At the end of each year, I like to spend a little time reflecting on what happened. But mainly, I like to spend a few days dreaming and hoping that the new year will bring bigger and better things. The past 5 years of my life have not gone well. I've spent the majority of my time trying to work towards the only thing I ever wanted in this life - love, a husband, children, family and a home. Instead, I usually encounter a lot of bad emotional stuff that I don't think any human should be subjected to.
2013 brought with it such hope and it has ended in such disappointed. This was the year I was going to start traveling around the world. This was the year I was finally going to meet my weight lost goal of 130 pounds. This was the year I was finally suppose to meet a man who would love me as much as I loved him.
The year started out good. I had an amazing trip to Canada, I was so close to my goal weight, and I had a guy who I loved and claimed he felt similarly to me. And I had booked a trip to Ireland for later that year.
And then, I slept with the guy and the next morning, 5 minutes after he left my house, he emailed me breaking it off and saying he would never see me again. I crashed. All hope and motivation for everything just disappeared. And, over the rest of the year, I just couldn't bring myself to exercise, eat quite as healthy, and I just kept gaining weight.
I did go to Ireland, and it was a fun trip. In a strange twist of fate, the guy dumping me after sex - A thing that has happened with all three men I have ever slept with, just broke me. I could no longer stand that I'd sleep with a guy and he'd dump me the very next morning. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong and what is so terrible about me.
I thought about the first man I had ever slept with. The man I lost my virginity to. The man I loved and, whom, after 4 years, I still loved. The man who claimed he loved me too. I couldn't take it anymore that all the men I had loved and slept with hated my guts. I couldn't take it anymore that not a single one of them had cared for me even a little bit. It was too much. The first man had been my friend, I thought, and maybe we could be friends again. If only we could be friends, I wouldn't feel so bad. He may not have loved me, but if we could be friends, at least he didn't hate me. Please don't hate me. No girl deserves to have a man she slept with, especially the one she lost her virginity to, hate her.
On impulse, I reached out to him. I hadn't talked to him in 4 years. I wasn't hoping to get back together. I doubted he even used the same email. All I wanted and hoped for was a, "I don't hate you and we can be penpals that talk via email once a month."
I did hear back from him and what I did wasn't what I was expecting. He was excited to hear from me. He was sorry for his decision to dump me. He felt he probably made the biggest mistaken in his life. Several months talking, we got back together. We have been dating for 5 months now.
Honestly, I don't think he really loves me or cares. I think he will dump me eventually. But I do love him and after him, I'm giving up on dating and finding love completely. It's just too painful for me and I can't go through another man sleeping with me, saying he loves me, and dumping me the next morning again by email or text. I just can't. So, it doesn't really cost me anything to stick around until he does dump me. It's not like I'll find anyone else to take his place.
I probably gained about 50 pounds this year. My clothes don't even fit but I refuse to buy bigger sizes. The good news is, after a year of no motivation, I have finally gained it back. Yes, I want to lose the weight I gained and finally meet my goal of 130. But, mostly, right now, I just want to get back into shape health wise.
I do hope I lose the weight and meet my goal in 2014. I hope that my boyfriend finally falls in love with me. I hope we get engaged, and I move up to where he is, and in with him. I hope we plan a wedding for 2015. And I hope by late 2015 or early 2016, I might get pregnant.
They are just hopes and dreams. But hey, this is the end of the year and it is the time fantasies are allowed for the future.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Friday, December 06, 2013
A southern girl in the north.
I'm a Texan, born and raised, through and through. After 34 years in Texas, no matter where I end up, I will always be a Texan. I'm not only a Texan, but I'm a Texan from a part of the state that doesn't get snow. On the few occasions it gets cold, and there is a slight possibility for ice, the city *will* shut down. So why am I mentioning this? Because my long distance boyfriend is from Minnesota.
When I first met my boyfriend, it was clear from the start that he loves where he lives and is too close to his family to ever consider moving. I, on the other hand, have spent my entire adult life working like mad to stay autonomous in order to be able to pick up an move at a moments notice if I ever find my husband, where ever and whenever that may be. So, it was no question that if anything ever came of us, I'd be moving to Minnesota rather then him moving to Texas.
The first go around of dating him, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I'd need to do to move up. I was willing to go the distance. Then he broke it off. 4 years later, amazingly, we are back together. This time, I'm once again willing to go the distance, but I'm looking and seeing a lot more of the minutia than I did before. We are taking things slowly. For me, about ever 6 weeks I come up to visit for a period of time. It's both for us to learn about each other, bond, see how we like and get along, but also so I can acclimate and learn about what I'm signing up for.
I have to say, right now, I'm feeling so lost. This Texan girl is quickly learning there is so much she doesn't know and I have never been one for not being in the know. I'm learning things that my boyfriend, his family, and friend take for granted because they just grew up with it.
So, I figured I'd chronicle some of the unexpected things I'm learning about Minnesota that is different than my Texas.
1) It's country baby - Even though Texas is country, we have tons of big cities. Minnesota has the cities and everything else is a small town - regardless of what they think. PS: It is not the Twin Cities or Minneapolis and St. Paul - it is "the cities".
2) It's pretty - I'm a nature lover, but even if you are not, you can appreciate that Minnesota is a beautiful state.
3)It's hazy - The first time I visited in the fall, I couldn't understand why, even on a clear sunny day, I could see fog in the distance. I figured the day was just foggy, but then it happened again and again and never burned up. I finally asked my boyfriend about it. Since the water is warmer than the air, and there is so much water in Minnesota, you get a fairly constant hazy around everything. I'm slowly getting use to it, but it was a big shock coming form clear and sunny Texas.
3)It gets light later and dark earlier. Since we are both central time, I was shocked when I first learned that it got dark almost 2 hours earlier than back home and lighter about an hour later. As I love my sunshine, this will take some adjusting too.
4)It's very white - outside of the cities, you don't see a lot of people who are not white. Not only that, but it is very common to be blondes, blue eyes, and tallish. As someone who is brown haired, green eyed, and only 5 feet. I definitely feel like I stick out like a soar thumb.
5)You plow your drive way like you walk your dog. It's just another chore that has to been done.
6)They have basements and split level houses.
7)Hunting and Ice Fishing are very common. In fact, I'm noticing that many of the people from Minnesota country side are very similar.
8)Pop is soda. Hotdish is a casserole.
9) If you see a tornado of snow, it is a snow blower. A snow blower is not like a leaf blower.
10) You have to plow the snow around your mailbox or the mailman will not delivery you mail.
11) If you shovel or plow your snow, you have to push it back further than you need to otherwise, as the winter continues, you will lose driveway space.
12) The roads don't get nearly as clear of snow, for driving, as you would expect. So, when it snows, you will be driving on the snow.
When I first met my boyfriend, it was clear from the start that he loves where he lives and is too close to his family to ever consider moving. I, on the other hand, have spent my entire adult life working like mad to stay autonomous in order to be able to pick up an move at a moments notice if I ever find my husband, where ever and whenever that may be. So, it was no question that if anything ever came of us, I'd be moving to Minnesota rather then him moving to Texas.
The first go around of dating him, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I'd need to do to move up. I was willing to go the distance. Then he broke it off. 4 years later, amazingly, we are back together. This time, I'm once again willing to go the distance, but I'm looking and seeing a lot more of the minutia than I did before. We are taking things slowly. For me, about ever 6 weeks I come up to visit for a period of time. It's both for us to learn about each other, bond, see how we like and get along, but also so I can acclimate and learn about what I'm signing up for.
I have to say, right now, I'm feeling so lost. This Texan girl is quickly learning there is so much she doesn't know and I have never been one for not being in the know. I'm learning things that my boyfriend, his family, and friend take for granted because they just grew up with it.
So, I figured I'd chronicle some of the unexpected things I'm learning about Minnesota that is different than my Texas.
1) It's country baby - Even though Texas is country, we have tons of big cities. Minnesota has the cities and everything else is a small town - regardless of what they think. PS: It is not the Twin Cities or Minneapolis and St. Paul - it is "the cities".
2) It's pretty - I'm a nature lover, but even if you are not, you can appreciate that Minnesota is a beautiful state.
3)It's hazy - The first time I visited in the fall, I couldn't understand why, even on a clear sunny day, I could see fog in the distance. I figured the day was just foggy, but then it happened again and again and never burned up. I finally asked my boyfriend about it. Since the water is warmer than the air, and there is so much water in Minnesota, you get a fairly constant hazy around everything. I'm slowly getting use to it, but it was a big shock coming form clear and sunny Texas.
3)It gets light later and dark earlier. Since we are both central time, I was shocked when I first learned that it got dark almost 2 hours earlier than back home and lighter about an hour later. As I love my sunshine, this will take some adjusting too.
4)It's very white - outside of the cities, you don't see a lot of people who are not white. Not only that, but it is very common to be blondes, blue eyes, and tallish. As someone who is brown haired, green eyed, and only 5 feet. I definitely feel like I stick out like a soar thumb.
5)You plow your drive way like you walk your dog. It's just another chore that has to been done.
6)They have basements and split level houses.
7)Hunting and Ice Fishing are very common. In fact, I'm noticing that many of the people from Minnesota country side are very similar.
8)Pop is soda. Hotdish is a casserole.
9) If you see a tornado of snow, it is a snow blower. A snow blower is not like a leaf blower.
10) You have to plow the snow around your mailbox or the mailman will not delivery you mail.
11) If you shovel or plow your snow, you have to push it back further than you need to otherwise, as the winter continues, you will lose driveway space.
12) The roads don't get nearly as clear of snow, for driving, as you would expect. So, when it snows, you will be driving on the snow.
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Where Have I Been - 2013
It's been about 6 months since I have last posted. To be truthful, these last 6 months have not gone as I planned at all. I have been terribly stressed to the point of suffering from Burn Out. Why? Well, let me share. In a nutshell:
A)Moving. I took a look at my finances and my prospect for a pay increase (almost zero) versus my current cost of living. I was a little sadden to see, despite having a good job, I needed to downgrade my quality of life. I live fairly cheaply. I don't spend a lot on a phone, I don't have cable, and I don't spend a lot of money on "toys" or eating out. My biggest expense is my apartment and I just couldn't afford to continue paying the amount I was with the increases in my taxes and health insurance with no pay raise to offset it. So, I decided I needed to move to a cheaper apartment when my lease was up this December. I spent a lot of time looking for apartments and if I wanted to stay somewhat in my current location, my options where pretty bad. Pretty much ghetto section 8 housing. Not that I minded too much, it was just a pretty big downgrade for me.
However, after talking to my parent's, they offered another solution. Moving into my Grandmother's house. My grandmother requires 24/7 care and so is living with my parents. She still has her house, which she doesn't want to get rid of yet. So, it seemed an ideal solution that I move in to maintain it and, in turn, I only had to pay the upkeep of the house - no rent. So my monthly cost will decrease about 75%. That is a huge savings. I can take all that money and safe it to replenish my savings, put some towards travel, and I know I will need a new vehicle soon, so can start saving for that.
I'm no stranger to moving, having never stayed in one place for more than 2 years since I was 17, so I know how hard and stressful moving is. I didn't realize, though, that my Grandmother's house was in such disrepair. It's old, but coupled with it being neglected, with people living in it that actually contributed to the degradation, it was in terrible shape. I know I was downgrading but I didn't want to move into the money pit. My mom and I have been working on fixing her up for almost a year now and we are not even close to finished. I finally ran out of time (I didn't want to move in until it was completed), but my lease is up at the end of this month and I had to move in. This is one of those few times in my life where I feel like I made the wrong decision.
Now that I'm moved in, with a few final repairs (like getting the leak fixed in the gargage so I can hook up the washer and dryer, it isn't too bad. The move is almost complete, and being finally somewhat settled has lifted a lot of stress from me.
B)Work. Unexpectedly, work has been the biggest contributor to my Burn Out. It's funny how one week you come home from work and reflect on how much you love your job and then 1 month later you hate it so much you are ready to quit. I was assigned (and still have it) to a project from hell. It just turned out to be one thing after another and after awhile it just all piled up to the point where I started going crazy. Since the project is winding down, things are finally getting back to normal, but it was touch and go there for a little bit. I was working 50-60 hour weeks.
C)New Personal Relationship. I was dating a guy who broke up with me and crushed me in a manner which, when a man does this to a woman, has just booked his personal spot in hell. I kid you not and , no, I don't want to get into anymore details. Needless to say, he did something very bad to me and will rot in hell for it. But, prior to that, during, and after, thoughts of a certain ex-boyfriend, kept popping into my head. This ex was someone who I loved dearly, was my first love. Yet another boyfriend who broke up with me. I think he just got scared, spooked, and broke up with me. The break up wasn't all that good but to this day I always think of him. He was my friend before my lover and I hated the fact that someone I cared about so much probably wouldn't give me a drop of water if I was dying of thirst in the dessert because of the way we parted. I didn't want to have such bad final memories of someone I cared for so deeply and even gave my virginity too. I had been thinking about reaching out to contact him for some time, and events finally triggered me to do so. At the time, I didn't even know if the email address I was about to use was even still active. But I figure, what the heck. We were friends before, and I wanted to be friends again.
The results of that one small decision and action were something that not even I, in my wildest imagination, would have predicted. Not only did I hear right back from him, but his response was shocking. He had been thinking about sending a similar email but didn't want to bring bad stuff back up(which I appreciated). And, he regretted his decision to break up with me(duh, I'm awesome - he gave up something very special), to the day felt he might had made the biggest mistake in his life(I said as much when he was breaking up with me years ago), and was glad and surprised to hear from me (wow, didn't see that coming).
I swear, when I sent that email, all I was hoping for was to reestablish a friendship. Getting back together was a ship that sailed a long time ago and I had made peace with. But, here I am, typing up this post from his kitchen table. >< Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that 4 years later, after he broke my heart, we would be back together (I hoped to hear from him and get back together for almost 2 years after the break up, but after 2 years, I realized it wasn't going to happen and finally moved on). It's a long distance relationship, so we are taking it slow and have a long way to go, but he swears he is in it for the long haul. And me? Well, I've never been in it for anything but the long haul with him. I don't know what our future holds, but I'm determined to just enjoy the journey.
Starting any new relationship comes with it's own form of stress. A long distance relationship adds another level. But, all that with a guy who has already broken your heart once - never quite being sure of his feelings and levels of commitment and devotion - well... add that to all the other stuff in my life and that makes for one truly stressed out person.
And that is why I have not been posting for so long. I've just been too busy and too stressed to think about it. But, I'm taking this week off and I visiting my boyfriend and so I have some free time. And things are getting a little better (finally). I have a lot to reflect upon - more on that later. One of the worst things about all the stress is that I have gained back a lot of the weight. I'd say, probably 30 to 50 pounds. I just didn't have the energy to exercise and food seemed to be one of the few comforting outlets around. I'm so upset by it (the weight gain), but plan to start buckling down to lose it again now that things are settling.
All in all, I'd say 2013 has been an year of the unexpected. It has been a fairly bad year. It has definitely not gone the way I hoped or planned. One of the biggest disappointments was my yearly horoscope prediction for this year not coming to fruition. Not that I truly put any stalk into horoscopes, but they are fun and mine for 2013 was pretty awesome. This was suppose to be a big year for change and romance for me. It promised wrecking down the old and rebuilding with the new where my life would never be the same. The second half of the year was suppose to hold a lot of goodness and romance where I wouldn't be lonely anymore. I was hoping for that "deep and unfathomable commitment for you" I was promised.
But, then again, who knows. Current things have the potential to completely change in my life (more next post) and maybe my boyfriend really is deeply and unfathomable committed to me and I just don't know it yet. Maybe my future holds love and marriage and a family of my own (the only things I ever really wanted for myself in life). That's the thing about the future, you just never know what surprises it holds for you.
