"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

--Winston Churchill

Monday, June 20, 2011

"Mommy, Am I Fat?"


The title of this post is something I never want to hear my daughter ask me, especially at an age as young as three. Last week, when I was shopping in the shoe section at Target, I overheard a little girl no older than four tell her dad that she feels fat. I was disgusted, heartbroken, and shocked. I'm sure the girl hardly knew what it meant but it only proved how easily children pick up on what they hear people say. I can't even imagine having a poor body image at that age. It would be a piece of your childhood being taken away. I hate to say that I actually forgot about that until this feature titled, "Mommy, Am I Fat?" came on Good Morning America this morning about girls as young as three years old fretting about body image. According to the feature, more and more young girls are being teased at school because of their weight and are therefore being made more aware of it. It is also apparent that many of these little girls are picking up on what they hear their moms or teachers saying about their weight and dieting. The lesson here to me is to make sure we never verbalize any sort of body image issues in front of kids. I think that people don't often realize how much children pick up on and actually apply to themselves. Even if you're not bringing yourself down around them but talking about dieting or another person's body, it plants a seed in the child's mind that could lead to a lifetime of body image struggles. Our society's pressures are hard enough. Let's not add more on top of that.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Other Slice

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{skirt: H&M; top: Xhileration for Target; belt: H&M; tights: Target; shoes: Payless}

Did you guys miss my face or what? I honestly think I just get tired of myself sometimes and as much as I love fashion and looking at other bloggers' outfit posts, I don't always feel like sharing my daily look with the blogesphere. Call it laziness, insecurity--anything you want but there you have it. So I've been pondering, what can I do with my blog to help me grow as a person? I want it to be about the little and the large things at the same time. So I thought I'd start by acknowledging my proud moments when they occur, whether big or small (and most of the time they are the latter). Most of these proud moments won't make any sense to those who haven't struggled with an eating disorder or who simply aren't an incredibly awkward dork like me. Today's proud moment (other than being published on Good Women Project of course): Making a sandwich for dinner. I warned ya, a lot of my proud moments won't be that exciting to most of you but simply making a sandwich was big for me. Let me tell you why. Carbs had been my enemy since before my eating disorder really started. They were the first thing I cut out of my diet when I wanted to drop some pounds and from then on I had avoided them like the plague. The only grain-like substance I would ever allow myself were plain rice cakes which as we all know is like eating air. So, even though I now allow myself a healthy dosage of mostly gluten free carbs, I still have a hard time eating a full sandwich as opposed to a face up sandwich. This is just leftover eating disorder mindset that bread is bad (even though I would have ended up snacking on crackers or something later to make up for that missing slice). So instead of piling my toppings on a single slice of bread as I usually do, tonight I decided to take that extra step and give myself the other slice that actually makes it a sandwich. Let me tell ya (as if you didn't already know but please, indulge me), not only does it make everything a lot easier and less messy, but it was just simply delicious. Now I remember why people add the other slice. It just completes the whole meal. I savored every bite as if I were eating a sandwich for the first time. Most of the time I relish these little accomplishments to myself but then I realized I don't have to. I can share them with you guys! For me, it's often the simple every day things that most people wouldn't think twice about that when I accomplish, make my day. I guess that's the good thing about being in recovery. You learn to appreciate the simple things. Who would have thought that eating a sandwich would be so exciting? I bet you didn't.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A Good Woman Redefined

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Okay, I know that once again it's been a while since I've been active on here and I plan on kicking things back into gear soon. My life has been pretty crazy lately but no more excuses. In the meantime I have some pretty exciting news to share. Wait for it...I wrote a guest post for The Good Woman Project! If you haven't seen this site already, you have to check it out pronto. I just love Lauren's idea behind it and what she is doing to change the way we look at the good woman. I've been noticing that even in the church it's becoming less and less "cool" to be the good woman that stands firm in her beliefs and values which is deeply concerning to me. Lauren's goal is to bring back what it means to be a good woman and redefine it whether you're married, single, or struggling with poor body image as is this month's topic. I was honored to guest post for her site and even more honored that she let me split it up into two parts so that I can share my full story. Read the first part today and come back tomorrow for part two!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Shop My Closet!

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Well, once again I screwed up with my finances. I am really starting to consider locking myself away at some poor budgeting rehab center or something. I decided to go all hay day with my recent paycheck just days after pay day and load up on everything I wasn't able to buy myself previously because of my last small paycheck (the downside of traveling for us non-paid vacationers). But what I wasn't thinking about while I was loading up on my expensive supplements and grocery items and paying off my credit card was the fact that this paycheck was also small because of my New York trip. Therefore, I should have really paid attention to my budget and considered all my expenses before going crazy with the debit card. Will I ever learn? I'm really starting to wonder. After deciding to get out of denial and finally look at my checking account I was really in for a shocker. Let's just say I'm going to have to get really creative between now and the 15th, starting with a closet sale I launched tonight on Facebook! It's not exactly Carrie Bradshaw's closet but who knows? You might find an item or two that catches your eye. I've had this idea for a while now after seeing my friend make some good sales that way and of course felt motivated to launch it right away after looking at my checking account today. Be sure to check it out! I also ship for $5 extra. Let's hear it for finding creative ways to make some extra moolah in a pinch!

Shop my closet here! More items to come!