The Liebster Award Nomination!

WHAT?! Yes it’s true!!! Fellow blogger “MATT AND HIS CATS” has nominated me and my blog for the Liebster Award! Little newbie me! Thanks Matt! I’m deeply honored that you would choose me and so very grateful for your support as well as the support of so many wonderful bloggers who have chosen to follow me.

I’ve been asked to answer the following questions, nominate fellow bloggers and then state 10 facts about myself so here goes:

1. My favourite film and why?

My favourite film of all time is “The Sound of Music”. I watch every Christmas and never tire of it. I love the music, the acting but most of all its message of hope and triumph over great adversity; very inspiring!

2. Are you looking forward to the next five years and why?

Yes because I have great plans for this blog and my support group. I’m excited to see where this journey will take me.

3. Are you a cat person or a dog person? 

I used to be an avid cat person with two beautiful long hair tabby cats. Also grew up with a cat for a family pet. Then about 6 years ago my last cat died and my daughter asked for a dog. I relented and our shihpoo Maggie entered our lives. Now I’m a dog person. She’s brought so much joy to our little family and I wouldn’t trade her for anything!

4. What is your favourite book? 

That’s a hard one as I read a lot!! I guess if I had to choose it would be Jodi Picoult’s “My Sister’s Keeper”. I like the way her books talk about some hard moral questions and the end of her books are always very unexpected.

5. If you were dropped in any fictional world/place where would you love to go for a 7 day holiday? 

Okay, this is probably going to sound silly but I pick Cinderella after she meets the Prince. I’m not picking this because I need to be rescued by a prince (I can take care of myself and besides I’m already married to my prince). I pick it because let’s face it ladies, who wouldn’t want to live in a castle, wear fancy ball gowns and get waited on hand and foot. Superficial I know but it is just a fairytale, lol!

6. Are you a marathon person or watch it when its on person, when it comes to T.V.? 

Depending on the show. If it’s a current show I’ll watch it while it’s on but if it’s an older show that I may have missed then I may do a marathon. Just finished a two day marathon of a show on Netflix called “The Hundred”. Another one I’ll watch several shows in a row is “Dr. Who”. Currently on Season 7.

7. Is your relaxing environment chaotic or organized? 

Well, I’d like it to be more organized but alas it isn’t always so. A family home with a teenager, a dog and a wonderfully disorganized husband can’t possibly be anything but somewhat chaotic but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

8. Tea or coffee? 

Neither. I like an herbal tea at bed but that’s about it. My tongue burns easily!

9. If you had the option to legally choose whether or not to pay for music, would you pay? Would you pick and choose? 

I would choose to pay. The musicians work hard just like everyone doing a job and deserve to get paid.

10. Would you like to pick one aspect of your life and completely lose it? 

I had to think about that one for a minute. I don’t like having MS. I don’t like the limitations it has and continues to put on my life. However, it has taught me empathy, patience, kindness. It allowed me to be a stay at home mom that I wouldn’t have been able to afford to do as a healthy woman. So for all of those reasons I wouldn’t want to lose any aspects of my life; they have made me the person I am today.

So now for my nominations:

1. Prettify Your Life

2. Ordinary Adventures

3. Jennifer’s Little Beauty Place

4. Bee Beauty

5. Scale Simple

My questions for them are as follows:

1. What’s your favourite kind of music and why?

2. What type of food haven’t you tried but might like to and why?

3. What’s your favourite musical and why?

4. Name any place in the world you would like to live and why.

5. If you could own any car in the world what would it be?

6. Ice cream; chocolate or vanilla?

7. Weather; hot or cold?

8. What’s your dream job (other then blogging) that pays?

9. Favourite flower

10. What is your proudest achievement?

Now 10 facts about me:

1. I like the colour purple.

2. My first love was teaching young children.

3. I love books written for teenagers.

4. I’m allergic to tomatoes.

5. I love stars; in my home decorating, on my clothes, in the sky on a clear night.

6. I like country music.

8. I like to sing (not good at it but like it).

9. My favourite T.V. show is “Criminal Minds”.

10. I’m a young 49 years old!

I guess that wraps it up! Thanks again “Matt and His Cats”  for the nomination. Enjoy the blogs I’ve nominated. They’re all wonderful reads and worth your time for a look!

BODY POSITIVE QUOTES

Smile! It’s the beginning of a fabulous new day and you are BEAUTIFUL!