A)Moving. I took a look at my finances and my prospect for a pay increase (almost zero) versus my current cost of living. I was a little sadden to see, despite having a good job, I needed to downgrade my quality of life. I live fairly cheaply. I don't spend a lot on a phone, I don't have cable, and I don't spend a lot of money on "toys" or eating out. My biggest expense is my apartment and I just couldn't afford to continue paying the amount I was with the increases in my taxes and health insurance with no pay raise to offset it. So, I decided I needed to move to a cheaper apartment when my lease was up this December. I spent a lot of time looking for apartments and if I wanted to stay somewhat in my current location, my options where pretty bad. Pretty much ghetto section 8 housing. Not that I minded too much, it was just a pretty big downgrade for me.
However, after talking to my parent's, they offered another solution. Moving into my Grandmother's house. My grandmother requires 24/7 care and so is living with my parents. She still has her house, which she doesn't want to get rid of yet. So, it seemed an ideal solution that I move in to maintain it and, in turn, I only had to pay the upkeep of the house - no rent. So my monthly cost will decrease about 75%. That is a huge savings. I can take all that money and safe it to replenish my savings, put some towards travel, and I know I will need a new vehicle soon, so can start saving for that.
I'm no stranger to moving, having never stayed in one place for more than 2 years since I was 17, so I know how hard and stressful moving is. I didn't realize, though, that my Grandmother's house was in such disrepair. It's old, but coupled with it being neglected, with people living in it that actually contributed to the degradation, it was in terrible shape. I know I was downgrading but I didn't want to move into the money pit. My mom and I have been working on fixing her up for almost a year now and we are not even close to finished. I finally ran out of time (I didn't want to move in until it was completed), but my lease is up at the end of this month and I had to move in. This is one of those few times in my life where I feel like I made the wrong decision.
Now that I'm moved in, with a few final repairs (like getting the leak fixed in the gargage so I can hook up the washer and dryer, it isn't too bad. The move is almost complete, and being finally somewhat settled has lifted a lot of stress from me.
B)Work. Unexpectedly, work has been the biggest contributor to my Burn Out. It's funny how one week you come home from work and reflect on how much you love your job and then 1 month later you hate it so much you are ready to quit. I was assigned (and still have it) to a project from hell. It just turned out to be one thing after another and after awhile it just all piled up to the point where I started going crazy. Since the project is winding down, things are finally getting back to normal, but it was touch and go there for a little bit. I was working 50-60 hour weeks.
C)New Personal Relationship. I was dating a guy who broke up with me and crushed me in a manner which, when a man does this to a woman, has just booked his personal spot in hell. I kid you not and , no, I don't want to get into anymore details. Needless to say, he did something very bad to me and will rot in hell for it. But, prior to that, during, and after, thoughts of a certain ex-boyfriend, kept popping into my head. This ex was someone who I loved dearly, was my first love. Yet another boyfriend who broke up with me. I think he just got scared, spooked, and broke up with me. The break up wasn't all that good but to this day I always think of him. He was my friend before my lover and I hated the fact that someone I cared about so much probably wouldn't give me a drop of water if I was dying of thirst in the dessert because of the way we parted. I didn't want to have such bad final memories of someone I cared for so deeply and even gave my virginity too. I had been thinking about reaching out to contact him for some time, and events finally triggered me to do so. At the time, I didn't even know if the email address I was about to use was even still active. But I figure, what the heck. We were friends before, and I wanted to be friends again.
The results of that one small decision and action were something that not even I, in my wildest imagination, would have predicted. Not only did I hear right back from him, but his response was shocking. He had been thinking about sending a similar email but didn't want to bring bad stuff back up(which I appreciated). And, he regretted his decision to break up with me(duh, I'm awesome - he gave up something very special), to the day felt he might had made the biggest mistake in his life(I said as much when he was breaking up with me years ago), and was glad and surprised to hear from me (wow, didn't see that coming).
I swear, when I sent that email, all I was hoping for was to reestablish a friendship. Getting back together was a ship that sailed a long time ago and I had made peace with. But, here I am, typing up this post from his kitchen table. >< Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that 4 years later, after he broke my heart, we would be back together (I hoped to hear from him and get back together for almost 2 years after the break up, but after 2 years, I realized it wasn't going to happen and finally moved on). It's a long distance relationship, so we are taking it slow and have a long way to go, but he swears he is in it for the long haul. And me? Well, I've never been in it for anything but the long haul with him. I don't know what our future holds, but I'm determined to just enjoy the journey.
Starting any new relationship comes with it's own form of stress. A long distance relationship adds another level. But, all that with a guy who has already broken your heart once - never quite being sure of his feelings and levels of commitment and devotion - well... add that to all the other stuff in my life and that makes for one truly stressed out person.
And that is why I have not been posting for so long. I've just been too busy and too stressed to think about it. But, I'm taking this week off and I visiting my boyfriend and so I have some free time. And things are getting a little better (finally). I have a lot to reflect upon - more on that later. One of the worst things about all the stress is that I have gained back a lot of the weight. I'd say, probably 30 to 50 pounds. I just didn't have the energy to exercise and food seemed to be one of the few comforting outlets around. I'm so upset by it (the weight gain), but plan to start buckling down to lose it again now that things are settling.
All in all, I'd say 2013 has been an year of the unexpected. It has been a fairly bad year. It has definitely not gone the way I hoped or planned. One of the biggest disappointments was my yearly horoscope prediction for this year not coming to fruition. Not that I truly put any stalk into horoscopes, but they are fun and mine for 2013 was pretty awesome. This was suppose to be a big year for change and romance for me. It promised wrecking down the old and rebuilding with the new where my life would never be the same. The second half of the year was suppose to hold a lot of goodness and romance where I wouldn't be lonely anymore. I was hoping for that "deep and unfathomable commitment for you" I was promised.
But, then again, who knows. Current things have the potential to completely change in my life (more next post) and maybe my boyfriend really is deeply and unfathomable committed to me and I just don't know it yet. Maybe my future holds love and marriage and a family of my own (the only things I ever really wanted for myself in life). That's the thing about the future, you just never know what surprises it holds for you.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Match
I thought I might get a higher quality of man on match. So, I shelled out for 3 months. Big mistake. I didn't get higher quality men, I simply didn't get any men at all. In the whole 3 months, I didn't get any messages. With two weeks left, I decided to just message any hot guy I see. Nothing will come of it, but no harm either. Might as well have some fun with it.
Didn't get to do any yard work today. =(
Didn't get to do any yard work today. =(
Monday, June 17, 2013
Yard Work II
I just finished showering, my clothes are washing, and food is cooking. I'm back from my Grandmother's house and working on fixing it up. I spent 2 hours at the house working and an hour running to Lowe's during lunch.
I was out of trash bags and needed to pick up some more. I decided to try those paper 30 gallon bags that the city will pick up if you call them too. I also picked up some thick leather work gloves. I only need them when I'm working with thorn vines and rose bushes. I found a 3 pack for $5. They are too big, but considering that the next cheapest pair was $6.50 for one, I think I can deal.
Over at the house, I watered the garden and the plants I just planted. Over by the side of the house, I pulled out some plastic liner and steel fencing. The steel fence had all sorts of plants growing on it so that was quiet a challenge.
I also managed to pick up rocks, sticks, and trash for half the yard. I combed the garden for sticks and rocks - I'm getting it ready for tilling which I plan to do on Saturday.
I started picking up sticks on the other half of the yard too. That is the half that is littered with them. I filled up one of the 30 gallon bags with sticks.
I tested out the gloves, with the thorn vines. They work much better. As long as you don't grip too hard, you should be fine.
That doesn't seem like a lot of progress for two hours!
I also found out the history of my cat, Cherry Blossom, that I inherited with the house. No, Cherry Blossom was not her name. I decided to rename her because no one knew her name at the time. She seems to respond to Cherry just fine. The cat was abandoned in Freer so we don't know when it was born. The cat is probably 3 years old. It had two litters of kittens before it was spayed. It was spayed around October and had its rabies shot then. It hasn't had any other shots. At first they thought it was a male until she miscarried her first litter of kittens. Her bottom was all puffy and so could not tell that it was a female. I'll take her to the vet closer to October.
I was out of trash bags and needed to pick up some more. I decided to try those paper 30 gallon bags that the city will pick up if you call them too. I also picked up some thick leather work gloves. I only need them when I'm working with thorn vines and rose bushes. I found a 3 pack for $5. They are too big, but considering that the next cheapest pair was $6.50 for one, I think I can deal.
Over at the house, I watered the garden and the plants I just planted. Over by the side of the house, I pulled out some plastic liner and steel fencing. The steel fence had all sorts of plants growing on it so that was quiet a challenge.
I also managed to pick up rocks, sticks, and trash for half the yard. I combed the garden for sticks and rocks - I'm getting it ready for tilling which I plan to do on Saturday.
I started picking up sticks on the other half of the yard too. That is the half that is littered with them. I filled up one of the 30 gallon bags with sticks.
I tested out the gloves, with the thorn vines. They work much better. As long as you don't grip too hard, you should be fine.
That doesn't seem like a lot of progress for two hours!
I also found out the history of my cat, Cherry Blossom, that I inherited with the house. No, Cherry Blossom was not her name. I decided to rename her because no one knew her name at the time. She seems to respond to Cherry just fine. The cat was abandoned in Freer so we don't know when it was born. The cat is probably 3 years old. It had two litters of kittens before it was spayed. It was spayed around October and had its rabies shot then. It hasn't had any other shots. At first they thought it was a male until she miscarried her first litter of kittens. Her bottom was all puffy and so could not tell that it was a female. I'll take her to the vet closer to October.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Yard Work
When my lease is up in October, I will be moving into my grandmother's house. The current tenant is failing to keep up the house and that was part of the deal for him staying there rent free. So, he is being kicked out, I can stay there for very cheap as long as I take care of the place. It is a win-win.
So, for the past few weeks, I have been working in the front and back yards to try to start making a dent in all that needs to be done. To say it is a mess is an understatement. It is hard work and even if I work all day, I don't seem to make a dent.
There is a bench swing back there that I want to keep. I spray painted the frame brown and stained and water proofed the wooden swing. I decided I wanted a cushion for the swing. I picked out some pink camo material to use to make the cushion. It is the same material I made a table cloth, pot holders, and lined my picnic basket for camping with. I even purchased some extra so I may make an apron too. I found an old foam mattress pad, washed it, and it will work will for the padding. I just finished washing the fabric so all that is left is to sew it up.
I covered up a patch of land with plastic (to kill all the weeds) for a garden. It's been on there about 3 weeks now so all I need is to borrow a tiller and till up the ground. Next to it, I planted a pimento, tomatoes, and three cantaloup mounds (since they can grow in land with weeds). I've strung up steel fencing for the green beans to grow on (once I get the land tilled and beans planted). I've lined the garden with bricks to keep weeds from growing in it.
There was a carpet in front of the greenhouse, which I have picked up (it's now helping to kill weeds in the garden). The carpet was probably placed there because it was muddy. In its place, I set bricks to create a mat/step in front of the door. I also filled in the spaces with sand.
There was a bird bath, which had its stand broken. So, I took bricked, piled them up to make a stand, and then placed the bird bath on top.
There are two water hoses back there. One that is hooked up to the water and one that was just laying around. I wound the loose one around a hose wheel to get it out of the way.
There is a cement stab in the corner of the yard. It had been sitting unattended for so long that foot high weeds were growing in the dirt on top of the cement. I swept and cleaned off the cement stab. I'll power wash it later. There are holes in the yard and some uneven land. With the biggest of the holes, I filled them in with the dirt from the stab. Once that settles I'll relook at leveling things out a bit.
There was a potted oak tree that needed to be planted so I planted it. Whenever I see fire ant mounds, I cover them with Andro to kill it.
The yard hadn't been mowed in about a month. With all the rain, the weeds were up to my knee. I had to purchase a lawn mower. I put it together and then went and purchased a gallon of gas. I cleared up what I could and then mowed. It has taken me about 7 hours and I'm still not finished. I probably have about an hour of mowing left but I can't get that last patch because it has wood and boards all in it.
There are sticks all over the yard. My poor mower is taking a bad beating. I just can't see the sticks because the grass is so high. I try picking up sticks if I see them, but most of the time I don't until it is too late.
In the area of the yard, where the sticks are the worst (because that is were everyone was throwing them), I weed wracked and then raked to try to pick up as many branches as I could be before I mowed.
I managed to weed wrack some edges, but not all. I still need to finish up mowing before I get to the wracking.
There were about 12 bags, full of grass and leaves, that had been sitting in the back yard for months. I picked them all up and moved them to the back door, where I have been putting my bags from mowing. From mowing, I filled about 16 trash bags (back yard) and so, with the other bags, there are about 30 bags I need to throw away. It is going to take me awhile because trash is only picked up once a week and I can't throw out more than will fit in the trash can. I got to leave room for "real" trash from inside the house.
I did manage to take around 9 bags over to my parent's house and put the bags in their garbage can and their neighbors.
I'll pulled up some trash trees that I don't want growing in the yard. I took some of the potted handing plants, in front of the back door, over to my mother's house.
I've raked and picked up branches and sticks in the yard. I filled up one bag and 7 boxes with sticks. I threw away 4 of the boxes at my apartment. Since I am at a stand still for the mowing, my next step is to rake and pick up all the sticks. I'll start that tomorrow. I need to buy more bags.
I managed to pull some fence board, buried under weeds and brush, out from the fence. I also pulled some loose and dead rose bush and thorn vines out. They are sitting in a pile for me to bag and throw away.
I found a weed whacker that is my grandmother's so I can keep it. It works but I need to put line in it. And, I need to purchase an extension cord.
All that has taken me hours to do but it hasn't made a dent and there is still so much more to do.
In the front yard(which is much smaller), I mowed the grass and edged. A new sewer line was put in. I already covered it with dirt once, but it wasn't enough. I have purchased more dirt to finish cover it up. However, I want to cover it with dirt and then lay some carpet grass on top. Because of all the rain, I can't find carpet grass anywhere. I checked 4 places and none of them had any. All out. So that will have to wait.
A fence was put up next to the ditch by the house (to keep the children from playing in it). The children, from climbing on it, broken two of the board and I fixed them.
I also planted 5 Esperanza plants in front of the fence. When they grow bigger, that will keep the kids off the fence.
I put weed killer in on the stone walk to get rid of all the weeds growing in the cracks.
I trimmed back the flower bed which was half way covering the walkway. I removed and washed a comforter still on the patio.
There is a ton of trash and junk sitting in front of the garage. It's not mind to clean up but I did manage to clear a path from the garage to the front.
There was trash at the side of the house which had fallen down into the ditch. I went down into the ditch to pick it all up. While I was back there I trimmed back the plants and removed some of the dead branched. Then I swept out the ditch.
From the other side, I trimmed back the plants so you are now able to get to the side of the house (like you should be able too). The recycle and trash bins are suppose to sit there. As soon as the guy living there moves his stuff sitting in that corner, I'll put the bins there.
There are tons of wasp nest. I am slowing spraying them all and then knocking them down.
Again, just that little bit has taken so much time. The good news, it is is great exercise.
So, for the past few weeks, I have been working in the front and back yards to try to start making a dent in all that needs to be done. To say it is a mess is an understatement. It is hard work and even if I work all day, I don't seem to make a dent.
There is a bench swing back there that I want to keep. I spray painted the frame brown and stained and water proofed the wooden swing. I decided I wanted a cushion for the swing. I picked out some pink camo material to use to make the cushion. It is the same material I made a table cloth, pot holders, and lined my picnic basket for camping with. I even purchased some extra so I may make an apron too. I found an old foam mattress pad, washed it, and it will work will for the padding. I just finished washing the fabric so all that is left is to sew it up.
I covered up a patch of land with plastic (to kill all the weeds) for a garden. It's been on there about 3 weeks now so all I need is to borrow a tiller and till up the ground. Next to it, I planted a pimento, tomatoes, and three cantaloup mounds (since they can grow in land with weeds). I've strung up steel fencing for the green beans to grow on (once I get the land tilled and beans planted). I've lined the garden with bricks to keep weeds from growing in it.
There was a carpet in front of the greenhouse, which I have picked up (it's now helping to kill weeds in the garden). The carpet was probably placed there because it was muddy. In its place, I set bricks to create a mat/step in front of the door. I also filled in the spaces with sand.
There was a bird bath, which had its stand broken. So, I took bricked, piled them up to make a stand, and then placed the bird bath on top.
There are two water hoses back there. One that is hooked up to the water and one that was just laying around. I wound the loose one around a hose wheel to get it out of the way.
There is a cement stab in the corner of the yard. It had been sitting unattended for so long that foot high weeds were growing in the dirt on top of the cement. I swept and cleaned off the cement stab. I'll power wash it later. There are holes in the yard and some uneven land. With the biggest of the holes, I filled them in with the dirt from the stab. Once that settles I'll relook at leveling things out a bit.
There was a potted oak tree that needed to be planted so I planted it. Whenever I see fire ant mounds, I cover them with Andro to kill it.
The yard hadn't been mowed in about a month. With all the rain, the weeds were up to my knee. I had to purchase a lawn mower. I put it together and then went and purchased a gallon of gas. I cleared up what I could and then mowed. It has taken me about 7 hours and I'm still not finished. I probably have about an hour of mowing left but I can't get that last patch because it has wood and boards all in it.
There are sticks all over the yard. My poor mower is taking a bad beating. I just can't see the sticks because the grass is so high. I try picking up sticks if I see them, but most of the time I don't until it is too late.
In the area of the yard, where the sticks are the worst (because that is were everyone was throwing them), I weed wracked and then raked to try to pick up as many branches as I could be before I mowed.
I managed to weed wrack some edges, but not all. I still need to finish up mowing before I get to the wracking.
There were about 12 bags, full of grass and leaves, that had been sitting in the back yard for months. I picked them all up and moved them to the back door, where I have been putting my bags from mowing. From mowing, I filled about 16 trash bags (back yard) and so, with the other bags, there are about 30 bags I need to throw away. It is going to take me awhile because trash is only picked up once a week and I can't throw out more than will fit in the trash can. I got to leave room for "real" trash from inside the house.
I did manage to take around 9 bags over to my parent's house and put the bags in their garbage can and their neighbors.
I'll pulled up some trash trees that I don't want growing in the yard. I took some of the potted handing plants, in front of the back door, over to my mother's house.
I've raked and picked up branches and sticks in the yard. I filled up one bag and 7 boxes with sticks. I threw away 4 of the boxes at my apartment. Since I am at a stand still for the mowing, my next step is to rake and pick up all the sticks. I'll start that tomorrow. I need to buy more bags.
I managed to pull some fence board, buried under weeds and brush, out from the fence. I also pulled some loose and dead rose bush and thorn vines out. They are sitting in a pile for me to bag and throw away.
I found a weed whacker that is my grandmother's so I can keep it. It works but I need to put line in it. And, I need to purchase an extension cord.
All that has taken me hours to do but it hasn't made a dent and there is still so much more to do.
In the front yard(which is much smaller), I mowed the grass and edged. A new sewer line was put in. I already covered it with dirt once, but it wasn't enough. I have purchased more dirt to finish cover it up. However, I want to cover it with dirt and then lay some carpet grass on top. Because of all the rain, I can't find carpet grass anywhere. I checked 4 places and none of them had any. All out. So that will have to wait.
A fence was put up next to the ditch by the house (to keep the children from playing in it). The children, from climbing on it, broken two of the board and I fixed them.
I also planted 5 Esperanza plants in front of the fence. When they grow bigger, that will keep the kids off the fence.
I put weed killer in on the stone walk to get rid of all the weeds growing in the cracks.
I trimmed back the flower bed which was half way covering the walkway. I removed and washed a comforter still on the patio.
There is a ton of trash and junk sitting in front of the garage. It's not mind to clean up but I did manage to clear a path from the garage to the front.
There was trash at the side of the house which had fallen down into the ditch. I went down into the ditch to pick it all up. While I was back there I trimmed back the plants and removed some of the dead branched. Then I swept out the ditch.
From the other side, I trimmed back the plants so you are now able to get to the side of the house (like you should be able too). The recycle and trash bins are suppose to sit there. As soon as the guy living there moves his stuff sitting in that corner, I'll put the bins there.
There are tons of wasp nest. I am slowing spraying them all and then knocking them down.
Again, just that little bit has taken so much time. The good news, it is is great exercise.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Finally Getting Back On Track
After a pretty rough 2 months, I think I'm back on track to losing weight. I gained a little, lost a little, but could never seem to get it back in the 130's to continue going down. This morning, I was finally back in the 130's. So, if all goes well, in the next few days, I might gain a new low weight.
All in all, it is pretty normal for me. I'll lose about 5 to 10 pounds really quickly in about a week or two and then plateau for 2 or 3 months before I lose quickly again - rinse and repeat.
All in all, it is pretty normal for me. I'll lose about 5 to 10 pounds really quickly in about a week or two and then plateau for 2 or 3 months before I lose quickly again - rinse and repeat.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Unhappy
I'm unhappy. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try to change those things which make me unhappy, no matter how hard I chase happiness... it never comes to me.
I've finally realized that unhappiness is like chronic pain for me. I will always have to live and deal with it. The unhappiness isn't something that is fleeting. It isn't like I'm happy sometimes and unhappy sometimes. No, it is always there, just under the surface. Unhappiness. It flavors everything I do.
My unhappiness stems for the need to belong, be wanted, and being loved. I want a family damn it. I want to love and be loved. I want a husband and children! It is a void in my life. A rift that is growing larger and larger each day - like a black hole sucking happiness away. And unless I find those things, I can never be whole.
I've finally realized that unhappiness is like chronic pain for me. I will always have to live and deal with it. The unhappiness isn't something that is fleeting. It isn't like I'm happy sometimes and unhappy sometimes. No, it is always there, just under the surface. Unhappiness. It flavors everything I do.
My unhappiness stems for the need to belong, be wanted, and being loved. I want a family damn it. I want to love and be loved. I want a husband and children! It is a void in my life. A rift that is growing larger and larger each day - like a black hole sucking happiness away. And unless I find those things, I can never be whole.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Weight, Strength, Toning - Failed Experiment
With only 8 pounds left to go to my goal weight, and needing to change up my exercise routine, I decided to start focusing on toning up - Phase 2, as it were. The trick to my success, however, has been realizing that everyone's body is different and what works for one person isn't going to work for the next. That is why so many people fail at weight loss. They follow the textbooks, don't lose, and get frustrated and stop. It's taken me 5 years to stumble upon something that kind of works for me and, moving into phase 2, it will take a lot of trail and error to figure out how to get that to work.
The problem is, I don't want to do too much damage while I figure what the secret recipe is. I did strength/weight training for 2.5 weeks and managed to gain 10 pounds! =( 10 pounds that will take me 2.5 MONTHS to lose. So, I'm nipping that in the butt right now. I'm going to stick with losing the weight, phase 1, for now. Even if it is just for a day, I want to know I reach my goal weight, first, before I lose it again. Once I reach 130, I'll switch back over to phase 2.
In the meantime, I'm drinking protein shakes (ala like slim fast) for breakfast and lunch, and then eating a small meal for dinner to try to take off the weight gained. I know when I eat so little I can't really work out, though.
The weight loss in the passed 4 days:
146.4
143.6
141.8
141.6
The problem is, I don't want to do too much damage while I figure what the secret recipe is. I did strength/weight training for 2.5 weeks and managed to gain 10 pounds! =( 10 pounds that will take me 2.5 MONTHS to lose. So, I'm nipping that in the butt right now. I'm going to stick with losing the weight, phase 1, for now. Even if it is just for a day, I want to know I reach my goal weight, first, before I lose it again. Once I reach 130, I'll switch back over to phase 2.
In the meantime, I'm drinking protein shakes (ala like slim fast) for breakfast and lunch, and then eating a small meal for dinner to try to take off the weight gained. I know when I eat so little I can't really work out, though.
The weight loss in the passed 4 days:
146.4
143.6
141.8
141.6
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Phase 2 - I should be proud...
But I am not.
There are not too many people who can say they have lost over a 100 pounds. And, the number of those people who can say they lost it all naturally is even lower. It is a great achievement. It is something I should take pride in. But... I don't. Not even a little bit.
I'm ashamed. Ashamed that I ever let myself get that big in the first place. Ashamed I had to lose it. Ashamed I was a fat person at all. I just want to erase all memories and proof that I was ever fat. Once you go fat, you can never come back. Regardless of your size, you will now always have the taint of being a "fat person".
And, I'm not pleased. I am not pleased at all with my body. I'm still very fat. My butt, hip, and thighs are still huge.
Despite that, I'm still moving forward. With only 10 more pounds to go, I decided to move into phase 2 while whittling away those last few pounds. My plan, for now, is to take five, one-hour, weight or strength classes a week. I just joined Gold's Gym on Friday. I take classes Monday through Thursday after work and on Saturday morning. Today will be my first class. Right now, I can say I'm pretty sore.
So, to start out my new journey, I'm going to record my measures to see if I make any progress:
Chest - 29
L Arm - 12
R Arm - 13
Waist - 27 1/2
Hips - 37 1/2
L Thigh - 23
R Thigh - 22 1/2
L Cafe - 14 1/2
R Cafe - 13 1/2
Neck - 12
Butt - 41
Body Fat: 29.5%
I'll give this a month or two to see if I loss weight, body fat, or inches. If not, I'll re-evaluate then.
There are not too many people who can say they have lost over a 100 pounds. And, the number of those people who can say they lost it all naturally is even lower. It is a great achievement. It is something I should take pride in. But... I don't. Not even a little bit.
I'm ashamed. Ashamed that I ever let myself get that big in the first place. Ashamed I had to lose it. Ashamed I was a fat person at all. I just want to erase all memories and proof that I was ever fat. Once you go fat, you can never come back. Regardless of your size, you will now always have the taint of being a "fat person".
And, I'm not pleased. I am not pleased at all with my body. I'm still very fat. My butt, hip, and thighs are still huge.
Despite that, I'm still moving forward. With only 10 more pounds to go, I decided to move into phase 2 while whittling away those last few pounds. My plan, for now, is to take five, one-hour, weight or strength classes a week. I just joined Gold's Gym on Friday. I take classes Monday through Thursday after work and on Saturday morning. Today will be my first class. Right now, I can say I'm pretty sore.
So, to start out my new journey, I'm going to record my measures to see if I make any progress:
Chest - 29
L Arm - 12
R Arm - 13
Waist - 27 1/2
Hips - 37 1/2
L Thigh - 23
R Thigh - 22 1/2
L Cafe - 14 1/2
R Cafe - 13 1/2
Neck - 12
Butt - 41
Body Fat: 29.5%
I'll give this a month or two to see if I loss weight, body fat, or inches. If not, I'll re-evaluate then.
I could use a friend
I could really use a friend right now. Just someone I could talk to and share my day with. Anyone would do. Maybe I should get a pet and then I could pet them while I talk about my day with them.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Weight Loss Update Photo
Granted, in the 140 picture, I'm wearing a corset which makes me look thinner than I really am. My damn thighs are still hugh! =(
I'm entering into Phase 2 where I am going to focus strongly on strength, weight, and toning to try to trim down some of the loose skin. And hopefully cut down my body fat % more. I'll give it about 4 to 6 months and if I don't see results I'll probably look into surgery.
The Final Goodbye - A Letter to a Loved One
My Mr. G.C.F,
By your own admission, I am an intelligent and very intuitive person. Indeed, I am. It is almost like I can see the future. However, I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt. I believe in free will. I believe in allowing people to make their own choices in life. If you still retained them, I suggest you re-read our last set of email correspondences. You will find them eerie in how well I predicted the outcome of our last encounter despite your adamant denial that I was correct. So, given my propensity towards being insightful and correct, I urge you to take my next words with the gravity they deserve.
My darling Tiger, I am so sorry that you were hurt so severely by a woman in your past. She caused more damage than even you or I could ever imagine. She wounded you to your core. She caused you to stop and drop everything you were doing in your life and enlist in the military. To enlist at your age is very rare - which should have signify to all the depth of the situation.
Even though many years of passed, you have not allowed yourself to properly deal with that past situation. You have not sorted yourself out, you have not healed, and you have not repaired the damage that was done. What you did was run away.
And that is okay. Sometimes all we can do is run away until we come out of the shock. It is our soul's way of protecting ourselves. The first year you enlisted, you were so tired and busy you didn't have much time to think or feel about the situation. Your second year, you were busy creating a new life for yourself. Your third year, the pain has lessened, you wanted to move forward, and you want to find love. However, no where in there did you take the time to reflect and untangle all the knots this lady created. Until you do so, you will never be able to more forward and have a healthy, happy, and lasting relationship.
Dispite what people may think, the keys to a healthy, happy, and lasting relationship are not a secret and they don't vary from person to person. They are set in stone and are very easy. Talk to anyone who has been in a 30+ year relationship and they will all tell you the same things for their success. Talk to anyone who floats from one unsuccessful relationship to the next and they will tell you all the different things which are important to a "successful" relationship.
My dearest love, I believe deep down you know what is important for a successful relationship. I simply believe that the wound on your heart and the scars you bare have made you forget that piece of wisdom. My Tiger, I urge you to grow, heal, and regain the wisdom you need to be successful with love. Stop dating, stop searching, and focus on yourself and your growth. I know you are in a place right now where that should be your focus. Take advantage fully of the opportunity in front of you. Learn to see with your heart, mind, and soul and not with your eyes. Then, and only then, will you have a chance of the happiness you seek and I know you deserve.
I know, from the depths of my heart, that one day you will regret your decision. It might be 3 months from now, it might be 5 years from now, but one day you will realize you made the biggest mistake of your life. And I am so terribly sorry that I won't be able to take you back. I told you this was your last chance. I warned you not to make the biggest mistake in your life. I urged you to choose carefully.
You say it was the kink which kept drawing you back. Oh, my poor baby. How terrible wrong you are. How blinded you are by your wounded and fearful soul. It was not the kink. It was the deep, amazing, special, precious connection of our souls.
There was no kink. It is impossible for someone of my sexual experience to have a kink such as you speak of. Many of the things you spoke of, I flat out told you would never happen. Some of the things you spoke of turned me off. A few turned me on. The majority, I was indifferent too. You saw my high libido, my nature to want to please my man, and our strong bond and twisted it into what you wanted it to be.
I am so sorry you threw away the best thing that ever happened to you. I am so sorry that you let your Goddess slip through your fingers. I pray that you work on fixing your broken soul. I hope you learn the wisdom you are lacking. Learn to see with your heart, mind, and soul rather than your eyes.
My heart knew this was the most likely outcome and I have spent the last few weeks mentally fortifying myself for it. I hoped it wouldn't come to this but, alas, that hope was not to be realized. Know that with this posting, I am closing this chapter of my life and making my peace with you. I will never think of you again after this. Goodbye Forever.
Love to you Always,
Your Goddess
By your own admission, I am an intelligent and very intuitive person. Indeed, I am. It is almost like I can see the future. However, I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt. I believe in free will. I believe in allowing people to make their own choices in life. If you still retained them, I suggest you re-read our last set of email correspondences. You will find them eerie in how well I predicted the outcome of our last encounter despite your adamant denial that I was correct. So, given my propensity towards being insightful and correct, I urge you to take my next words with the gravity they deserve.
My darling Tiger, I am so sorry that you were hurt so severely by a woman in your past. She caused more damage than even you or I could ever imagine. She wounded you to your core. She caused you to stop and drop everything you were doing in your life and enlist in the military. To enlist at your age is very rare - which should have signify to all the depth of the situation.
Even though many years of passed, you have not allowed yourself to properly deal with that past situation. You have not sorted yourself out, you have not healed, and you have not repaired the damage that was done. What you did was run away.
