Sunday, October 27, 2013

10-27-13

The last couple weeks have been kind of up and down for me.  I've been thinking a lot about the progress I've made in the past 2 years.  I've lost over 80 lbs and that's pretty damn amazing no matter how heavy you are or were. But I can't help but feel a little sad too because while I've lost a lot, I still have so far to go until I'm a normal, healthy weight.  I'm still fat. Still.  I'm not discouraged by that, though. If anything it makes me want to get there even more.  So I've been comparing where I was to where I am.  When I first started I was 343 lbs. My BMI was around 58.  I was wearing about a size 32-34.  I couldn't walk down the hall at work without losing my breath. My feet and ankles were almost always swollen and sore. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror. Now my BMI is just a smidge under 40. I can wear a size 26.  Not only can I walk down the hall without any issue, I can run down the hall if I choose to and not feel like I'm going to die. My feet and ankles are nice and boney again and my appearance no longer disgusts me. Every bit of that is good progress.

The last time I blogged I had lost 81 lbs. I'm happy to say that as of yesterday I'm down 90 lbs. 90 lbs!!!  That's only 10 lbs away from hitting 100 lbs by the end of November. And I will still be fat. But I'll only be 13 lbs away from the weight my driver's license says I am. And once I hit that, I'll only be 30 lbs from being out of the 200s.  I have so much to look forward to!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

10-13-13 Post 3 of 3

I have been a knitting fool since the middle of August.  Since then I have finished a lace scarf, a lace shawl and a baby blanket.  The reason for my knitting foolishness is because I realized about that time that I hadn't entered anytrhing into the fair yet and then when I did enter I became a tad ambitious and entered 3 categories:  knitted lace, knitted shawl/stole and knitted scarf.  I only had one thing finished, an infinity scarf that I made at the very beginning of the year.  I had the lace scarf maybe about a quarter of the way done and I didn't even have a pattern for the shawl picked out.  Every spare moment I've had since then has been spent knitting.  I finished knitting the lace scarf on August 29.  Knitting lace requires too much concentration, so I started on the baby blanket and worked on that while we were in Atlanta.  As soon as we got back home  I started on the shawl.  I finished it the last weekend of September, just a couple days before I had to turn it in for judging.

Here I am in a panel at Dragon*Con working on the baby blanket. 


That blanket is finished now, but I haven't taken pictures yet.  The top part is green.  It was such a nice and easy pattern.  It's going to make a very nice gift for someone. 

Here is the infinity scarf I entered in the fair.  It won second place in its category.

This is the lace scarf I entered in the fair.  It won first place in its category.

And this is the lace shawl I entered.  It also won first place in its category.

Now I have knitting fever again.  Since I submitted my fair entries, I've finished the baby blanket above, another infinity scarf and I've already been thinking about what to enter next year. 

10-13-13 Post 2 of 3

I am happy to report that I am down 81 lbs.  It could be more, but I haven't weighed myself in a few weeks.  I've been sick so exercise and such hasn't been first on my mind.  The last week of September I got an awful cough with congestion and a fever.  I feel 90% back to normal, but I still have a small cough.  It's getting better every day, though.  Other than exercise, I've been doing pretty good with staying on track.  Some days are better than others, but that's pretty normal.  Anyway, I'm 19 lbs away from my goal.  It seems like I get farther and farther away from being able to meet that goal by the end of November.  I have to keep remembering that life will not end if I don't make it by the end of November.  It's not like all the weight is going to pile back on overnight if I don't meet it.  I am still going to be awesome regardless. 

While I was sick, our air conditioner died.  I was willing, at first, to try to wait as long as possible before getting a new ac.  However, that was before I remembered how utterly and completely miserable that life without air conditioning is.  I had the windows up and every fan I could find blowing right on me and I was still sweating.  I am truly thankful that it wasn't July or August when it happened.  Within a day I was ready to sell my left arm and any other appendage to get the air fixed.  It's now fixed and I am comfortable again.  Although selling my left arm and any other appendage might have come out cheaper.

Before all of that happened, though we added another furkid to our family.  The newest member of the family is Vex.


She's so cute and she has the greatest pur, but damn she's pestering our cat, Zed, like crazy.  I forgot how kittens are into everything and how everything like feet and fingers are playtoys for their amusement.  Needless to say, I have cat scratches on top of cat scratches.  It really is a good thing that she's so darn cute. 

10-13-13 Post 1 of 3


 
Man, do I have a lot to say this time around! So much that I'll break this up into several posts.
 
So, Post 1: Dragon*Con
 
Dragon*Con is a Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Multi-Media convention held in Atlanta, GA over Labor Day weekend every year. It encompasses 5 hotels (Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Sheraton and Westin) and the AmericasMart across from the Hyatt and beside the Westin. This year, with the addition of the AmericasMart, was bigger than ever. It is quite impossible to describe all that Dragon*Con is to someone who has not experienced it. One simple way is to say that it's a weekend spent with 50,000 of your closest friends, met and un-met, all geeking out over actors, tv, movies, authors, games, books all having something to do in one way or another with the sci-fi/fantasy genre. It's awesome.
 
We got to Atlanta on August 28. We like to go on the Wednesday before the Con so we can get re-acclimated to everything because Atlanta is vastly different to where we live. Normally we relax and nap/lay around so we can be completely rested up for when everything starts. This year, though, we decided to go to the Atlanta Aquarium. We walked instead of taking a wheeled conveyance. (activity, yay!!!) It wasn't a bad walk, but it was hilly and it was hotter than blue blazes. The best thing about the aquarium was that they had otters! River otters and sea otters, even! Anywhere that has otters is pretty darn ok in my book. I also liked that they had huge Whale Sharks and rays. They even had a tank that was modeled after a barrier reef, complete with waves. Loved it!
 
Wednesday night we rested.  Thursday morning we went to registration.  While we were in line we made some new friends and passed the time bwfore registration opened.  I worked on my knitting, which I'll talk about a little later.  On Friday, the convention started.  I'm not going to detail everything we saw and did.  Let's face it, I do not have the memory of an elephant.  Let's just say that we had a great time and stayed on the go the whole time.  Two of the biggest highlights for me was getting a hug from Grant Bowler who plays Nolan on Defiance (show on SyFy channel) for my excellent Ugly Betty knowledge and getting to meet George Takei.
 
Before we went to D*C we started watching another show on SyFy, Heroes of Cosplay.  The show documents several men and women as they developed costumes and competed in contests at conventions around the US.  I thought it was a great show that really showcased how much hard work and creativity is involved in cosplay.  Overall, I thought the show was very positive, but it did voice what is possibly a prejudice in the cosplay world.  I say possibly because I do know that a good bit of the show was editted to within an inch of its life and much could have been taken out of context.  Several of the people on the show made comments indicating their beliefs that overweight people shouldn't cosplay certain characters.  I call bullshit.  If a person pays attention to detail and does the costume right, who cares if they are a size 4 or a size 34?  Personally, I would love to see a plus sized woman cosplay Wonder Woman.  I would love to see her confidence as she portrayed such an iconic character and showed everyone that superheroes come in all shapes and sizes.  And honestly, if the thought of someone overweight cosplaying a character who is not overweight on paper or screen disgusts you, get over it.  I envy the confidence of overweight people who cosplay.  I wish that I had not spent so much of my life listening to so many people who said I couldn't do something because I was fat, or any other reason.  I wish instead of being cowed by disapproval, I had held my head high and told them to watch me while I suceeded.  Believe in yourself and make everyone else believe in you!