I’ve been looking at Pinterest for some time now and have been saving up some inspiring body positive quotes. Today I’m sharing with you some of my favorites just to remind all you plus size beauties how truly remarkable and special you are, right now, in this moment, without changing a thing!

Read and enjoy and as always, now and forever, Be Pretty, Plus and Proud!

• Looking into a mirror is not a reminder to bash your wonderful body!
• Your body is not wrong, society is!
• Confidence will make you happier than any diet ever will (so embrace your body!)
• I do not need anyone else’s permission to feel glorious!
• Body confidence does not come from trying to achieve the perfect body, it comes from embracing the one you’ve already got!
• Life is way to short to spend another day at war with yourself!
• Confidence is Beautiful, no matter your size, no matter your weight. Be confident in who you are and you’ll be BEAUTIFUL!

Do you have any favorite body positive quotes you’d like to share? Did you add to your list of body positive affirmations we started in yesterday’s post? 

Fashion Frustrations

Good morning and Happy Friday!

Question of the day: As a plus size woman, what are some of your greatest sources of frustration?

Perhaps small airplane seats? Tight restaurant booths? Getting a date? Getting a job? Finding clothes that fit, flatter and are affordable? People pointing, staring or making rude comments? Small bathroom stalls? Small dressing rooms?

Every plus size woman has probably dealt with, or continues to deal with, these problems and more.

One of my personal frustrations is plus size retail designers who seem to assume that every plus size woman is 10 feet tall and has big feet. Plus size clothes are usually too long for my short 5 ft. 1 inch body, so on top of the usual higher cost of the clothing, I have to pay for alterations. I have to say, I’m liking the current crop top trend because crop tops are usually not crop on me! This means that, for once, they land at my waist instead of flowing down to my knees. Shoes are always too big for my size 6 foot. With the wider width, and most shoes at plus size stores starting at size 7, my little feet end up going for a swim.

Share your pet peeves and solutions/tips & tricks if you have any!

Have an awesome weekend, and as always, be bold! Be beautiful! Be Pretty, Plus and Proud!

P.S. Be sure to check out Monday’s post! Hint: Styling it!

Off to do research for Monday’s post!

Let’s get our fitness on!

Hey ladies, I hope you’re feeling fine and beautiful today (you are beautiful even if you’re not feeling it right now)!

Today’s post is for those of us who are learning to embrace who we are and love ourselves as we are in this moment, and for those of you wanting to make a few changes simply because YOU want it. I’m talking physical activity today.

I know, I said I don’t like to sweat… but just because I’m embracing who I am doesn’t mean I’m going to sit on my couch every day eating chocolates and watching soaps. Remember, I said that when I have extra energy I do some physical activity (I mentioned yoga but there are a few things I don’t mind doing). I’m going to share some of the activities I include in my routine every now and then to give you some ideas. I will also talk about other possible sources for exercise you might be interested in.

Having MS makes physical activity difficult but not impossible. Likewise being plus size might make activity difficult but not impossible so here’s my list of ideas:

1) Yoga – The website Yoga Journal has great beginner yoga sequences ideal for the plus size woman or anyone with a physical disability. Scroll through and try one out. Also, Meghan Garcia (a plus size model) has a yoga video specifically designed for a plus size woman’s body. Check out your local library for a copy to try out.

2) Yoga not your thing? How about a bike ride? I have an electric three wheeled bike (three wheels because I have no balance). The electric option is nice for when you get tired or you are going uphill and need a little extra boost.

Me & my furbaby (Maggie) ready to roll!

3) Maybe walking is more your style…Penningtons is doing a walking program so check out a local store or their website for more information.

4) Cleaning your house, gardening, walking up flights of stairs, parking a little further from a store entrance are all good sources of activity.

5) Many shopping malls open early for walking programs before the stores open (no distraction from open stores and the lure of shopping, and no excuses about winter weather if you live somewhere cold).

6) This summer I stepped out of my comfort zone and bought a bathing suit. I swam in the lake as often as I could. Once you get over the fear of the dreaded bathing suit it’s so freeing! I think I might check out some swim programs this winter!

Maggie & I soaking up the sun!

7) In the winter make a snowman, shovel your sidewalk, or have a snowball fight with your kids. Sledding (climbing up a hill towing a sled), snowshoeing, cross country skiing and ice skating are also fantastic winter options.

What activities do you do now? What might you like to try? Maybe you’re up for doing something people say big girls shouldn’t do (zip lining anyone?)