And that is okay. Sometimes all we can do is run away until we come out of the shock. It is our soul's way of protecting ourselves. The first year you enlisted, you were so tired and busy you didn't have much time to think or feel about the situation. Your second year, you were busy creating a new life for yourself. Your third year, the pain has lessened, you wanted to move forward, and you want to find love. However, no where in there did you take the time to reflect and untangle all the knots this lady created. Until you do so, you will never be able to more forward and have a healthy, happy, and lasting relationship.
Dispite what people may think, the keys to a healthy, happy, and lasting relationship are not a secret and they don't vary from person to person. They are set in stone and are very easy. Talk to anyone who has been in a 30+ year relationship and they will all tell you the same things for their success. Talk to anyone who floats from one unsuccessful relationship to the next and they will tell you all the different things which are important to a "successful" relationship.
My dearest love, I believe deep down you know what is important for a successful relationship. I simply believe that the wound on your heart and the scars you bare have made you forget that piece of wisdom. My Tiger, I urge you to grow, heal, and regain the wisdom you need to be successful with love. Stop dating, stop searching, and focus on yourself and your growth. I know you are in a place right now where that should be your focus. Take advantage fully of the opportunity in front of you. Learn to see with your heart, mind, and soul and not with your eyes. Then, and only then, will you have a chance of the happiness you seek and I know you deserve.
I know, from the depths of my heart, that one day you will regret your decision. It might be 3 months from now, it might be 5 years from now, but one day you will realize you made the biggest mistake of your life. And I am so terribly sorry that I won't be able to take you back. I told you this was your last chance. I warned you not to make the biggest mistake in your life. I urged you to choose carefully.
You say it was the kink which kept drawing you back. Oh, my poor baby. How terrible wrong you are. How blinded you are by your wounded and fearful soul. It was not the kink. It was the deep, amazing, special, precious connection of our souls.
There was no kink. It is impossible for someone of my sexual experience to have a kink such as you speak of. Many of the things you spoke of, I flat out told you would never happen. Some of the things you spoke of turned me off. A few turned me on. The majority, I was indifferent too. You saw my high libido, my nature to want to please my man, and our strong bond and twisted it into what you wanted it to be.
I am so sorry you threw away the best thing that ever happened to you. I am so sorry that you let your Goddess slip through your fingers. I pray that you work on fixing your broken soul. I hope you learn the wisdom you are lacking. Learn to see with your heart, mind, and soul rather than your eyes.
My heart knew this was the most likely outcome and I have spent the last few weeks mentally fortifying myself for it. I hoped it wouldn't come to this but, alas, that hope was not to be realized. Know that with this posting, I am closing this chapter of my life and making my peace with you. I will never think of you again after this. Goodbye Forever.
Love to you Always,
Your Goddess
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Canada Trip - Montreal & Quebec City
Day 1 - My flight to Montreal departed at 6:20 AM and I would be arriving at 1:00 PM. I left my place at 4:00. I hate flying. I hate how you are treated like a sardine, how you never know if the lines will be long or not, if your flight will be delayed or not, or if you will be allowed to take your carry on luggage with you or check it.
My mother and brother dropped me off at the airport and I walked inside to be greeted by a long, unmoving, line of people. I estimated a 2 hour wait to get through. Great. I walked back outside to see if I could check in curbside, only to be informed I couldn't because I was flying internationally. I walked back inside and asked where the Kiosks were located. After being told they were located on the side of the wall, I walked over and didn't see them. I resigned myself to waiting in line and possibly missing my flight.
A gentlemen walked down the line asking if anyone had any questions. I flagged him over asking if I could check in with the kiosks for my international flight. Yes, as long as I wasn't checking any bags. As I wasn't, he lead me over to the kiosks to start the process. It only took me two seconds before the kiosk said I needed an employee to help me out. After standing around 5 minutes, I finally managed to flag down another employee to help. She did, got me all checked in, and then it was off to stand in line again to go through security.
I got through that relatively quickly and then found my gate to wait to board. I managed to get my carry on on the plane and into the overhead bin with no problem. Great! I was on my way.
I arrived at Chicago with only a short layover. Just enough time to walk to my new gate. As I boarded to head off to my final destination, I was told I would have to check my bag. To be fair, it was a small plane and they made everyone check their carry on.
Once we were airborn, we were given a customs form to fill out. Getting off the plane, I waiting on the gangway to collect my luggage, along with everyone else. At this point, people started talking both French and English. Once I had my bag, I walked to customs. Since I was a visitor, the line I had to wait in was shorter. Maybe 30 minutes later, I passed through with no problems. I found a restroom, and then headed to find some lunch (Subway) before grabbing a cab to my hotel.
The cab driver wouldn't take credit card and since it cost me $40 + tip, I started to get worried. If I had to pay cash for all my taxis, I was going to run out of money. At this point, I had a little bit of a headache. My hotel was nice, and although I wanted to take a nap, I wasn't going to waste my time in Montreal on something so mundane as sleep.
The weather in Montreal wasn't that cold. I could tell the snow was melting. Everyone said the weather for the next few days was unseasonable warm. But, it was still cold for me. Around 45 degrees. I wasn't cold walking around, as I was dressed warmly.
I headed off to start exploring the city. It turns out that my hotel was in a great location. Everything was way closer together than I thought. In fact, I kept over walking my destination in both Montreal and Quebec City because everything was so close together. The layout of Old Montreal is grid like. Within minutes, I felt comfortable that I wouldn't get lost.
There were tons of little shops and food places that were not mentioned on goggle map when I had been planning the vacation. I checked out some shops, purchased a Canada Spoon (I collect them =P), and walked all around the Old Port (I saw ice fishing, ice skating, the clock tower).
My head started feeling better, I was glad I forced myself to go out, and headed to The Keg for dinner. Dinner was good. I ate about half and had the waiter pack up the rest. By this point, my headache had returned. It was getting dark. I had lost an hour going from central to eastern time. I had been up since early, was going to lose another hour to day-light savings, and needed to be up early the next morning. I wanted to be well rested so I returned to my room to turn in.
That night was terrible. My head was pounding, I was shaking, sweating, and throwing up all night. At one point, I wondered if I had food poisoning.
Day 2 - I had a tour planned for this morning. By the time I had to get ready to leave, I wasn't sure I was up to taking the tour or not. But, I did feel a little better and I didn't want to miss it. The hotel I was staying at offered free breakfast. I managed 2 bites of a banana and some hot tea.
I was being picked up for the tour in front of the hotel. That first morning, waiting for the bus, was the only time I was really "shaking" cold. I guess my body adapted pretty quickly after that.
The van to pick me up arrived on time. The driver was very nice and even picked up a map of the city for me. He dropped me off at the location for the tour to start and said he would take me back to the hotel when I returned.
I got my voucher and, as I waited, I was directed to talk to information about the city. They were very helpful, giving me maps and brochures for both Montreal and Quebec City.
The bus tour was very good, but to be honest, I still wasn't feeling good. Toward the end, my stomach was hurting something fierce and I wasn't paying as much attention as I would have liked. We drove through Old Montreal, saw the Notre-Dame Basilica, China Town, Old Port, City Hall, Sainte-Helene's Island, Place Des Arts, Olympia Park, the Botanical Garden, Insectarium, the BioDome, Mount Royal Park, St. Joseph's Oratory, the Biosphere, La Ronde, Gilles Villeneuve Racetrack, Bonsecours Market, the Montreal Casino, and the University of Montreal.
I think the reason my stomach hurt so much is because I needed to eat. Once I got back to the hotel, I had noticed a Tim Hortons close by during the tour. So, I headed there, knowing I needed to eat at Time Hortons at least once. I grabbed a cup of French Onion soup to go.
There was a special event going on at Old Port that day - a symphony with boat horns. I heard a little bit as I walked back to the hotel to eat lunch. I would have liked to have heard more, but food won. I felt better once I ate. I was finally over my sickness. Even though I was tired, I wasn't going to waste my time.
I headed back out to visit the Pointe-a-Colliere Museum. I'm so glad I forced myself to go out. I really enjoyed this Museum and would recommend it to anyone visiting Montreal. It had two exhibits. The temporary one was on Samurai. Since I love Japanese culture, that was an extra boon. The main exhibit starts with a 30 minute, 3-D movie on the history of Montreal - offered in 8 languages. After the movie, you walk down to see the old archeological site remains of the city. I stayed until closing and then headed out for some ice cream for dinner (Yummy! It was ice cream made with maple syrup rather than sugar).
Day 3 - I had the whole day to do nothing but explore Montreal. And, for once, I felt fine. After breakfast, my first stop was the Norte-Dame Basilica. Wow, it was so beautiful. I walked around until the tour started, which was with a school group from the same state as me! What are the odds. My batteries were low, so I headed back to the hotel to switch them out, and then continued to explore the area around my hotel.
Sadly, a lot of places where closed for the winter, and all the museums are closed on Mondays. But I did get to walk by and see the outsides. I visited, Champs de Mars, Chateau Ramezey, Hotel de ville, the Museum Marguerite-Bourgeoys and Chapelle Notre-Dame de Bon Secours.
At this point, my plan was to visit China Town and grab some lunch from there. I couldn't find main China Town and, before I knew it, I was at the entrance to the Underground City where all the shopping centers where. So, I went in. Think a 5 story underground mall.
I stopped at one of the two food courts and ordered my Chinese food. I had half left which I planned to eat for dinner. Lots of new shops. There was one place, called Lace, which I really liked. Beautiful dresses. Lots of upscale lingerie places. One even sold Curvy Kate! But, alas, they didn't stock my size. 34 was about the smallest band size I saw. I resisted temptation to buy clothes. I did, however, pick up some maple candy for my family and a Montreal spoon for myself.
Disaster. I stupidly put my camera in the bag with the Chinese food. Sauce got all over my camera and ruined it. At least I was able to save the pictures on the memory card. I decided to head back to the hotel to try to save my camera. On the way back, I found China Town.
I rested up as I tried to fix my camera, I wasn't able too. I switched over to my i-pod to take pictures and headed back out to China Town. I walked around. Visited Place D'Armes . Then walked down to Science Center of Montreal. I stayed there until closing when I returned to my hotel room. I packed up everything, ate the rest of my Chinese food and turned in for the night.
Day 4 - Woke to a soar throat. I was hoping it would just be allergies and not a cold. What was up with me and being sick on this trip! Up early and grabbed a quick breakfast. Checked out of my hotel and grabbed a cab to the Train Station. Waited there for a while before I boarded a train to Quebec City. It wasn't my first time on a train, but it has been a long time since I have been on one. As I viewed the passing country side, I was happy that I had decided to take the train. It allowed me a good opportunity to see the country side of Canada.
Arrived in Quebec City, grabbed soup at a Subway, and took a taxi to my hotel. The number one chain I saw? Subway - they are everywhere. Rainy, it was the only day of the week that the weather wasn't ideal. Today was Hotel de Glace, the main event for my trip.
Checked into my hotel room and switch out my bags so that what I would need for the night at Hotel de Glace would be in my backpack. Went downstairs to ask about shuttle service to the Hotel de Glace. This is the one thing I messed up on while booking this whole trip. Even through the Hotel de Glace's website makes it sound like you can just purchase shuttle service at the Sheraton hotel, you cannot. You need to reserve it in advance and from Hotel de Glace.
The Sheraton did call the Hotel de Glace about getting my shuttle service but the Hotel de Glace said no. So, in the rain, I headed out to walk to the Hotel de Glace. The good news is that it is only a ten minute walk. The bad news is that there are no sidewalks, on the highway, and in the rain.
I was pretty wet by the time I arrived at the Hotel de Glace. I didn't realize how wet because I had on a water proof snow suit on. Once I got to the Hotel de Glace, I went over to the Overnight guest registration line.
The lady was very nice, handing me information about Quebec City, offering site suggestions, and talked about her own experiences visiting my state. She handed me a badge, which allowed me access to the tour the Ice Hotel. She also gave me a second badge with my room number on it.
I headed out to the Hotel de Glace to drop my stuff into the lockers, finish check in, and take a tour of the Ice Hotel. Everything was slushy, wet, and puddles (lakes) of water. I finally managed to make it to the place I needed to finish checking in. I signed up for my orientation time, dried off some, put my bag into storage, and then headed back into where I entered to purchase a souvenir spoon.
I did take a small detour through the Ice Hotel (because you have too) and noticed that it was leaking in a lot of spots. I was told that my room wouldn't be my room that night because my room was leaking and they were going to change me to one that wasn't. Nice of them! Actually, lots of rooms had the same problem. I'm just glad they didn't have too many guests that night. What would have happened if they were booked full?
I returned my spoon to my locker and then headed over to take the tour. After the tour, I just explored and took pictures on my own. All the rooms are open during the day so you can see them all. It's maze-like in the hotel and it took me a while to get my bearings.
I went down the ice slide twice. It was tons of fun and you go super fast.
After that, I went back to dry off. It was almost time for my orientation. Orientation, they tell you how to use your sleeping bag and what to do to stay warm during the night. The lady said she has been working at the Hotel de Glace for 3 years and has never seen the weather like this. That they will probably close at the end of the week (two weeks early). I feel bad for people who booked rooms during those two weeks.
After orientation, I grabbed dinner at the onsite cafe (since I didn't have access to a shuttle to go back to the hotel for dinner). I then spent more time just exploring the hotel. I did have a voucher for a free drink (which are served out of glasses made of ice), so I got my free drink.
At 9, the Hotel de Glace closes to the public, and I headed over to try my hand at ice carving. That night, turns out there was something special. One of the artists responsible for carving the sculptures was there creating a new one and people could watch her work. So, I watches that, which was cool, and then went back to my own ice carving. The staff was so taken by my ice carving that they added it to the display in the hotel. =) It was a 3d leaf.
Everyone staying in the ice hotel that night were very nice. The experience is just like camping. I talked to and met so many nice couples. After I finished my carving, and placed it in my room for the night, I headed over to jump in the outdoor hot tubs and sauna. I was afraid I would be cold, but it wasn't bad at all. It felt really nice in the hot tub. You use the sauna to dry off some. The only time I was a bit cold was getting out of the sauna. Next, you head back inside to dry off completely and change into your night clothes.
I really feel like people who didn't use the hot tubs missed out on a big part of the experience. Once I was ready, I walked to my newly assigned room (29). I got into my mummy bag with little problem and then fell asleep around 12:30am.
It was -5 degrees Celsius (24 degrees) and no, I wasn't cold. I slept well.
Day 5 - The hotel wakes you at 8:00, but I naturally woke at 7:00 and headed back. I was surprised at the number of people already up. It makes me wonder how many of them didn't make it through the night or slept so poorly that they were up early?
After I got dressed and packed, I grabbed breakfast (which comes with your room) on site. The breakfast, like people say, isn't all that great - but it is eatable. After that, I bundled up and hiked back to the hotel.
I'm so glad I stayed at the Hotel de Glace. It was on my bucket list of things I always wanted to do and I enjoyed it a lot. I know it was expensive, but it was worth it. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Once back, I took a shower, repacked my bags, and tried to dry my stuff as best I could. Everything, including my shoes, had gotten soaked and were damp.
I still had a sore throat and now a cough. I knew now that it was a cold and not allergies. But I wasn't going to let this slow me down.
I checked out of the hotel earlier than I expected and taxied over to the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. I knew I was early, but I was hoping my room would be ready. It wasn't. They told me to come back between 12 or 1 and it would be. 12:00, as I walked away, I should come back at 12:00 and it would be ready.
I dropped off my bigger bag with the bell men and went in search of lunch and to explore the city. I already determined that I wouldn't come back until after 1, just to be safe. Unlike Montreal, Quebec City Old Town is much more confusing and not as well marked with street signs. I walked around looking at shops, found a Christmas Store which I just had to stop in. I finally stopped at a little cafe where I ordered an excellent hamburger and salad (Cafe Buade).
I got the leftovers to go, and then started to explore the city in earnest. I was trying to make my way to the Citadel for a tour, but never could find my way. I ended up looping around, walking Terrasse Dufferin, to Promenade de Governeurs, to the Plains of Abraham, down Rue Saint Louis, back to Chateau Frontenac.
