the incredible shrinking woman

since summer i have lost 20 lbs. yay! but now i have no clothes that fit. boo! over the past two days i scored big while thrifting. a couple of pairs of jeans (Gap long & lean stretch...love them and delia's "morgan" jeans....so cute!), two sweaters, one gray long cardigan that i could live in i love it so, a vintage red plaid camp shirt, three random shirts, and two pairs of green corduroys. i know...two pairs of green cords? they were each too good a find to leave behind. oh...and of course my lederhosen t-shirt. f@#*%ing yeah!

i had always been thin, and told that i was too thin about twice a week for a long time, until i got pregnant with angus. then it was as if evil little elves were sneaking into my bedroom at night and forcing me to eat high calorie treats while i slumbered. i'd wake up heavier every day and not know how in the world i was getting so big. seriously. i gained 80 lbs. during that pregnancy. 80 lbs! ridiculous! i lost all but 20 of my extra jiggles within 15 months of angy's arrival, so it wasn't that bad. (yes it was. imagine yourself, only nearly doubled in size. i was terrified i'd look like that forever.)

and later, at the very beginning of pregnancy #2 it became clear that i'd had a non-functioning thyroid for some time and that it must have played a factor in that boom babba boom phase of my life. hormone changes + under active thyroid.....it was a long, hard, sleepy road. but then along came medicine, lots and lots of medicine changes over that pregnancy and then over the next two years or so after noodle was born. hormones are crazy active for a while during & after pregnancies, so i was all over the place. tired, hungry, hot & depressed and then BOOM!!! excited! racing heart! can't sleep! who needs food!? finally, my hormones leveled out this past summer and my metabolism decided to begin the hike back toward normal. hence the weight loss i have been achieving without actually trying. (which i think i deserve, given that for a year or more i was working out daily and not seeing any results at all. fair is fair, people.)

so, back after pregnancy #1 and again after #2, feeling totally discouraged about my new and unimproved body, i gave all of my skinny clothes to friends or charities. which i don't regret. i don't want to ever be a size 4 again. but i do miss having choices about what to wear that involve more than the "what fits?" factor. the ole closet is looking mighty slim on the skinny clothes now so i am on a mission to fill it with good stuff again. soon. now. and on a budget. okay...for next to nothing. there ain't no shame in my game, friends. you have cute size 6 stuff you aren't wearing anymore for one reason or another taking up space in your closet? bring it on. for real.

this is virginia....the end of march means nearly 80 degree temps, ya know. to all my ladies in rva, it's time to organize the spring/ summer clothes swap. i've been able to hold my pants up with a little help from my belts over the winter, but summer's right around the bend and i can't get away with belting my skirts that way and i really don't feel like altering all of my skirts to fit. i want them gone. size large, i am done with you. that winter swap was good to me and i'm ready to do it again. who's in?