Thursday, June 20, 2019

Getting ready

You'd think that a one night trip out of town would be easy enough to plan for, but I haven't found that to be the case. Of course I'm referring to our niece's wedding that's coming up on Saturday. I feel like I've done nothing but get ready (and spend money) for the past two weeks.

First there was finding a decent hotel room, which was expensive considering it's wedding and graduation season in a college town. The one I reserved is nice, but nothing fancy, and it's expensive enough that we could only afford one night after all the other costs of the trip (clothes and shoes for me, gas for the 12 hours of driving we'll be doing, a check up on the car that ended up costing us for a minor repair on the tire alignment, dry cleaning for the suit Gregg will wear, a gift card for my friend Martina who will be pet sitting, and on and on).

Then there was the aggravation of finding a dress. The first day I went shopping I found an inexpensive navy blue dress with gray and white trim on the bottom that would do if all else failed. Since it was so cheap on clearance, I bought it as a backup, but I wasn't altogether happy about the sober colors for an outdoor wedding in June. I continued to look and ended up finding a cream colored, floral patterned summer dress that I like much, much better. Despite how much I like it, I did have a moment of disgust with myself while trying it on, though. I hate the lighting in dressing rooms; when you're overweight it shows every flaw in your figure and every single ounce of cellulite. I would so love to be slim and to have a pretty silhouette. Sigh...

I'm never going to have a graceful figure; even at my lowest adult weight I was still tall, with broad shoulders, large breasts, and thick, muscular legs and arms. And I'm far from my lowest weight, even after the 30 pounds I lost last summer. It makes trying on clothes a chore to be dreaded, not a fun activity. But the dress does show off my body's few good features (I have some curves, at least, and my weight is distributed evenly) and it looks as nice as anything is going to look on me, I think. So that's okay. I was also pretty disappointed with the appearance of the skin on my ankles. I have terrible eczema, and I've been working hard for weeks to get the skin as well as possible to avoid stares and comments. I've been slathering on steroid cream several times a day, and making a huge effort to not scratch. It's hard. Eczema is a miserable beast. Right now my ankles look the best they've looked in years, but in the dressing room lighting it was still obvious that the skin is scarred. Oh well. I've done my best to minimize it.

Do I sound terribly vain yet? Probably. I'm sorry. Moving on....

Speaking of ankles, I finally found shoes to wear this morning. I went out shopping without my dress and had a hell of a time deciding what shoes would look best with it. It took over an hour and I finally ended up buying two pairs in hopes that one of them would work. And I got lucky, because they both look great! Now that my outfit is complete, and everything is done except for packing, I can relax a bit until we leave (really early Saturday morning).

I'll try to take a few pictures at the wedding and of the mountains where we'll be staying to share here next week. I'm sure it's all going to be lovely and we'll have a good time. It will be nice to finally meet our niece's new husband, and to see Gregg's family, but I'll be glad to get back home on Sunday evening and have it all done. Then I'll feel like my summer break can really begin.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

28 comments:

  1. Enjoy the weekend Jennifer, I'm sure you'll look great and you have nothing to worry about,Most of us are too critical of ourselves, without justification.

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    1. I'm sure you're right, and I know that most women are harder on ourselves than anyone else ever can be! Thank you.

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  2. Is there any chance that you would show us the dress(es) and the shoes? If you're not comfortable showing them while wearing, you could always lay it out on the bed. Thanks!

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    1. I will do that tomorrow! I'd like help deciding which shoes to wear anyway! Thanks for the idea.

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  3. Have a good time and drink just a little too much.

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    1. We're taking along a nice bottle of champagne for when we get back to our hotel room--after all, our anniversary was less than 2 weeks ago and we haven't really celebrated yet! :) And I'm sure there will be wine at the wedding, too.

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  4. I have eczema in the same spot too. it sux.
    have a great time!

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    1. I'm actually lucky, in that I used to have horrible eczema on my knees as well as my ankles. Somehow my knees cleared up on their own a couple of years ago and look perfectly normal these days. If only I could get my ankles to clear up! Eczema DOES suck!