It was now 1:15, so I went back to explain my situation and to hopefully get my room. After waiting 15 minutes, while they were on the phone to see if the room was ready, they told me it was not, but would be in 30 minutes. Now, it was at this point that I wasn't too impressed with this hotel which ain't cheap. I did get a complimentry drink at Starbucks for "being so patience".
I explored the inside of the hotel, found the restaurants and Starbucks (for my drink), and returned 40 minutes later. I was issued my keys (after explaining the situations to a third person), and headed up to my room... to find that the key didn't work.
I was pretty tired at this point, as I had hiked around the city carrying my 30 pound backpack. How the army does it with 100 pounds is beyond me. I saw housekeeping and beseech them to let me into my room so I didn't have to lug my luggage back down. They were very kind, took pity, and let me in.
I dropped my stuff off and went back down to switch keys. Back up, to confirm the new key did work, and rested for a few moments (and laid out all my wet clothes to thoroughly dry). I needed to find out about my tour the next morning so headed back down to talk to the concierge.... Who wasn't there. I waited about 15 minutes for her to show up. She was helpful when she did show. She took me to where I needed to be only... that guy wasn't there either. We waited a few moments for him to return and I got all settled.
Now, I was ready to head back out to explore. I now knew how to get to the citadel, but tours had already ended for the day. I walked down Avenue Honore-Mercier, and then basically looped around the city towards the Old Port. I visited the Parliament Building, Palais Montcalm, tons of little shops, the Old Port Market, Old Port, the Museum of Civilization, the Place Royale, and learned the secret to getting between Upper and Lower Old Town Quebec. I now new Funicular means elevator.
Old town was being turned upside down. That weekend was going to be the Red Bull Crushed Ice event. Basically, it is an ice course that runs all through the city. 4 at a time, you race down it. The first one to cross the finish line moves to the next round until only one is left. That was interesting to watch them race. But, I little sad that the city was being taken over by setting up these huge skate courses.
It was getting dark, so I went back to the hotel. I ate the left overs from lunch for dinner and turned in for the night.
Day 6 - No more soar throat, just coughing. I had two tours set for today. Old Town City tour and Country Side tour. The City tour was in the morning and the Country Tour was set for after lunch.
I headed down to Starbucks for a light breakfast. Then I explored the historical hotel I was staying in. As I looked out the window, I noticed it was snowing. It was the first time in my life that I had actually seen snow falling. Its the little things that excite me.
A little bit before my tour, I headed down to the meet up spot. I was escorted to my bus and the lady was very friendly. We talked about the Red Bull event, the city, and BBQ.
The City tour was okay. Honestly, I would recommend skipping it. You get everything you do on the tour, plus more, by just walking around the city on your own.
We saw the Plains of Abraham and basically everything I had seen the day before. He did have some interesting information and we stopped at a chocolate store and one of the first grocery stores in Quebec.
After the tour ended, I didn't have much time for anything but a quick lunch. So, I headed back down to Starbucks for a sandwich. Went to my room to eat and freshen up, and then headed back down for the Country Side tour.
This tour was pretty awesome. We went to Ile d'Orleans, which is beautiful. I purchased some yummy chocolate at a Chocolate Shop. We saw how the maple was tapped. Drove around Quebec City, saw and visited the Montmorency Falls, stopped at the Gilles Bronze Museum, St. Anne (which was stunning), stopped to have some maple butter on bread (so yummy), and then headed back.
After I returned, I headed down to Quartier Petit Champlain to shop. I found a Lush (which is like bath and body works). After a while, I headed back to the hotel, ordered room service for dinner (I just had to see what Canadian Salsa and Nachos would be like), packed up, and then went to bed.
Day 7 - This was the first night my cold started to have an effect on me. I didn't sleep too well because my nose started running and being stuffy. It was hard to breath at night.
I had several hours before I need to check out and left for the train station. I had seen a crepe place the other day, and decided to have a crepe (which I have never had) for breakfast.
After breakfast, I headed out to see the inside of Norte-Dame Quebec City. They were having a service, so I decided to walk around the city and come back later. Most shops don't open until 9:30, so I did a lot of window shopping. I was shocked at how close things were. Places I saw, from my city tour yesterday, were right around the corner.
I returned to Norte-Dame and looked inside. They were doing construction but it was still pretty. Nothing like St. Anne's or Norte-Dame Basilica. Then, I went into some shops that finally opened.
I returned to my room for an early lunch, gathered my things, and checked out to grab a taxi to the train station.
The ride back was nice. Quebec's Train Station is pretty. I was sniffling the whole way. Got back into Montreal, grabbed a taxi to my hotel, and by the time I got there, around 5:00, I just wanted to eat and then go to bed. I ordered food at the hotel's resturant, and then went to bed after arranging a shuttle and wake up call in the morning.
Day 8 - I woke with my jaw something fierce soar at 3:45 AM. Got dressed fast, ate a little bit of my left overs from dinner, and then headed down to check out and take the shuttle to the airport. I was glad I decided to leave a bit early.
It took me over 2 hours to get to get my ticket, go through security, and customs. Then I had been flagged for random additional screening. I think I need to get a new passport picture. 115 pounds lighter apparently is starting to cause some problems.
My flight was delayed over an hour due to technical problems but the pilot made up for most of that time in the air. I only had a moment to catch my connection. The flight back wasn't that pleassant because my cold was making my ears pop something fierce and I was all snotty.
I was pleased to be back home but had a wonderful trip.
My mother and brother dropped me off at the airport and I walked inside to be greeted by a long, unmoving, line of people. I estimated a 2 hour wait to get through. Great. I walked back outside to see if I could check in curbside, only to be informed I couldn't because I was flying internationally. I walked back inside and asked where the Kiosks were located. After being told they were located on the side of the wall, I walked over and didn't see them. I resigned myself to waiting in line and possibly missing my flight.
A gentlemen walked down the line asking if anyone had any questions. I flagged him over asking if I could check in with the kiosks for my international flight. Yes, as long as I wasn't checking any bags. As I wasn't, he lead me over to the kiosks to start the process. It only took me two seconds before the kiosk said I needed an employee to help me out. After standing around 5 minutes, I finally managed to flag down another employee to help. She did, got me all checked in, and then it was off to stand in line again to go through security.
I got through that relatively quickly and then found my gate to wait to board. I managed to get my carry on on the plane and into the overhead bin with no problem. Great! I was on my way.
I arrived at Chicago with only a short layover. Just enough time to walk to my new gate. As I boarded to head off to my final destination, I was told I would have to check my bag. To be fair, it was a small plane and they made everyone check their carry on.
Once we were airborn, we were given a customs form to fill out. Getting off the plane, I waiting on the gangway to collect my luggage, along with everyone else. At this point, people started talking both French and English. Once I had my bag, I walked to customs. Since I was a visitor, the line I had to wait in was shorter. Maybe 30 minutes later, I passed through with no problems. I found a restroom, and then headed to find some lunch (Subway) before grabbing a cab to my hotel.
The cab driver wouldn't take credit card and since it cost me $40 + tip, I started to get worried. If I had to pay cash for all my taxis, I was going to run out of money. At this point, I had a little bit of a headache. My hotel was nice, and although I wanted to take a nap, I wasn't going to waste my time in Montreal on something so mundane as sleep.
The weather in Montreal wasn't that cold. I could tell the snow was melting. Everyone said the weather for the next few days was unseasonable warm. But, it was still cold for me. Around 45 degrees. I wasn't cold walking around, as I was dressed warmly.
I headed off to start exploring the city. It turns out that my hotel was in a great location. Everything was way closer together than I thought. In fact, I kept over walking my destination in both Montreal and Quebec City because everything was so close together. The layout of Old Montreal is grid like. Within minutes, I felt comfortable that I wouldn't get lost.
There were tons of little shops and food places that were not mentioned on goggle map when I had been planning the vacation. I checked out some shops, purchased a Canada Spoon (I collect them =P), and walked all around the Old Port (I saw ice fishing, ice skating, the clock tower).
My head started feeling better, I was glad I forced myself to go out, and headed to The Keg for dinner. Dinner was good. I ate about half and had the waiter pack up the rest. By this point, my headache had returned. It was getting dark. I had lost an hour going from central to eastern time. I had been up since early, was going to lose another hour to day-light savings, and needed to be up early the next morning. I wanted to be well rested so I returned to my room to turn in.
That night was terrible. My head was pounding, I was shaking, sweating, and throwing up all night. At one point, I wondered if I had food poisoning.
Day 2 - I had a tour planned for this morning. By the time I had to get ready to leave, I wasn't sure I was up to taking the tour or not. But, I did feel a little better and I didn't want to miss it. The hotel I was staying at offered free breakfast. I managed 2 bites of a banana and some hot tea.
I was being picked up for the tour in front of the hotel. That first morning, waiting for the bus, was the only time I was really "shaking" cold. I guess my body adapted pretty quickly after that.
The van to pick me up arrived on time. The driver was very nice and even picked up a map of the city for me. He dropped me off at the location for the tour to start and said he would take me back to the hotel when I returned.
I got my voucher and, as I waited, I was directed to talk to information about the city. They were very helpful, giving me maps and brochures for both Montreal and Quebec City.
The bus tour was very good, but to be honest, I still wasn't feeling good. Toward the end, my stomach was hurting something fierce and I wasn't paying as much attention as I would have liked. We drove through Old Montreal, saw the Notre-Dame Basilica, China Town, Old Port, City Hall, Sainte-Helene's Island, Place Des Arts, Olympia Park, the Botanical Garden, Insectarium, the BioDome, Mount Royal Park, St. Joseph's Oratory, the Biosphere, La Ronde, Gilles Villeneuve Racetrack, Bonsecours Market, the Montreal Casino, and the University of Montreal.
I think the reason my stomach hurt so much is because I needed to eat. Once I got back to the hotel, I had noticed a Tim Hortons close by during the tour. So, I headed there, knowing I needed to eat at Time Hortons at least once. I grabbed a cup of French Onion soup to go.
There was a special event going on at Old Port that day - a symphony with boat horns. I heard a little bit as I walked back to the hotel to eat lunch. I would have liked to have heard more, but food won. I felt better once I ate. I was finally over my sickness. Even though I was tired, I wasn't going to waste my time.
I headed back out to visit the Pointe-a-Colliere Museum. I'm so glad I forced myself to go out. I really enjoyed this Museum and would recommend it to anyone visiting Montreal. It had two exhibits. The temporary one was on Samurai. Since I love Japanese culture, that was an extra boon. The main exhibit starts with a 30 minute, 3-D movie on the history of Montreal - offered in 8 languages. After the movie, you walk down to see the old archeological site remains of the city. I stayed until closing and then headed out for some ice cream for dinner (Yummy! It was ice cream made with maple syrup rather than sugar).
Day 3 - I had the whole day to do nothing but explore Montreal. And, for once, I felt fine. After breakfast, my first stop was the Norte-Dame Basilica. Wow, it was so beautiful. I walked around until the tour started, which was with a school group from the same state as me! What are the odds. My batteries were low, so I headed back to the hotel to switch them out, and then continued to explore the area around my hotel.
Sadly, a lot of places where closed for the winter, and all the museums are closed on Mondays. But I did get to walk by and see the outsides. I visited, Champs de Mars, Chateau Ramezey, Hotel de ville, the Museum Marguerite-Bourgeoys and Chapelle Notre-Dame de Bon Secours.
At this point, my plan was to visit China Town and grab some lunch from there. I couldn't find main China Town and, before I knew it, I was at the entrance to the Underground City where all the shopping centers where. So, I went in. Think a 5 story underground mall.
I stopped at one of the two food courts and ordered my Chinese food. I had half left which I planned to eat for dinner. Lots of new shops. There was one place, called Lace, which I really liked. Beautiful dresses. Lots of upscale lingerie places. One even sold Curvy Kate! But, alas, they didn't stock my size. 34 was about the smallest band size I saw. I resisted temptation to buy clothes. I did, however, pick up some maple candy for my family and a Montreal spoon for myself.
Disaster. I stupidly put my camera in the bag with the Chinese food. Sauce got all over my camera and ruined it. At least I was able to save the pictures on the memory card. I decided to head back to the hotel to try to save my camera. On the way back, I found China Town.
I rested up as I tried to fix my camera, I wasn't able too. I switched over to my i-pod to take pictures and headed back out to China Town. I walked around. Visited Place D'Armes . Then walked down to Science Center of Montreal. I stayed there until closing when I returned to my hotel room. I packed up everything, ate the rest of my Chinese food and turned in for the night.
Day 4 - Woke to a soar throat. I was hoping it would just be allergies and not a cold. What was up with me and being sick on this trip! Up early and grabbed a quick breakfast. Checked out of my hotel and grabbed a cab to the Train Station. Waited there for a while before I boarded a train to Quebec City. It wasn't my first time on a train, but it has been a long time since I have been on one. As I viewed the passing country side, I was happy that I had decided to take the train. It allowed me a good opportunity to see the country side of Canada.
Arrived in Quebec City, grabbed soup at a Subway, and took a taxi to my hotel. The number one chain I saw? Subway - they are everywhere. Rainy, it was the only day of the week that the weather wasn't ideal. Today was Hotel de Glace, the main event for my trip.
Checked into my hotel room and switch out my bags so that what I would need for the night at Hotel de Glace would be in my backpack. Went downstairs to ask about shuttle service to the Hotel de Glace. This is the one thing I messed up on while booking this whole trip. Even through the Hotel de Glace's website makes it sound like you can just purchase shuttle service at the Sheraton hotel, you cannot. You need to reserve it in advance and from Hotel de Glace.
The Sheraton did call the Hotel de Glace about getting my shuttle service but the Hotel de Glace said no. So, in the rain, I headed out to walk to the Hotel de Glace. The good news is that it is only a ten minute walk. The bad news is that there are no sidewalks, on the highway, and in the rain.
I was pretty wet by the time I arrived at the Hotel de Glace. I didn't realize how wet because I had on a water proof snow suit on. Once I got to the Hotel de Glace, I went over to the Overnight guest registration line.
The lady was very nice, handing me information about Quebec City, offering site suggestions, and talked about her own experiences visiting my state. She handed me a badge, which allowed me access to the tour the Ice Hotel. She also gave me a second badge with my room number on it.
I headed out to the Hotel de Glace to drop my stuff into the lockers, finish check in, and take a tour of the Ice Hotel. Everything was slushy, wet, and puddles (lakes) of water. I finally managed to make it to the place I needed to finish checking in. I signed up for my orientation time, dried off some, put my bag into storage, and then headed back into where I entered to purchase a souvenir spoon.
I did take a small detour through the Ice Hotel (because you have too) and noticed that it was leaking in a lot of spots. I was told that my room wouldn't be my room that night because my room was leaking and they were going to change me to one that wasn't. Nice of them! Actually, lots of rooms had the same problem. I'm just glad they didn't have too many guests that night. What would have happened if they were booked full?
I returned my spoon to my locker and then headed over to take the tour. After the tour, I just explored and took pictures on my own. All the rooms are open during the day so you can see them all. It's maze-like in the hotel and it took me a while to get my bearings.
I went down the ice slide twice. It was tons of fun and you go super fast.
After that, I went back to dry off. It was almost time for my orientation. Orientation, they tell you how to use your sleeping bag and what to do to stay warm during the night. The lady said she has been working at the Hotel de Glace for 3 years and has never seen the weather like this. That they will probably close at the end of the week (two weeks early). I feel bad for people who booked rooms during those two weeks.
After orientation, I grabbed dinner at the onsite cafe (since I didn't have access to a shuttle to go back to the hotel for dinner). I then spent more time just exploring the hotel. I did have a voucher for a free drink (which are served out of glasses made of ice), so I got my free drink.
