Abracadabra

OMG...I wore the dress...

You know...THE dress...the one that was my "dream"...

my "goal" dress...

for those of you who are new to this....or haven't read my last 1000 blogs, when I started my weight loss journey one of my big goals was to wear a certain dress.

A dress that belonged to my mother that I refused to wear once when she asked me to. I chickened out...but not this time.

It was the one-shouldered Vera Wang cocktail dress...black, short, and with a sheer (very sexy) back.

I bought some seriously dangerous heels to wear with it...Precious was afraid I was going to hurt myself in them...but I didn't.

So the dress...well, it has been my obsession. So much so that Dimples now knows who Vera Wang is.

Every time I wanted to give up...or not go to an exercise class...or eat the wrong thing...or wimp out in training...I would think about the dress.

Fantasize about the dress...

Because when you are a 24 (or 26)and the dress is an 8...it is a fantasy.

but I would imagine myself in the dress and walking into the party and feeling really good.

THE REALITY WAS BETTER THAN THE FANTASY!!!!

I remember pulling it from my mother's closet after she died and telling my aunt I was going to wear it...and her hoping and believing I would...

sadly I do not have a good photo of me in the dress...I have a very bad photo of me in it taken with my phone...and it makes me look like I have weird tan lines...but it is just a reflection...and my eyes are red...

but I will post it here anyway and when I get the good shots from the photographer I will post those...

here goes...

bad photo...

I really hate the glare on my chest that makes me look sunburned and weirdly tanned but it is what it is...

so I had a busy week teaching and then dealing with the feast...so last night I fluffed up the hair, put on the proper undergarments, and threw on the dress and the sexy heels and headed to the party...

I walked in and made Bacchus and another teacher friend say VERY NICE THINGS to me about how I looked. One of them was very preoccupied by how I was going to stay on my feet in those crazy shoes but I assured him I could do it.

He said "well I certainly couldn't"

to which I replied: "it would be weird if you could...you are a man"...

he laughed and then said "don't fall"

I didn't fall all night.

and I was blessed to have my wonderful friends tell me how proud they were of me...and I am lucky I have such great friends to share things with...

The party was a blast...and yes, I drank too much wine and ate cheese and some really incredible artichoke dip and some crackers that so are not on my diet but who cares...I still fit in the dress today so I'm not going to fret about it. I confessed to Dimples and I think he was so proud of me that he was in a forgiving mood and just let it go...

When I think back to how stupid and gutsy it was for me to think I could actually pull it off and wear the dress, well...I don't know...because I'm not really so sure how I did it but I have to say that I must have done something right...and I think Dimples may have some witch powers himself that he has gotten me to this size.

When we first started working together I told him "you are basically working to put me into a tiny scrap of black fabric".

Well, he did it...

nah, he doesn't have witch powers...he's just really good at being a personal trainer and helping me...

So once you achieve a goal, you need to set a new one, right?

I still have other goals...like losing 22 more pounds (current weight: 167) and being a size 8...

and getting to meet Oprah and have her give me a gown...working on that one...yes, Oprah, I'm right here and I love and admire you!!!!!

So now I have another goal dress...actually 2 of them...both belonged to my mom...one is a black knit Gucci (very tight) and the other is a crazy Mugler dress (I wear his perfume so why not one of his dresses?).

I know I can do it...with Dimples help...and your support...and eating right...and exercising...

no magic needed at all...just some sweat...

abracadabra...

Inspiration Song: "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band...great song...I love Steve Miller...

bye darlings...it doesn't take magic...just determination!

Angel

This is my cat...her name is "Angel". She is an applehead Siamese and the sweetest little thing. Right now she is asleep on the desk as I type this blog...

I got to thinking today that I have a lot of "Angels" in my life...not just my pretty little kitty cat.

I joined a sororoty in college---I am a proud member of Pi Beta Phi (shout out to my Texas Eta friends! And all Pi Phi Angels).

Pi Phi's "symbols" are an arrow...and an ANGEL...our colors are "wine and silver blue"

I wear Thierry Mugler "Angel" perfume...it is my favorite scent (I am fond of others...and right now Tom Ford Black Orchid is making a definite play for my attention).

Angel perfume comes in a star bottle...and the perfume itself is colored...silver blue...

makes sense to me that I love it...and today when I refilled my bottle (yes! you can refill Angel for 30% less than buying a new bottle...another reason I love it) I was once again struck by how angels are so in my life...

I have angels in Heaven looking out for me...Mom, Daddy, my Grandpa...and special angels like my friend D's niece who's birthday is just one day after mine...our names both start with "A" and we almost shared a birthday so I always had a special place in my heart for her...and sadly we lost her to cancer...she was on my mind this weekend...

My doctor is an angel. I saw her today and she was thrilled with my weight loss. I was actually happy to have blood drawn because I am curious to see if my "inside" is matching my "outside" in getting healthier.

I know my heart is better...my EKG showed a much improved resting heart rate (even Coach Dimples was impressed) and she was really excited about that.

Her support has been incredible and I loved being able to share with her that I "got it"...I "got it" for all the times she told me that if I ate better and excersised I could change my life. Showing her today that I have done that was really a high moment in all of this.

Now if only I could be as gorgeous as she is...people, she looks like a character from "Grey's Anatomy" or "Private Practice" except that she is a real bona-fide physician...

My trainer is an angel...he puts up with a lot of crap from me...today he pushed me to my limit and got me to take myself to a level I didn't think I could get to...and it doesn't hurt that he does the running with me and keeps me motivated and stays positive with me...good grief, he got me to RUN...he has to be heaven-sent or some kind of witch to do that...I hate hate hate to run...

My spin and gym instrutors are angels...I love love love them...they keep me going and working hard...

my Aunt Jane is an angel...she is...because she puts up with me...and saves me from myself...

I have always called Ke$ha Barbie "my Angel"...because even when she doesn't act like an angel, she is one in my eyes...

And The Cutest Boy in the World is an angel of a little man...

The teachers at my kids schools are angels...because a good teacher is a gift from god...I regularly want to polish the halos on them...

and you, my friends, are angels to me...not just my Pi Phi sisters...but all of you who love and support me...

And back to my precious little kitty...she was a stray that "found" us...she walked into our yard and never left. She seemed to drop out of heaven so we named her "angel". She once disappeared for 13 days and returned, like a gift from God, on my son's birthday. We thought she was gone for good but I looked out the window of the kitchen door and there she was, looking in, asking to come back inside her home. She was a little lost kitty but she found a way to trust us and became a part of us and we love her...

I'm a little like her...I lost myself for a while but I found a way to trust myself again that I could do this...I became my own angel...and now I let other angels help me...

You're my angel...come and save me tonight...

Who's your angel(s)? Let 'em know that they save you...

And be your own angel...

Inspiration Song: "Angel" by Aerosmith...my favorite band...

bye darlings...