff" is my absolute favorite. This time I paid homage to my grandma style by getting a satin collared shirt with a soft watercolor floral print. It sort of looks like the upholstery you'd find in a whimsical white victorian cottage. I freaking love it.

Another thing I love looking for at thrift stores is lingerie. The old school lingerie is actually really modest. I've found 2 pieces in the past that I now wear as dresses. (Seriously, they go down to my ankles.) And this time I found a crimson red satin top with black lace. With a black tank top underneath the soft fabric and lace look more feminine than sexy. I love wearing de-sexified grandma lingerie in the day time. Oh yeah.

Major score in the shirt department.

But that's not even the best part.

I found a black strapless a-line cotton dress. For TWO DOLLARS. I'm pretty sure black strapless a-line cotton dresses are the most functional and multi-purpose garments in the entire world. Thanks GAP.

I also found a vintage gold formal dress with a nice fat bow that ties at the chest. (Not exactly practical for every day, but I have a special event coming up!) Oh how I love bows! And gold! And vintage! And maternity wear! Wait... what? Yeah. The dress was made for pregnant ladies. In general though? I love maternity clothes. Which would be way less weird if I was actually pregnant or ever planning to be.... But I'm not. Still. Maternity wear fits amazingly well if you have a J. Lo booty. Seriously. Try it on. They use extra material to accommodate a bump. (My bump just happens to be in the back instead of the front.)

My most useful find was a plain black pencil skirt. I have one already but it is 2 sizes bigger than the one I bought and if I lose another 5 pounds it will be completely falling off... So updating was necessary. And $5 for a black pencil skirt that fits well and still has the tags on? Well. Duh.

And my FAVORITE find... which was also my MOST EXPENSIVE find... Costing me $13 out of the $50 total I spent... A beaaauuuuttiiffullll straight black skirt with black lace overlay. It is just gorgeous. It also still has the tags on. I'm pretty sure some fancy lady bought it back in the early 90s and never touched it. Now it's mine ALL MIIINEEE and I will be touching it all inappropriately as much as I possibly can.

I love lace. And sheen. And softness. And ruffles. And bows. And pretty much all other things sickeningly girly.

Can ya tell?

So one thing I did not get at all was pants or shorts. I have one pair of just-above-the-knee-length black "walking shorts" that still fit, 2 pairs of trousers and 2 pairs of jeans.

I didn't feel like buying anything else.

I have saved a pair of size 5 jeans from "the old days" and once I fit into those, I'll know it's time to buy a few more bottoms. In the meantime my size 10s seem to be fitting the new size 8 me decently well.

Okay so now that I ranted and raved about Tuesday's thrifting adventures I'll tell you about today's.

My mother-in-law purchased two groupons good towards $30 worth of stuff at Neighborhood Thrift maannyyyy moons ago. Turns out they were going to expire soon so Tuesday she went and used one up. She then graciously gifted the second one to me.

YAY!

Neighborhood Thrift has a TERRIBLE collection of clothing. Seriously. It's just gross. But they are redeemed because on Thursdays they sell their books for half price. And they have the biggest collection of books I've ever seen at any thrift stores around here.

And guess what I have been desperately wanting lately?

Yeah. You got it! Books!

I absolutely looooveeee thriller/crime/suspense/murder mystery books. You know. Dean Koontz. Sue Grafton. James Patterson. Michael Connelly. Yep. I eat that stuff up.

Not just those authors though. I'm really not picky about the author. If I look at the back and it says someone died, then I want to read it. Pretty much. I know that's kind of awful. But that is how I roll. I am all about the murder and intrigue over here.

Anyways, I can and usually do read those types of books in about a day. Maybe two. They don't last me long.

And I've been "out" of books to read for... oh... 3 weeks now. But no longer. Cuz I bought 28 books today.

Yeah. Twenty plus eight more.

So... I should be good for awhile.

Because I went on their half price day the books only ended up costing $11.

So I also bought a bundt cake pan, two ceramic air-tight storage containers for my kitchen, two foldable cloth cubes, a fancy wooden pepper mill and a glass beverage dispenser painted with sunflowers.

My husband loooveesss angel food cake but I didn't have the right kind of pan to make it. Problem solved. I love freshly ground pepper but didn't have a way to grind it. Problem solved. I needed 2 bins of some sort to organize my tupperware drawer. Now I have cubes. Problem solved. I have been dying to make sun tea but don't have any glass jars. Problem. Freaking. SOLVED.

The only thing I didn't actually need were the storage containers. But they were lovely and chocolate brown and air-tight and beautiful and match my kitchen colors. Plus I am a baker. I am sure I can find some use for them. (Cake flour? Whole wheat flour? Bread flour? See. I am already coming up with stuff. I knew they were a smart buy!)

Okay enough about how cheap material stuff makes me happy.

Tomorrow I am going hiking.

HELLS. YEAH.

I have been DYING to get out of town.

I am going STIR CRAZY!

But we just don't really have the money to stay overnight somewhere.

So an afternoon hike... in the Sequoias... with a picnic lunch?

Sounds like the perfect plan.

Plus also? There will be exercise. That does not even feel like exercise! So that is awesome.

However now I am tasked with trying to decide what to make for lunch.

Plain old turkey sandwiches will just not do I am afraid.

I'm thinking...









Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

So excited.