At 9, the Hotel de Glace closes to the public, and I headed over to try my hand at ice carving. That night, turns out there was something special. One of the artists responsible for carving the sculptures was there creating a new one and people could watch her work. So, I watches that, which was cool, and then went back to my own ice carving. The staff was so taken by my ice carving that they added it to the display in the hotel. =) It was a 3d leaf.
Everyone staying in the ice hotel that night were very nice. The experience is just like camping. I talked to and met so many nice couples. After I finished my carving, and placed it in my room for the night, I headed over to jump in the outdoor hot tubs and sauna. I was afraid I would be cold, but it wasn't bad at all. It felt really nice in the hot tub. You use the sauna to dry off some. The only time I was a bit cold was getting out of the sauna. Next, you head back inside to dry off completely and change into your night clothes.
I really feel like people who didn't use the hot tubs missed out on a big part of the experience. Once I was ready, I walked to my newly assigned room (29). I got into my mummy bag with little problem and then fell asleep around 12:30am.
It was -5 degrees Celsius (24 degrees) and no, I wasn't cold. I slept well.
Day 5 - The hotel wakes you at 8:00, but I naturally woke at 7:00 and headed back. I was surprised at the number of people already up. It makes me wonder how many of them didn't make it through the night or slept so poorly that they were up early?
After I got dressed and packed, I grabbed breakfast (which comes with your room) on site. The breakfast, like people say, isn't all that great - but it is eatable. After that, I bundled up and hiked back to the hotel.
I'm so glad I stayed at the Hotel de Glace. It was on my bucket list of things I always wanted to do and I enjoyed it a lot. I know it was expensive, but it was worth it. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Once back, I took a shower, repacked my bags, and tried to dry my stuff as best I could. Everything, including my shoes, had gotten soaked and were damp.
I still had a sore throat and now a cough. I knew now that it was a cold and not allergies. But I wasn't going to let this slow me down.
I checked out of the hotel earlier than I expected and taxied over to the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. I knew I was early, but I was hoping my room would be ready. It wasn't. They told me to come back between 12 or 1 and it would be. 12:00, as I walked away, I should come back at 12:00 and it would be ready.
I dropped off my bigger bag with the bell men and went in search of lunch and to explore the city. I already determined that I wouldn't come back until after 1, just to be safe. Unlike Montreal, Quebec City Old Town is much more confusing and not as well marked with street signs. I walked around looking at shops, found a Christmas Store which I just had to stop in. I finally stopped at a little cafe where I ordered an excellent hamburger and salad (Cafe Buade).
I got the leftovers to go, and then started to explore the city in earnest. I was trying to make my way to the Citadel for a tour, but never could find my way. I ended up looping around, walking Terrasse Dufferin, to Promenade de Governeurs, to the Plains of Abraham, down Rue Saint Louis, back to Chateau Frontenac.
It was now 1:15, so I went back to explain my situation and to hopefully get my room. After waiting 15 minutes, while they were on the phone to see if the room was ready, they told me it was not, but would be in 30 minutes. Now, it was at this point that I wasn't too impressed with this hotel which ain't cheap. I did get a complimentry drink at Starbucks for "being so patience".
I explored the inside of the hotel, found the restaurants and Starbucks (for my drink), and returned 40 minutes later. I was issued my keys (after explaining the situations to a third person), and headed up to my room... to find that the key didn't work.
I was pretty tired at this point, as I had hiked around the city carrying my 30 pound backpack. How the army does it with 100 pounds is beyond me. I saw housekeeping and beseech them to let me into my room so I didn't have to lug my luggage back down. They were very kind, took pity, and let me in.
I dropped my stuff off and went back down to switch keys. Back up, to confirm the new key did work, and rested for a few moments (and laid out all my wet clothes to thoroughly dry). I needed to find out about my tour the next morning so headed back down to talk to the concierge.... Who wasn't there. I waited about 15 minutes for her to show up. She was helpful when she did show. She took me to where I needed to be only... that guy wasn't there either. We waited a few moments for him to return and I got all settled.
Now, I was ready to head back out to explore. I now knew how to get to the citadel, but tours had already ended for the day. I walked down Avenue Honore-Mercier, and then basically looped around the city towards the Old Port. I visited the Parliament Building, Palais Montcalm, tons of little shops, the Old Port Market, Old Port, the Museum of Civilization, the Place Royale, and learned the secret to getting between Upper and Lower Old Town Quebec. I now new Funicular means elevator.
Old town was being turned upside down. That weekend was going to be the Red Bull Crushed Ice event. Basically, it is an ice course that runs all through the city. 4 at a time, you race down it. The first one to cross the finish line moves to the next round until only one is left. That was interesting to watch them race. But, I little sad that the city was being taken over by setting up these huge skate courses.
It was getting dark, so I went back to the hotel. I ate the left overs from lunch for dinner and turned in for the night.
Day 6 - No more soar throat, just coughing. I had two tours set for today. Old Town City tour and Country Side tour. The City tour was in the morning and the Country Tour was set for after lunch.
I headed down to Starbucks for a light breakfast. Then I explored the historical hotel I was staying in. As I looked out the window, I noticed it was snowing. It was the first time in my life that I had actually seen snow falling. Its the little things that excite me.
A little bit before my tour, I headed down to the meet up spot. I was escorted to my bus and the lady was very friendly. We talked about the Red Bull event, the city, and BBQ.
The City tour was okay. Honestly, I would recommend skipping it. You get everything you do on the tour, plus more, by just walking around the city on your own.
We saw the Plains of Abraham and basically everything I had seen the day before. He did have some interesting information and we stopped at a chocolate store and one of the first grocery stores in Quebec.
After the tour ended, I didn't have much time for anything but a quick lunch. So, I headed back down to Starbucks for a sandwich. Went to my room to eat and freshen up, and then headed back down for the Country Side tour.
This tour was pretty awesome. We went to Ile d'Orleans, which is beautiful. I purchased some yummy chocolate at a Chocolate Shop. We saw how the maple was tapped. Drove around Quebec City, saw and visited the Montmorency Falls, stopped at the Gilles Bronze Museum, St. Anne (which was stunning), stopped to have some maple butter on bread (so yummy), and then headed back.
After I returned, I headed down to Quartier Petit Champlain to shop. I found a Lush (which is like bath and body works). After a while, I headed back to the hotel, ordered room service for dinner (I just had to see what Canadian Salsa and Nachos would be like), packed up, and then went to bed.
Day 7 - This was the first night my cold started to have an effect on me. I didn't sleep too well because my nose started running and being stuffy. It was hard to breath at night.
I had several hours before I need to check out and left for the train station. I had seen a crepe place the other day, and decided to have a crepe (which I have never had) for breakfast.
After breakfast, I headed out to see the inside of Norte-Dame Quebec City. They were having a service, so I decided to walk around the city and come back later. Most shops don't open until 9:30, so I did a lot of window shopping. I was shocked at how close things were. Places I saw, from my city tour yesterday, were right around the corner.
I returned to Norte-Dame and looked inside. They were doing construction but it was still pretty. Nothing like St. Anne's or Norte-Dame Basilica. Then, I went into some shops that finally opened.
I returned to my room for an early lunch, gathered my things, and checked out to grab a taxi to the train station.
The ride back was nice. Quebec's Train Station is pretty. I was sniffling the whole way. Got back into Montreal, grabbed a taxi to my hotel, and by the time I got there, around 5:00, I just wanted to eat and then go to bed. I ordered food at the hotel's resturant, and then went to bed after arranging a shuttle and wake up call in the morning.
Day 8 - I woke with my jaw something fierce soar at 3:45 AM. Got dressed fast, ate a little bit of my left overs from dinner, and then headed down to check out and take the shuttle to the airport. I was glad I decided to leave a bit early.
It took me over 2 hours to get to get my ticket, go through security, and customs. Then I had been flagged for random additional screening. I think I need to get a new passport picture. 115 pounds lighter apparently is starting to cause some problems.
My flight was delayed over an hour due to technical problems but the pilot made up for most of that time in the air. I only had a moment to catch my connection. The flight back wasn't that pleassant because my cold was making my ears pop something fierce and I was all snotty.
I was pleased to be back home but had a wonderful trip.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Lingerie Brands
The other week, there was a pretty good sale going on. Buy one bra and get a second one for 75% off. It was limited to American Brand bras. As I looked through all the American Brands, not a single one had anything smaller than a 32 band. I couldn't really believe it, even if I wanted to purchase bras with this deal, I couldn't, because American companies don't feel there is a big enough market for band sizes smaller than 32 (somethings even 34). Which prompted me to write up reviews of Lingerie Brands.
I base my rankings on two things. The first is quality. The second is, how well to they cater to women. Size is a big component in quality. It doesn't matter if the bra is made of golden silk if it doesn't fit. Does the company serve women with a goal of making women feel and look beautiful? Or is their goal only to make money, not caring about providing a quality product and experience?
Agent Provocateur- Another high end, quality, lingerie shop. If you buy Agent Provocateur, you will get quality but are probably paying just a tad too much for the brand name. And, I just can't get behind all these high end labels that refuse to cater to any but the smallest range of sizes (34 to 38, B to D cups).
Bali - Bali sizes are very limited. If you wear a band size 34 to 42 and a cup size B to DD, you are good. Otherwise, forget Bali. Therefore they get a thumbs down! That don't even carry A cups.
Bare Necessities - An online store that sells Lingerie, rather than a brand of lingerie. That have a very wide selection. Thumbs up!
Bracli- I haven't tried them yet, but I plan on purchasing their teddy in the future. Incredibly sexy. Bracli sales lace lingerie trimmed with pearls. Think a of throng with pearls as it's strap.
Chantelle - Bras are in American sizing. Good quality, good sizing range, sexy. Thumbs Up!
Curvy Kate - A rather new UK company but simply amazingly beautiful stuff. Thumbs up! They specialize in D+ cups. Their bands are 28 to 40. Would be better if they upped their band range.
Fantasie - UK company that specializes in larger cup sizes. Band size range is limited to 30 to 40. Pretty stuff, good quality - Thumbs Up!
Frederick's of Hollywood - One step up form Victoria's Secrets because they actually carry a bigger range of sizes (at least online). And, Frederick's of Hollywood is nice for those "trampy" sexy styles you something are in the mood for. Frederick's of Hollywood's down fall is that its quality is cheap. Thumbs down, which is sad because I really want to like them.
Freya - UK company. Band size range is limited to 28 to 38. Cup sizes B to H. Pretty stuff, good quality - Thumbs Up! Freya is the go to company for small band/big cupped ladies. Although, Freya's cup sizes sometimes run a tad bit big.
Hanky Panky - Known for their one size fits all lace thong. I don't go for "one size" anything and Hanky Panky is no exception despite what reviews might say. And, Hanky Panky knows if. They have "solved" the problem by offering their One Size thong in a O/S Plus and Petite version. Plus is suppose to fit size 14-24, Petite is for sizes 0-2 , and Regular is for sizes 4-14.
To give you a better idea of the regular, 4-14 O/S, I ordered a size medium V-kini Hanky Panky panty plus a O/S regular thong. The thong was just a tab bit smaller than the v-kini. So, if you wear about a size medium, the regular O/S should work. I think those sizes are too generous. I think the petite does fit 0-2, just fine. The regular is good for 6-10. The plus size 12-16. If you are bigger than a 16, I don't think you are going to like the the O/S thong.
Not to worry, they do have non thong panties which are actually sized. The v-kini I purchased was comfortable and high quality. The thong was fairly comfortable for a thong. I want to wear it some more before I say yay or nah on the famous thong.
Herroom - An online store that sells Lingerie, rather than a brand of lingerie. That have a very wide selection. Thumbs up!
La Perla - Probably one of the more famous (and pricy) lingerie brands out there. And one which I give an emphatic thumbs down. First, they over price. You are purchasing a brand name not a produce with La Perla. Quality is good but no better than something 1/4 of it's price (see some of the other brands I list on this post!). Second, I think most of their stuff is ugly (not all, just most), but of course that is personal preference. Third, and this is why they really get a thumbs down, is because they seem to think that anyone who is smaller than a 32B or bigger than a 36C is not good enough for their product. They have such limiting sizes, it is disgusting.
Le Mystère - Some beautiful stuff which suffers from a limited size range.
Maidenform - Thumbs Down! Apparently Maidenform doesn't believe that anyone is larger than a D cup and produces most of it's bra from an A to D.
Panache - A UK company. It focuses on fitted sports bras from B cup on up. It's regular bra's though, are only D cup +. They also have smaller band sizes but tend not to go higher than a 42 band. I do like their sport bras. I'd like to try a bra. Thumbs Up, but I wish they offered bigger than a 42 band.
Parfait by Affinitas - Affinitas is the name of the brand, Parfait is a sub brand that specializes in DD+ cups. Their stuff is pretty. They are on my list to try to see how their quality is.
Playtex - Mid-quality, plain, limited sizing. Thumbs down!
Secrets in Lace - Secrets in Lace is another specialty lingerie shop that focuses on more retro styles Their quality is good, but they limit their bra sizes to 32 to 44. Often they offer bras that are not "secrets in lace " brand that are, in fact, offered in smaller or bigger sizes. Secrets in Lace simply chooses not to offer them. So if you see something there but it isn't in your size, do I little digging. Now, where Secrets in Lace shines is their traditional stockings and metal grip garter selection.
Vanity Fair - Mid-quality, plain, limited sizing. Thumbs down!
Victoria's Secret - If I hear one more person pontificate on how wonderful "VS" is, I'll scream. Victoria's Secret is a poor man's La Perla. First, they believe that every woman is between a size 34A and 38D. They believe this so much that they blatantly miss-size woman so they will purchase one of their bras. Second, their quality is cheap (and therefore over priced). The quality of Victoria's Secret is simple - cheap. You can get the same quality at JCP, Sears, Target, Kohls for a 1/3 of the price. Third, their stuff is NOT sexy. Why in the world would you think a grown woman wearing polka dots or hearts is sexy? It is not. Their stuff is appropriate for pre-teens, teens, and 20-somethings. After that, women, embrace your sexuality and womanhood and throw away girlish things (including "VS"!). Forth, all their products are small variations of the same style. What that style is, is based on what they think is the "in" thing that season. Right now it is t-shirt bras and cheekie panties. Thumbs down, down, down. Anyone saying "VS" is the best place for sexy lingerie or sending men their for gifts is clearly showing their ignorance when it comes to lingerie.
Walcoal - A good quality bra that suffers from not offering a band size smaller than 32 even though their cup size range is decent. Thumbs up.
Warner's - An American bra company that suffers from limited sizes. They bras are middle of the road quality and the styles are more practical than sexy. However, the quality for the price is decent.
What Katie Did - Specializes in retro (ala 50s) style lingerie and corsets. Unlike making specialty lingerie brands like this, they offer a somewhat wide range of sizes. I haven't purchased anything from them yet, but they get a thumbs up for now. I just wish their size range was a tad bigger.
I base my rankings on two things. The first is quality. The second is, how well to they cater to women. Size is a big component in quality. It doesn't matter if the bra is made of golden silk if it doesn't fit. Does the company serve women with a goal of making women feel and look beautiful? Or is their goal only to make money, not caring about providing a quality product and experience?
Agent Provocateur- Another high end, quality, lingerie shop. If you buy Agent Provocateur, you will get quality but are probably paying just a tad too much for the brand name. And, I just can't get behind all these high end labels that refuse to cater to any but the smallest range of sizes (34 to 38, B to D cups).
Bali - Bali sizes are very limited. If you wear a band size 34 to 42 and a cup size B to DD, you are good. Otherwise, forget Bali. Therefore they get a thumbs down! That don't even carry A cups.
Bare Necessities - An online store that sells Lingerie, rather than a brand of lingerie. That have a very wide selection. Thumbs up!
Bracli- I haven't tried them yet, but I plan on purchasing their teddy in the future. Incredibly sexy. Bracli sales lace lingerie trimmed with pearls. Think a of throng with pearls as it's strap.
Chantelle - Bras are in American sizing. Good quality, good sizing range, sexy. Thumbs Up!