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  5. This is exactly why I cannot stand to go anywhere requiring new clothes or new anything. Also- why I do not go clothes shopping anymore. I just can't bear it when...I bare it. But you're done and all that's left is a nice drive and a chance to enjoy yourself.
    And please do enjoy yourself. Make every penny you spent pay for itself in fun.

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    1. I always feel out of place when I go shopping for new clothes, especially dressy clothes. I hate feeling so insecure! I, too, hate to bare it when I'm forced to bear it! :) Ha ha. And yes, I plan to try to enjoy myself to make up for all the money we're spending.

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  6. I have seen your face and it is beautiful. Please don't needlessly worry about the rest of your body. I am sure that is beautiful too. Feeling good about yourself has nothing to do with ideals put about by social media. If you go to Havana, Cuba, you will be uplifted by watching every size, shape and colour of woman walk down the street as if they own it. They do own the streets. Go to Cuba and all your concerns will dissipate within about an hour. Believe me.

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    1. Tom, what a sweet and thoughtful comment, and I thank you for it.

      By the way, with the few glimpses I've gotten of your face, I think you're very handsome and I love your sense of humor. Compliments from a man like you make me blush!

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  7. You will look beautiful, Jennifer and I m sure you will have a great time. Relax and enjoy!

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    1. Thanks! I'm almost done with everything I have to do. Tomorrow, my husband can do all the driving and I plan to do just what you suggest....relax and enjoy!

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  8. You have a wonderful time at that gathering, Jennifer. I believe you'll look as good as the bride.

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    1. Haha! That's a nice thing to say but I'm long past looking as good as a fresh faced 23 year old! The bride is going to be gorgeous.

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  9. All disruption to daily life is stressful to an extent. You really mustn't worry about how you look. You are a very beautiful woman, with a compelling smile; what more could you want. Have a great time, and relax.

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    1. How sweet, Cro. All my male blogging friends are spoiling me with the compliments here! xx

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  10. Would love to see a photo of you in your new dress and shoes.

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    1. If any good ones get taken at the wedding, I'll try to share some here.

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  11. I wholeheartedly agree with the others here - you are beautiful, and I am sure your dress will only enhance that!
    When I am invited to a wedding or other special occasion, I love having a reason for putting together an outfit. It does not necessarily have to be a new dress, as my wardrobe sports quite an array of them already, but it is a lot of fun.
    As I pack a bag almost every weekend and have several holidays and business trips every year, getting ready has become routine and does not take much time.

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    1. You are always so stylish and beautiful, Meike! If I had your tall, lean figure I would love putting together outfits, too. :) I always have to try enhance my good points (small waist, curves) and downplay the bad ones (30 extra pounds, large bust) that pulling an outfit together that makes me feel good about how I look is a lot of work.

      I like to travel but dislike long trips in the car. The drive up to northwestern North Carolina is going to be 6 hours each way of pure highway monotony.

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  12. Here's wishing you a lovely weekend in your new clothes! The main thing is to feel comfortable and realise that no one is much bothered about what anyone else is wearing...they are too worried about their own appearance! Safe journey.

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    1. Thank you Frances, and you're quite right about most people only noticing themselves! Part of the reason I'm insecure about how I'll look is the fact that my husband looks great in a suit. He's slender with a small to medium frame and can pretty much wear anything straight off the rack and it will fit perfectly and look good. Men are so lucky with dress up wear in general, I think.

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  13. Replies
    1. It's true! I'm trying to be better about it but it's hard.

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  14. I've had eczema my entire life. It is miserable, and I can only get prescription hydrocortisone cream in these tiny tubes that last about two seconds. I would like to feel young and look slender again, but the weight will not come off no matter what I do. I think I would feel much better physically and emotionally if I could get back to the 120 I weighed most of my adult life. I lost 40 pounds several years ago and gained back 20, leaving me at despicable 200. I gained 100 pounds on an antidepressant during the most miserable time leading up to the divorce. Poor, poor pitiful me.

    Love,
    Janie

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