Whatever YOU choose or don’t choose to do is entirely up to you and only you, no pressure, no guilt. Have fun, be bold and beautiful and as always Pretty, Plus and Proud!

Change …

Following yesterday’s blog post I have another question for you:

Do you need to change?

I say no, not unless YOU want to. Certainly not because someone else, who knows nothing about your private struggles, says you should. Not even those closest to you have the right to ask or tell you to change. No one else knows what’s inside your head or heart.

YOU can choose to make changes if you want to, or if you feel you need to. You can also choose to simply accept, embrace and love who you are in this moment.

Personally, I’m choosing to embrace who I am. Not to say I won’t take care of myself, but I refuse to be chained to a diet program. I refuse to count calories, weigh and measure my food or stress about how much activity I can fit into my day. If I feel like eating an apple I will, but if I feel like eating an ice cream I’ll eat that too and enjoy every single lick; no guilt! If I have some extra energy I’ll do some yoga but If I’m tired, I give myself permission to rest; again no guilt!

So after reading this post I hope it helps you choose what is best for you, and always remember whatever you choose you are always Pretty, Plus and Proud!

What are your thoughts on changing?

Enjoy every moment – you can’t get past moments back.

Acceptance – A large step toward self love.

Hello and welcome to a new day! I Hope everyone had a fabulous long weekend and returned to work or school refreshed and revitalized!

The beginning of a new school year used to be my New Year’s resolution day; a time to make changes and shake things up a bit. However,  this year I’m not making promises to myself that I’m unlikely to keep. Today I’m asking myself a question and embracing and accepting its answers in my journey to self love and self acceptance. Some of what I’m about to say I hinted at in my initial story about myself but now I’m revealing more details.

With that being said I’ll let you know this is a bit of a longer blog post so sit back with a cup of tea or glass of wine and read. It’ll be worth the time.

I hope no one finds my question rude or offensive, that is not the intent. Please read the whole post and you’ll understand.

My question is this: Why are you fat (curvy, plump, plus, chubby,etc.)?

I ask the question because I’m coming to understand and believe that one must understand the reasons you are the way you are before you can love and accept who you are. Often our reasons are things that people who are judging us can’t see and that’s what makes body shaming so unacceptable.

Here is my list of reasons:

1) Puberty – I turned 13 and all of a sudden I had boobs, a stomach and big butt.

2) Genetics – I am my mother’s daughter.

3) I did not perform well in elementary school gym class and as a result of being teased and shamed in this class I developed a life long aversion to and dislike of most anything physical. Sweating is not my thing.

4) These early experiences with body shaming resulted in low self esteem, depression, lack of confidence and emotional eating (more about that one coming up).

5) I loved my mother but she did not like to cook so while she did the best she could, meals were often repetitive and lacked imagination. I was a picky eater so I’m sure that didn’t help. Eating was not a wonderful sensual experience so food became my emotional outlet rather then what it should have been – fuel for my body.

6) Emotional eating; my reward for a bad day, a good day, a way to cope when I’m sad or angry or even when I’m happy. Eating ice cream is good 24/7.

7) While my mother didn’t like to cook she also wouldn’t let anyone else cook so I never learned to cook and feed myself. When I moved out my meals were chicken fingers and french fries or popcorn.

8) When I did lose weight at various times throughout my life it wasn’t for the right reasons; I wanted to look good in someone’s wedding pictures or fit into a nice grad dress or to get a date.

9) Then 18 years ago came my biggest obstacle, MS. With my disease there also comes chronic fatigue. Many days I’m tired before I even get out of bed, and the thought of everything that has to be done that day is so overwhelming I just want to stay in bed. The very idea of exercise and cooking healthy meals becomes lost in my world of just wanting more sleep.

10) Thus the spiral of depression and emotional eating starts all over again.

Now that I acknowledge, understand and accept all these reasons… I can accept, understand and learn to love myself. 

Many of you have experienced, or continue to experience these same reasons, and of course a list all your very own. The roads that have led you to where you are today; a plus size woman.

Remember these are reasons, not excuses for who you are and how you got here.

I’ll continue more on this subject in tomorrow’s post. I will leave you with this thought: I will not allow others who don’t know or understand my road to judge me or shame me. I will stand tall. I am Pretty, Plus and Proud!

Please continue to share your stories and comments. I love getting to know you!

Enjoying ice cream – Simply because it was a warm summer day and I wanted ice cream.