Curvy Kate - A rather new UK company but simply amazingly beautiful stuff. Thumbs up! They specialize in D+ cups. Their bands are 28 to 40. Would be better if they upped their band range.
Fantasie - UK company that specializes in larger cup sizes. Band size range is limited to 30 to 40. Pretty stuff, good quality - Thumbs Up!
Frederick's of Hollywood - One step up form Victoria's Secrets because they actually carry a bigger range of sizes (at least online). And, Frederick's of Hollywood is nice for those "trampy" sexy styles you something are in the mood for. Frederick's of Hollywood's down fall is that its quality is cheap. Thumbs down, which is sad because I really want to like them.
Freya - UK company. Band size range is limited to 28 to 38. Cup sizes B to H. Pretty stuff, good quality - Thumbs Up! Freya is the go to company for small band/big cupped ladies. Although, Freya's cup sizes sometimes run a tad bit big.
Hanky Panky - Known for their one size fits all lace thong. I don't go for "one size" anything and Hanky Panky is no exception despite what reviews might say. And, Hanky Panky knows if. They have "solved" the problem by offering their One Size thong in a O/S Plus and Petite version. Plus is suppose to fit size 14-24, Petite is for sizes 0-2 , and Regular is for sizes 4-14.
To give you a better idea of the regular, 4-14 O/S, I ordered a size medium V-kini Hanky Panky panty plus a O/S regular thong. The thong was just a tab bit smaller than the v-kini. So, if you wear about a size medium, the regular O/S should work. I think those sizes are too generous. I think the petite does fit 0-2, just fine. The regular is good for 6-10. The plus size 12-16. If you are bigger than a 16, I don't think you are going to like the the O/S thong.
Not to worry, they do have non thong panties which are actually sized. The v-kini I purchased was comfortable and high quality. The thong was fairly comfortable for a thong. I want to wear it some more before I say yay or nah on the famous thong.
Herroom - An online store that sells Lingerie, rather than a brand of lingerie. That have a very wide selection. Thumbs up!
La Perla - Probably one of the more famous (and pricy) lingerie brands out there. And one which I give an emphatic thumbs down. First, they over price. You are purchasing a brand name not a produce with La Perla. Quality is good but no better than something 1/4 of it's price (see some of the other brands I list on this post!). Second, I think most of their stuff is ugly (not all, just most), but of course that is personal preference. Third, and this is why they really get a thumbs down, is because they seem to think that anyone who is smaller than a 32B or bigger than a 36C is not good enough for their product. They have such limiting sizes, it is disgusting.
Le Mystère - Some beautiful stuff which suffers from a limited size range.
Maidenform - Thumbs Down! Apparently Maidenform doesn't believe that anyone is larger than a D cup and produces most of it's bra from an A to D.
Panache - A UK company. It focuses on fitted sports bras from B cup on up. It's regular bra's though, are only D cup +. They also have smaller band sizes but tend not to go higher than a 42 band. I do like their sport bras. I'd like to try a bra. Thumbs Up, but I wish they offered bigger than a 42 band.
Parfait by Affinitas - Affinitas is the name of the brand, Parfait is a sub brand that specializes in DD+ cups. Their stuff is pretty. They are on my list to try to see how their quality is.
Playtex - Mid-quality, plain, limited sizing. Thumbs down!
Secrets in Lace - Secrets in Lace is another specialty lingerie shop that focuses on more retro styles Their quality is good, but they limit their bra sizes to 32 to 44. Often they offer bras that are not "secrets in lace " brand that are, in fact, offered in smaller or bigger sizes. Secrets in Lace simply chooses not to offer them. So if you see something there but it isn't in your size, do I little digging. Now, where Secrets in Lace shines is their traditional stockings and metal grip garter selection.
Vanity Fair - Mid-quality, plain, limited sizing. Thumbs down!
Victoria's Secret - If I hear one more person pontificate on how wonderful "VS" is, I'll scream. Victoria's Secret is a poor man's La Perla. First, they believe that every woman is between a size 34A and 38D. They believe this so much that they blatantly miss-size woman so they will purchase one of their bras. Second, their quality is cheap (and therefore over priced). The quality of Victoria's Secret is simple - cheap. You can get the same quality at JCP, Sears, Target, Kohls for a 1/3 of the price. Third, their stuff is NOT sexy. Why in the world would you think a grown woman wearing polka dots or hearts is sexy? It is not. Their stuff is appropriate for pre-teens, teens, and 20-somethings. After that, women, embrace your sexuality and womanhood and throw away girlish things (including "VS"!). Forth, all their products are small variations of the same style. What that style is, is based on what they think is the "in" thing that season. Right now it is t-shirt bras and cheekie panties. Thumbs down, down, down. Anyone saying "VS" is the best place for sexy lingerie or sending men their for gifts is clearly showing their ignorance when it comes to lingerie.
Walcoal - A good quality bra that suffers from not offering a band size smaller than 32 even though their cup size range is decent. Thumbs up.
Warner's - An American bra company that suffers from limited sizes. They bras are middle of the road quality and the styles are more practical than sexy. However, the quality for the price is decent.
What Katie Did - Specializes in retro (ala 50s) style lingerie and corsets. Unlike making specialty lingerie brands like this, they offer a somewhat wide range of sizes. I haven't purchased anything from them yet, but they get a thumbs up for now. I just wish their size range was a tad bigger.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Bra Sizes
| USA | UK | Europe | France | Italy | Australia |
| AAA | - | - | - | - | - |
| AA | AA | AA | AA | - | AA |
| A | A | A | A | A | A |
| B | B | B | B | B | B |
| C | C | C | C | C | C |
| D | D | D | D | D | D |
| DD/E | DD | E | E | DD | DD |
| DDD/F | E | F | F | E | E |
| G | F | - | - | F | F |
| H | FF | - | - | - | FF |
| I | G | - | - | - | G |
| J | GG | - | - | - | GG |
| K | H | - | - | - | H |
| L | HH | - | - | - | HH |
| M | J | - | - | - | J |
| N | JJ | - | - | - | JJ |
| - | K | - | - | - | K |
| - | KK | - | - | - | KK |
| - | L | - | - | - | L |
As you can see, once you get past D, it becomes more confusing to know your size. Add to that, is the fact that European cup sizes run 1/2 size bigger than UK sizes. When you go to get a new bra, you should always check where it is made so you order the correct cup size.
Not all cup sizes are equal. That's right. A 30A is not the same cup size as a 32A. So, when you change band sizes, you also need to adjust your cup size.
28FF = 30F = 32E
28B = 30A = 32AA
As your band size goes down, your cup size goes up. As your cup size goes down, you band size goes up. Go figure.
What a lot of people don't understand is when I say I wear a 30F/30G, they look at my boobs and thing they don't look anywhere that large. That is because I wear a small band size. At all the different band sizes, this is my cup size:
28FF
30F
32E
34DD
36D
38C
40B
So, if I wore a more common size 36 band, my cup size would only be a D, which is what size my boobs look.
Mr. Christmas Mr. Lawrence ;D
You know why, I'm gonna be yours tonight
We're gonna oooh aaaah
FYI, we're gonna be up all night
I'll see you later
Call me
You know my number
We're gonna oooh aaaah
FYI, we're gonna be up all night
I'll see you later
Call me
You know my number
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Cosmetic Dermatologist
I never thought that *I* would be one of those women with a cosmetic dermatologist. I'm just not pretty enough, rich enough, or bitchy enough. But here I am with one. Probably because I vowed two things for this year. 1) Travel. 2) Spend money on procedures to try to make me look better.
Today was my second session of laser hair removal. I started on my face and today I added on the top of my feet. Next time, I'm going to add in my underarms. Wow, can I say that last time hurt a little but this time, as she raised the laser setting, was just plain torture. I'm not sure I could take it if she ramps it up anymore. But, considering I didn't see any results from the first session, it is probably a good thing she upped the laser juice. And if it works, it will be worth the pain.
I'm going to go through my face, feet, and underarms. If, after 6 to 8 sessions, I see results, I'll shell out for my arms. Right now the three cost $275 per sessions, so that will be $1650 if it takes 6 sessions each.
Today was my second session of laser hair removal. I started on my face and today I added on the top of my feet. Next time, I'm going to add in my underarms. Wow, can I say that last time hurt a little but this time, as she raised the laser setting, was just plain torture. I'm not sure I could take it if she ramps it up anymore. But, considering I didn't see any results from the first session, it is probably a good thing she upped the laser juice. And if it works, it will be worth the pain.
I'm going to go through my face, feet, and underarms. If, after 6 to 8 sessions, I see results, I'll shell out for my arms. Right now the three cost $275 per sessions, so that will be $1650 if it takes 6 sessions each.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Weekend
I need a vacation. Since the beginning of this year, I've been stressed about a project at work. It is winding down and should be over by the end of this month but my stress level reminds high, and will remain so until it is over.
I've been working at least one full day on the weekends. But, most of the time, I also spend a few additional hours on the other weekend day too. This Saturday I said, "no." I'm too stressed and I need a break. So, I spent the day cleaning. I'd been meaning to use the wetvac to get up some dirt spots on the rug, and I finally got around to it.
Even though I did work a little today (made no progress just confirmed that there is no solution to my problem and I'm going to have to work around it), I did make time to take some new photos for my online portfolio. Again, this is something I'd been meaning to do for weeks and I'm glad I made the time for it.
I need to start looking and planning for my trip to Ireland. Yes, I know I haven't even gone to Canada yet, but I need to get the ball rolling on this.
I feel like 2013 has comprised of focusing solely and heavily on work. I wouldn't mind a guy coming into the picture to date, even if we only went out a few times. I need something to break the monotony. I need to be able to have something in my life other than JUST work.
I've been working at least one full day on the weekends. But, most of the time, I also spend a few additional hours on the other weekend day too. This Saturday I said, "no." I'm too stressed and I need a break. So, I spent the day cleaning. I'd been meaning to use the wetvac to get up some dirt spots on the rug, and I finally got around to it.
Even though I did work a little today (made no progress just confirmed that there is no solution to my problem and I'm going to have to work around it), I did make time to take some new photos for my online portfolio. Again, this is something I'd been meaning to do for weeks and I'm glad I made the time for it.
I need to start looking and planning for my trip to Ireland. Yes, I know I haven't even gone to Canada yet, but I need to get the ball rolling on this.
I feel like 2013 has comprised of focusing solely and heavily on work. I wouldn't mind a guy coming into the picture to date, even if we only went out a few times. I need something to break the monotony. I need to be able to have something in my life other than JUST work.
Saturday, February 09, 2013
Body
In my last post about panties, I mentioned the importance of lingerie because it is the first thing you put on and last thing you take off each night. It lays the foundation for your outterwear. But if lingerie sets the stage, your body *is* the stage. You can change out your clothing to look better or worse but your body is a constant that you always have to work within. So, I have no need to tell you how important it is to have a good solid base upon which to build.
There are three aspects of your body:
Maintaining ones body takes time and effort. We live in a society of instant gratification which is why so many people give up taking care of their body before they achieve the results they desire. If your body is already good - please, do the little bit of maintenance it takes to keep it. If your body isn't where you want it to be - please, be patience and stick with a regiment to get it to where you want it. I know you hate exercise and skipping that doughnut your coworker brought in for the office this morning but in the end you will be much happier with a rockin' body than the doughnut and 30 minutes of television.
Health
It goes without saying that you want to maintain your body for health reasons. I'm not going to go into all the reasons why. I'm going to focus on a less acknowledged health reason to maintain a healthy weight.
Being able to hike, canoe, explore a cobblestone village in Europe, running and playing with your children, riding a roller coaster, not have to be embarrassed by having to ask for a seat belt extender on an airplane, being able to walk into any store and know you will find clothing that will fit.
By being overweight and unhealthy, you are making yourself miss out on some of the greatest pleasures life has to offer!
Shape/Size
Unfair as it is, acceptable shape and body sizes are based on many factors - not how much you actually weigh. I currently weigh 148 pounds which is a perfectly acceptable weight for someone who is 5' 6". But at 5' even, it looks terrible. However, I have a pear shape body which looks a lot like an hourglass. So, I do look better than someone who is an apple shape at the same height and weight.
You can never change your basic shape. As you shrink or grow, it will morph a little, but your core shape is always there. You need to learn what your body shape is, and start dressing to flatter it.
Your size, however, it within your control (granted it takes a lot of control) but you can still change your size if you really want to. If you don't like it, change it.
Skin/Face
Skin is much easier to control than your shape and size. The best thing you can do for your skin is moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. At the very least, twice a day. Proper maintenance of your face will help reduce or even eliminate blemishes. Starting young with care will slow signs of aging.
Strength and weigh training are the keys to toning.
If you have problems with your skin, see a doctor for help. If you have unsightly veins or hair, you can get those problems fixed. In fact, the cost isn't too bad. It's high, but will only usually cost you $1000 for a permanent solution for your problem.
Make-Up
Ah, make-up. The eternal debate - with or without. Everyone looks better with skillfully applied make-up. Make-up should look like you don't have any on. But just because you look better with make-up doesn't mean you have to wear a full face of it. Pick and choose which features need make-up. If you have good skin, you probably don't need foundation. If you wear glasses, you can probably skip most of the eye make-up. Sometime just adding some lip-stick is all you need. Other times, you need to paint your face. Take the time to go to a department store make-up counter and ask for their advice.
Smell
Often overlooked, the way you smell is important. You should always smell good and clean. But, adding a fragrance is a nice feminine touch. Pick a fragrance that meshes with your nature odor, suits your age, and your personality.
A word of caution, most of the beauty products we use have a fragrance, Putting them all together can lead to disastrous results. Try to match all your products scents, like your lotion, shampoo, perfume, and soaps.
Hair
Although every guy is different, most prefer long hair. Unless you absolutely hate long hair, I'd stick with long. Go and get it styled. Pay to learn what cuts work with your face. Make sure you take care of your hair, that is always looks neat, and for heaven sakes, maintain your roots if you dye.
Nails
Believe it or not, but guys DO notice your nails. They might not say anything, they might not even care that much, but they do notice when you have nicely manicured nails. I would go with something natural and classy that looks good morning, noon, and night. I like getting a Soak off gel French Manicure. It doesn't do damage to your nails (if you take it off right) and lasts 2 to 3 weeks without chipping. Don't forget to do you toes! And the two should match. They don't have to be the same, but they should match.
Posture
Go stand in front of a mirror and slouch. Now stand up straight. Notice the difference? Notice how when you stood up straight you looked better and thinner? Having good posture makes you look better. It also makes you look more confident which adds to your overall attraction level. What do you think when you see someone hunched over looking at the ground as they walk? What do you think of the person who stands tall and makes eye contact? Right, I thought so.
Posture is one of those things we use to ingrain into children but don't anymore. It's easier to have good posture when we learn it young. But, that doesn't mean you can't slowly work so it becomes second nature.
There are three aspects of your body:
- Your Physical Health - Do you have high blood pressure or diabetes? Is all your blood work and intakes good? Can you take a hike without problems? Does you body cause you problems in your day to day life? Are you prevented from riding on a roller coaster or uncomfortable in an airplane seat because of your body?
- Your Mental Health - How do you view your body? Does your view of your body distress you and/or cause you to think less of yourself? How is your relationship with food? Does your view of your body affect your relationship with other people?
- Your Physical Appearance - This is related to the second aspect. Whereas your mental health deals with how you think of your body, this aspect deals with how other people think of your body. Even though it is ugly, the truth is, the more attractive you are the better people will treat you and the easier certain things will be for you. Do people look at your body with repulsion and judgment? Do people look at your body with neutrality? Or, do people look at your body with lust and envy?
Maintaining ones body takes time and effort. We live in a society of instant gratification which is why so many people give up taking care of their body before they achieve the results they desire. If your body is already good - please, do the little bit of maintenance it takes to keep it. If your body isn't where you want it to be - please, be patience and stick with a regiment to get it to where you want it. I know you hate exercise and skipping that doughnut your coworker brought in for the office this morning but in the end you will be much happier with a rockin' body than the doughnut and 30 minutes of television.
