MY 'FAVORITE-EST' TOOLS .... some empiric some totally GOOFY...

I do have the favorite-est tools ever on my journey ... some are so totally useful and some are so totally empiric and some are so totally goofy but I am odd like that ... and the best thing of all is that before and NOW some have ALWAYS been my FAVORITE-EST (psssssst I KNOW that is not a word) tools....

BEFORE and AFTER I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY SEWING MACHINE .... I sew for me and for others ... I hoard fabrics ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE TO SEW ... FAT, THIN OR IN BETWEEN FOR ME OR FOR YOU GIMME A SEWING MACHINE lol...

I love sewing THINGS too ... coverlets, curtains, bedspreads, blankets, bassinet covers you name it ... I'll sew it... BEFORE AND NOW... I love making diaper cakes too ... for my friends baby showers they are awesome gifts...

Because I sew ... and I love making things ... this little joker here is a MUST HAVE

.... a measuring tape ... I CANNOT.LIVE.WITHOUT IT.... It was/is THE BEST TOOL YET on my journey ... when I stalled I did not spazzzz because my tape measure marked the inches lost when the pounds did not budge ... I love love love taking my body measurements to make sure that the inches lost stay right there ...GONE ...although with age they do shift ... and how... ask my tatas YIKES...

I am totally disproportionate ... a royal mess ... I have the shape of a farking bumble bee ... disproportionately tiny waist and a big bertha and thighs however small I am ... yet my measurements rock for body fat percentage ... they tell me the proportion of body fat I have is normal ... of course I have to enter more than just my waist measurement to come up with an accurate number cause my waistline only will throw it off ... I have to enter hips, neck, wrist and forearm too...

I woke up wayyyyyyyyyyy too early this morning as I went to bed too early ... so instead of counting sheep I whipped out my measuring tape because I am going somewhere over the weekend and I am MAKING myself a gown ... NO PATTERNS INVOLVED.... I took my picture in my jammies loving the saying on my shirt "don't let go of your dreams" 

and before snapping the above picture with my measuring tape I measured my bust line at 30" inches

And my waistline at 23.5" inches

and my hips at 34.5" inches .... totally disproportionate...

but I am making me a gown and I am going to rock it too!!!! WOOT....

I farted around with fabric and scissors and my home made duct tape body form and my gown is all cut and basted.  

I then hopped on the scale ... another awesome tool along the way ... it is my accountability tool ... I love it ... 

I then went out on a morning run along the beach with friends from my running group...

I then coiffed and groomed me and my dolly and took pictures for my empowerment journal ... A Picture a Day Keeps the Pounds and the Inches Away ...

This was my yesterday....

This is me TODAY... this morning dressed for work... taking in the morning sun on my balcony...

Both Before and After and remain who I am in a smaller frame ... I love loud beautiful colorful clothes ... I love somber ones too ... I love to rock a piece of fabric ... big, small or in between I don't care ... we are all beautifully made...

I have awesome tools at my disposition .... some so totally useful and others so totally goofy ... like when I got into my suitcase for a perfect fit when I was about to pack some duds to head out to the OH Conference in 2011... LOL 

YUP GOOFY TOOLS ... I fit in this suitcase a year before this ... I fit in it then and I can fit it in now too ...

GOOFY is GOOD TOO!!! I am having FUN doing me ...

I am paying forward SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY ... life is not all about fun and laughter and my how do I know it ... but I am embracing JOY over misery ... and I am making it happen to me ... thank you MARY for pointing this out to me....

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE ... SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY!!!! THANK YOU OH FOR ALLOWING ME TO EMPOWER MYSELF BY KEEPING ME IN REMEMBRANCE BEFORE AND NOW AS I WALK AWAY FROM MORBID OBESITY ONE DAY AT A TIME ... ONE CHOICE AT A TIME ...

Sitting at my desk about to have an orange as my fruit of the day today ... ignore my teary eyes ... I have been crying since losing my beautiful ferret Slinky found dead in the pen last Thursday at the term of his life ... these babies have such a short life span but I still can't get used to it ... I ran across a picture and was crying when my co-worker snapped my picture...

for my pets are ANOTHER AWESOME TOOL ON MY JOURNEY ... BEFORE and AFTER...

AGAIN, Thanks for allowing me to share...

You are such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing.