It's another pretty Sunday. And this one's warm too, so the house its opened up and the cats and I are enjoying the day. The pictures today are off my friend's new family member. This is a ball python, piebald in color, no name yet. He's like the same color as Zoe. Pretty, isn't he?
Anyway the title of this post is 'self image' because I'm seriously struggling with mine. I bought a skirt last weekend. It was a size 6! And almost too big! When I started losing weight over a year ago, I was buying size 14 slacks. So my dilemma is that now have a size 14 mentality in a size 6 body. I'm still buying clothes that are baggy on me. Part of that is that I don't really like the skin-tight styles that are all the rage for women right now, but partly it's also because it's been a long time since I looked good in clothes that fit me. And I'm convinced that there is, somewhere out there, a happy medium between skin tight and baggy. I just haven't found it yet. And I think the first step will be to get a better grasp on what size I am now.
So I'm working on my self image. I totally now understand how anorexic people can look in the mirror and think that they're fat. Self image is really powerful. You don't see yourself as other people see you, or as you really are. You see what your mind expects to see. I keep seeing a size 14. But I'm working on it. And in the meantime I'm not dieting so seriously any more. It's all about finding a balance and maintaining where I am now.
Of course one of the downsides to losing nearly 30 pounds is that NOTHING I own fits me anymore. Coats, jackets, pajamas, bras, panties, sweats, shorts. It's all too big. I've been focusing on replacing my work wardrobe, but I need to be replacing other stuff too. I don't mind sleeping in pajamas that are too big, but I do mind tripping over them when they fall off in the morning.
*laughing * I just almost this entire post talking about my weight. Obsess much?
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get rain this week. It's been really dry here in the Metroplex. Moisture has been tending to pass over us and drop farther east. I'm going to have to start my sprinkler system up really early this year at this rate. The forecast is for a chance of rain midweek, so I'll hope that comes true. We haven't had any rain to speak of yet this year, and unless that changes soon, water restrictions are going to be fierce this summer.
That's about it for today.
Not much to talk about today. It is really a beautiful Sunday. Gorgeous and sunny. And warm! Well, relatively warm. It's barely hit 70, but after another week of cloudy gloom and sub-freezing temperatures, it's pretty wonderful to have low 70s and I'll take it.
This is my flowering quince. You can see that it's just beginning to bloom. Last year at this time it was in full bloom so the cold temperatures this year have made it a little slow. I'm hoping we don't get another freeze and kill the flowers that are now coming out. You can see in the lower picture that everything else is still quite dormant. I think I'll keep my surviving aloe vera in the house for a bit yet.
I got a bid from my lawn service to replace the shrubbery damaged (killed) by the foundation repair work. I decided to have it done by professionals rather than struggle with it myself. I suppose I could be lazy also. I'm waiting to hear from them as to when they want to do it.
Yesterday I went to the National Reptile Breeder's Association Convention, which happens to be being held this weekend in Arlington. It was quite interesting. I can honestly say I've never seen so many snakes in one place at one time. Nor so many colors and varieties. And turtles, and lizards and frogs. It was amazing. Although I thought I maybe wouldn't be able to leave there without buying a bearded dragon, I managed to resist the urge for a while longer. The chameleons and various monitor lizards were also pretty cool, but I suspect if I get a lizard, I'll stick to the bearded dragons. Other types are significantly more aggressive than the laid-back bearded dragons.
My friend who went with me yesterday didn't escape the lure. She went home with a little Ball Python. He's gorgeous - piebald. I kind of knew she'd succumb because she's talked for years about getting another one. She had a snake years before.
Not much else going on. I think I may have missed my dose of INH yesterday. I honestly can't remember if I took it or not. Oh well, if I come to the end of 180 days with an extra pill this month, I'll know I missed that day. *laughing* Okay, I'm a little slow. I went and counted the pills. I have twenty-six left and I'm on my fourth day of the month. Obviously I took the pill yesterday. I don't know why I was fretting about it. Even if I missed one day out of nine months it wouldn't be a big deal. I just didn't want to mess up my perfect record.
Time to go exercise. Later.
It really is gloomy today. And it's drizzling rain, not enough to give us the moisture we so desperately need. Just enough to have everything wet. And it's cold! Hovering above freezing, but not a lot above freezing. A couple more degrees and that drizzle will begin forming an ice layer on everything. I'm hoping that doesn't happen.
I don't have any new pictures to post, so the pictures today are all old ones from my 2009 vacation to Colorado and Utah. Something to give me a little lift on my depressingly gloomy Sunday. The first one is one of the Ebert's squirrels my sister has around her place in Colorado.
The next picture is a woodpecker that doesn't know it's supposed to be going after insects in the tree trunks, not seeds in the bird feeder. This one spent a fair amount of time on the feeder.
I suppose I could turn on the Super Bowl if I wanted things to be somewhat more festive. I imagine that's what my Colorado sister is currently doing, now that I think about it. Or no, not yet. It doesn't start for another couple of hours, but given that the Broncos are playing, I'm sure she'll be glued to the set once it starts. I'm not much of a football fan though, unless I'm at my parents house. Then I tend to watch lots of sports because they like to watch sports on TV. My take on sports in general though is that they're only fun to watch if someone you personally know is playing, if you're watching them with a group of people, or if you're actually at the game. Otherwise I can't stay interested. Not even for the Super Bowl commercials.
I need to get off my ass and exercise this afternoon. I ate a lot yesterday - for the first time in a long time, actually consumed more calories than I spent. Today I need to get back on my calorie counting and exercise program. Still. It's okay to splurge occasionally, as long as it doesn't become a habit. I can afford to pick up a few pounds.
This picture is a young rock squirrel that hung around one of our campsites in Utah. These guys are everywhere out there, but most of them were fatter than this little guy. I imagine he was from that year's litter.
Yay! It's actually raining rather than the moist drizzle. Now if it will just stay above freezing it can rain all it wants. Especially tonight. Sliding to work on ice tomorrow morning doesn't sound like fun. Rain this time of year is good though. Things will start blooming soon - and probably get killed by the frost. The mid-70s to mid-20s temperature swings we've been having lately are making it hard on people and plants. There's been enough really cold weather this year already though for me to be able to wear almost all of my heavy sweaters - or anyway those that still fit and don't hang on me like bags.
Last picture is a swarm of goldfinches on the thistle sacks, again at my Colorado sister's place. They really were swarming those sacks.
I did get outside last weekend and cut all my roses back to nubs. It was gorgeous outside so I decided not to wait for February 14th to do it. I also cleaned out the garden area around my patio between the shrubs there, and cleaned out the flowering quince - removing the grapevine that was entwined through it. The quince is covered with buds already, some of which are showing signs of opening. That's the one that's going to get killed in the frost. It's opening too early, seduced by the warm temperatures. Or maybe it's not earlier than usual. It was in full flower in mid-February last year. We've just had colder weather this year. Or anyway, longer sustained cold weather.
This week I passed a milestone. Day 135. Halfway though my INH treatment. I'll be glad when it's over and I don't have to worry about remembering to take a pill everyday. Or worry about whether I'll kill my liver if I drink a beer. When I had that blood work done where I got the great cholesterol results, I also got not so great, elevated liver enzyme results. I expected it, because INH is liver-toxic. But seeing the numbers made me even more conscious that I shouldn't drink alcohol and stress my liver more than the drug is already doing. Four and a half more months. Not all that long I guess.