Health
It goes without saying that you want to maintain your body for health reasons. I'm not going to go into all the reasons why. I'm going to focus on a less acknowledged health reason to maintain a healthy weight.
Being able to hike, canoe, explore a cobblestone village in Europe, running and playing with your children, riding a roller coaster, not have to be embarrassed by having to ask for a seat belt extender on an airplane, being able to walk into any store and know you will find clothing that will fit.
By being overweight and unhealthy, you are making yourself miss out on some of the greatest pleasures life has to offer!
Shape/Size
Unfair as it is, acceptable shape and body sizes are based on many factors - not how much you actually weigh. I currently weigh 148 pounds which is a perfectly acceptable weight for someone who is 5' 6". But at 5' even, it looks terrible. However, I have a pear shape body which looks a lot like an hourglass. So, I do look better than someone who is an apple shape at the same height and weight.
You can never change your basic shape. As you shrink or grow, it will morph a little, but your core shape is always there. You need to learn what your body shape is, and start dressing to flatter it.
Your size, however, it within your control (granted it takes a lot of control) but you can still change your size if you really want to. If you don't like it, change it.
Skin/Face
Skin is much easier to control than your shape and size. The best thing you can do for your skin is moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. At the very least, twice a day. Proper maintenance of your face will help reduce or even eliminate blemishes. Starting young with care will slow signs of aging.
Strength and weigh training are the keys to toning.
If you have problems with your skin, see a doctor for help. If you have unsightly veins or hair, you can get those problems fixed. In fact, the cost isn't too bad. It's high, but will only usually cost you $1000 for a permanent solution for your problem.
Make-Up
Ah, make-up. The eternal debate - with or without. Everyone looks better with skillfully applied make-up. Make-up should look like you don't have any on. But just because you look better with make-up doesn't mean you have to wear a full face of it. Pick and choose which features need make-up. If you have good skin, you probably don't need foundation. If you wear glasses, you can probably skip most of the eye make-up. Sometime just adding some lip-stick is all you need. Other times, you need to paint your face. Take the time to go to a department store make-up counter and ask for their advice.
Smell
Often overlooked, the way you smell is important. You should always smell good and clean. But, adding a fragrance is a nice feminine touch. Pick a fragrance that meshes with your nature odor, suits your age, and your personality.
A word of caution, most of the beauty products we use have a fragrance, Putting them all together can lead to disastrous results. Try to match all your products scents, like your lotion, shampoo, perfume, and soaps.
Hair
Although every guy is different, most prefer long hair. Unless you absolutely hate long hair, I'd stick with long. Go and get it styled. Pay to learn what cuts work with your face. Make sure you take care of your hair, that is always looks neat, and for heaven sakes, maintain your roots if you dye.
Nails
Believe it or not, but guys DO notice your nails. They might not say anything, they might not even care that much, but they do notice when you have nicely manicured nails. I would go with something natural and classy that looks good morning, noon, and night. I like getting a Soak off gel French Manicure. It doesn't do damage to your nails (if you take it off right) and lasts 2 to 3 weeks without chipping. Don't forget to do you toes! And the two should match. They don't have to be the same, but they should match.
Posture
Go stand in front of a mirror and slouch. Now stand up straight. Notice the difference? Notice how when you stood up straight you looked better and thinner? Having good posture makes you look better. It also makes you look more confident which adds to your overall attraction level. What do you think when you see someone hunched over looking at the ground as they walk? What do you think of the person who stands tall and makes eye contact? Right, I thought so.
Posture is one of those things we use to ingrain into children but don't anymore. It's easier to have good posture when we learn it young. But, that doesn't mean you can't slowly work so it becomes second nature.
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
High Stress
For the past month, my stress level has been astronomical. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's setting at a 9. I am trying everything I can possible do to lower it. Exercise, sleep, breathing, blogging, zen, just trying to eliminate the cause of the stress, being happy, not worrying about it. Nothing is helping.
The main source of my stress is the project I am working on for work. Truthfully, it is going pretty well but that isn't keeping me from being stressed. I think it is just a little bit of everything that is causing me to be overwhelmed.
My end of year review was okay but wasn't anything to write home about. Basically, I was told I was doing a fine job but nothing special. My pay raise and bonus was only 3% which is pretty pathetic. And, today, one of our team members was layed off due to not having enough work. Which is bogus because we have way more than enough work. If anything we should be hiring more people for our team. So, justifiably, I am worried about how secure my job is and how much more of a work load is going to be placed before me.
I'm starting to thing I'll never not be stressed again and this will become the new norm. Which is, quite frankly, unacceptable. As much as I like my job and don't want to lose it, if this hostile work environment continues indefinately, I will have to look for employement someplace else. When will employers learn to treat their employees with respect and that by doing so, they get better service from them?!!! It really isn't that hard of a concept to grasp.
So much for 2013 being my year.
sigh.
The main source of my stress is the project I am working on for work. Truthfully, it is going pretty well but that isn't keeping me from being stressed. I think it is just a little bit of everything that is causing me to be overwhelmed.
My end of year review was okay but wasn't anything to write home about. Basically, I was told I was doing a fine job but nothing special. My pay raise and bonus was only 3% which is pretty pathetic. And, today, one of our team members was layed off due to not having enough work. Which is bogus because we have way more than enough work. If anything we should be hiring more people for our team. So, justifiably, I am worried about how secure my job is and how much more of a work load is going to be placed before me.
I'm starting to thing I'll never not be stressed again and this will become the new norm. Which is, quite frankly, unacceptable. As much as I like my job and don't want to lose it, if this hostile work environment continues indefinately, I will have to look for employement someplace else. When will employers learn to treat their employees with respect and that by doing so, they get better service from them?!!! It really isn't that hard of a concept to grasp.
So much for 2013 being my year.
sigh.
Monday, February 04, 2013
Panties
Panty: Size
When I was a little girl, panties came in sizes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. If you were bigger than a 10, you were SOL. If you were smaller than a 5, you wore girl sizes.
When I entered college, I saw this fantastic movement towards sizing panties in dress sizes. A size 8/10 panty was for someone who wore a size 8/10 pant.
Later still, I saw the sizes move towards XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL which unusually corresponded to the first sizes of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Now, I see all sizing methods out there. So, how is one to know which size is what?
Here is a chart to help you out.
Now you always want to look directly that the brand you are interested in sizing chart, but this chart is a good general guideline. You will find that some brands have the Dress sizes one bigger than what I have listed here. For example, in some brands, a L is a 14, not a 12. However, I tend to deal with a lot of European lingerie, which runs smaller, so when it doubt, use this smaller sizing chart as a guideline.
Measurement are also usually provided but since they vary so much from brand to brand, I didn't try to generalize them.
Panty: Styles and for which Body Type
When you start looking at panties, you will see a million different cuts and styles. Worry not because, at it's core, there are only a handful of styles and all those different names are only manufacture's way of making their product sound fancier than it really is.
Boy Shorts
Boy Shorts seem to be all the rage right now. As the name implies, boy short panties are cut like a pair of very short shorts. Boy shorts look and work best for women who are thin and don't have a lot of curves. If you have a lot of curves, rolls, or fat, they will not sit right on you. If you have a bubbly butt, they tend to ride up your crack. Since the leg cut is lower than a regular panty but not long enough to be an actual short, fat or curves also tend to make the material gather at you V area.
If you just love the boy short style but are too curvy to pull it off, try the cheekie or hipsters style.
It is worth noting that there are some boy short that are even longer in the leg than the majority, which make these panties fit just like tight shorts.
Cheekies
Cheekies are what I call the thong version of boy shorts. They are cut very similarly except they are cut higher in the butt area (usually only covering the top half of your cheeks) like a thong.
Cheekies are good for women who are otherwise tone but have a nice butt they wish to show off. If you are really curvy or lumpy, I'd stay away from cheekies as they are still going bunch in the front and not sit right.
Hipsters
For those of us who are less tone and a little bit more jiggly, I suggest a hipster style if you like the boy short. Hipsters look like boy shorts but are cut higher in the leg so that they don't bunch in your V area. And, because they don't bunch, they sit right on your body. Hipsters also usually cover your butt area like a brief so you don't get ride up in you are big butted.
Thongs
Thongs have a bikini front but have no coverage of the butt cheeks. Rather, they have a strip of material which sits between your cheeks. Thongs are good for any body type and great for no panty lines. However, some people hate they way the feel, thinking they have a constant wedgy.
Some say if you are unconfortable in a thong, it is because you are not wearing the correct size.
G-Strings
If a thong is uncomfortable for you because you feel like you have a wedgy, you might want to try a g-string. a g-string is just like a thong but the strip between the cheeks is, as the name implies, a string. The smaller material might make a difference for you.
Briefs
Briefs are the traditional panty and are often called"granny panties". But briefs can be extremely flattering. They mesh well with all body types and a well fitted brief won't look granny at all. Briefs are characterized by a full coverage of the butt. They can be high waisted or low waisted (rise) and have a hi cut or low cut in the legs.
Bikinis
Bikinis are brief cuts except they are very high in the leg, which only a small strip of material. Bikinis also tend to have a very low rise in the waist.
String Bikinis
String bikinis are bikini cut panties which only have a thin string for the hips. Bikini and string bikinies tend not to look too good on body types with large or rolly tummies since the panty doesn't tend to stay in place, but rather rolls down.
Panty: Picking out your Style
So, how do you know what size and which style look best on you and are the most comfortable? I suggest going to Walmart and picking up one of each style. Try them on, wear them for a day. You can get panties at Walmart in each of these styles for $2-$3 a pair. It is the cheapest and best way to gauge what works best for you. Once you know what styles you like (which is also one that looks good on your body type!) and you know your size (more or less), you can invest if more expensive panties with a much better chance of being happy with your pick.
Panty: Brands
Honestly, I'm a big fan of making sure my panties and bras match so I usually purchase panties to match the bras I get. Since the bras I get are from good brands, the quality of panty tends to also be good. However, one usually wears a bra two or three times but a panty only once. That means we have a day or two where we need panties to go with our bra. You could purchase 3 pairs of the same matching panty, but who wants to do that.
A good rule that I follow is I have one fancy panty to match a particular bra and then I have several plain, but nice quality and sexy panties which I can mix and match with all my bras. If I am dressing real fancy or sexy, I'll wear my matching panty with the bra but for work, I'll pair the bra with a plainer panty.
I'm still looking for good panty brands so I'll post more later. Right now I'm testing out Hanky Panky.
When I was a little girl, panties came in sizes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. If you were bigger than a 10, you were SOL. If you were smaller than a 5, you wore girl sizes.
When I entered college, I saw this fantastic movement towards sizing panties in dress sizes. A size 8/10 panty was for someone who wore a size 8/10 pant.
Later still, I saw the sizes move towards XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL which unusually corresponded to the first sizes of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Now, I see all sizing methods out there. So, how is one to know which size is what?
Here is a chart to help you out.
| Panty Size | Apparel Size | US Dress Size | UK Dress Size |
| 4 | XS | 0/2 | 2/4 |
| 5 | S | 4/6 | 6/8 |
| 6 | M | 8/10 | 10/12 |
| 7 | L | 12 | 14 |
| 8 | XL | 14 | 16 |
| 9 | XXL | 16 | 18 |
| 10 | XXXL | 18 | 20 |
| 11 | 4x | 20 | 22 |
| 12 | 5x | 22 | 24 |
| 13 | 6x | 24 | 26 |
Now you always want to look directly that the brand you are interested in sizing chart, but this chart is a good general guideline. You will find that some brands have the Dress sizes one bigger than what I have listed here. For example, in some brands, a L is a 14, not a 12. However, I tend to deal with a lot of European lingerie, which runs smaller, so when it doubt, use this smaller sizing chart as a guideline.
Measurement are also usually provided but since they vary so much from brand to brand, I didn't try to generalize them.
Panty: Styles and for which Body Type
When you start looking at panties, you will see a million different cuts and styles. Worry not because, at it's core, there are only a handful of styles and all those different names are only manufacture's way of making their product sound fancier than it really is.
Boy Shorts
Boy Shorts seem to be all the rage right now. As the name implies, boy short panties are cut like a pair of very short shorts. Boy shorts look and work best for women who are thin and don't have a lot of curves. If you have a lot of curves, rolls, or fat, they will not sit right on you. If you have a bubbly butt, they tend to ride up your crack. Since the leg cut is lower than a regular panty but not long enough to be an actual short, fat or curves also tend to make the material gather at you V area.
If you just love the boy short style but are too curvy to pull it off, try the cheekie or hipsters style.
It is worth noting that there are some boy short that are even longer in the leg than the majority, which make these panties fit just like tight shorts.
Cheekies
Cheekies are what I call the thong version of boy shorts. They are cut very similarly except they are cut higher in the butt area (usually only covering the top half of your cheeks) like a thong.
Cheekies are good for women who are otherwise tone but have a nice butt they wish to show off. If you are really curvy or lumpy, I'd stay away from cheekies as they are still going bunch in the front and not sit right.
Hipsters
For those of us who are less tone and a little bit more jiggly, I suggest a hipster style if you like the boy short. Hipsters look like boy shorts but are cut higher in the leg so that they don't bunch in your V area. And, because they don't bunch, they sit right on your body. Hipsters also usually cover your butt area like a brief so you don't get ride up in you are big butted.
Thongs
Thongs have a bikini front but have no coverage of the butt cheeks. Rather, they have a strip of material which sits between your cheeks. Thongs are good for any body type and great for no panty lines. However, some people hate they way the feel, thinking they have a constant wedgy.
Some say if you are unconfortable in a thong, it is because you are not wearing the correct size.
G-Strings
If a thong is uncomfortable for you because you feel like you have a wedgy, you might want to try a g-string. a g-string is just like a thong but the strip between the cheeks is, as the name implies, a string. The smaller material might make a difference for you.
Briefs
Briefs are the traditional panty and are often called"granny panties". But briefs can be extremely flattering. They mesh well with all body types and a well fitted brief won't look granny at all. Briefs are characterized by a full coverage of the butt. They can be high waisted or low waisted (rise) and have a hi cut or low cut in the legs.
- Granny Panty - High Waisted briefs with a low leg cut tend to by the "granny panty".
- Hi-Cut Briefs - A common variety of the brief is the hi-cut brief which has a higher cut in the leg which can be a sexy look.
Bikinis
Bikinis are brief cuts except they are very high in the leg, which only a small strip of material. Bikinis also tend to have a very low rise in the waist.
String Bikinis
String bikinis are bikini cut panties which only have a thin string for the hips. Bikini and string bikinies tend not to look too good on body types with large or rolly tummies since the panty doesn't tend to stay in place, but rather rolls down.
Panty: Picking out your Style
So, how do you know what size and which style look best on you and are the most comfortable? I suggest going to Walmart and picking up one of each style. Try them on, wear them for a day. You can get panties at Walmart in each of these styles for $2-$3 a pair. It is the cheapest and best way to gauge what works best for you. Once you know what styles you like (which is also one that looks good on your body type!) and you know your size (more or less), you can invest if more expensive panties with a much better chance of being happy with your pick.
Panty: Brands
Honestly, I'm a big fan of making sure my panties and bras match so I usually purchase panties to match the bras I get. Since the bras I get are from good brands, the quality of panty tends to also be good. However, one usually wears a bra two or three times but a panty only once. That means we have a day or two where we need panties to go with our bra. You could purchase 3 pairs of the same matching panty, but who wants to do that.
A good rule that I follow is I have one fancy panty to match a particular bra and then I have several plain, but nice quality and sexy panties which I can mix and match with all my bras. If I am dressing real fancy or sexy, I'll wear my matching panty with the bra but for work, I'll pair the bra with a plainer panty.
I'm still looking for good panty brands so I'll post more later. Right now I'm testing out Hanky Panky.
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