I am still around...

I know I have been MIA again.

It is just that I am really fed up with myself writing my latest ‘plan’ and never following through.

So firstly what have I managed since I last blogged:

I have done 95% of the shopping for my new wardrobe.  It has been such a worthwhile exercise.  By spending time doing research about both what suits me and about ‘capsule wardrobes’ (Gok Wan style where the ‘capsule’ is all you need, not a starting point) I was able to go shopping with a clear plan of exactly what I wanted to buy.  By getting everything in 2 days of shopping I was able to ensure it all mixes and matches.  By knowing what shapes to buy shopping was more efficient and there is nothing that will now lurk, unloved, at the back of my wardrobe.

Shopping for and wearing clothes that flatter my apple shape has given me confidence that I can look good at any size.  Being able to go to my wardrobe and select from a range of items that make me look and feel good boosts that confidence further.

Being confident and no longer hating my body shape makes it easier to be nice to myself.

Knowing that I can dress in clothes that look good on my obese body makes me excited about the options as my body gets smaller.  I effectively shop in 3 department stores and 1 specialty plus size store.  Imagine when I can wear clothes from nearly every store??  That excites and motivates me.

In case you are wondering about what I had on my list to get me through the summer:

• 4 ‘smart’ skirts
• 4 ‘smart’ tops
• 1 casual skirt
• 1 casual pair of shorts
• 2 casual tops
• 1 ‘smart’ dress
• 1 jacket

I already had 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of ¾ length white trousers and 1 casual dress which worked with my shape.

I did also purchase some ‘shape wear’ to assist in smoothing my curves under some of the new clothes.

Everything is mix and match so the ‘smart’ and ‘casual’ can cross over and cover most occasions.

What else have I done:

• I listened to my hypnotherapy CD
• I dealt with my Dad being hospitalised with a chronic infection and 0.00 white blood cells (he is home again now with a count of 1.0 and rising).  He should be well enough to resume chemotherapy on Monday.
• I am dealing with lots of uncertainty at work.  Management have declared a 6.5 week forced leave period for all contractors (yep, that’s me) from Dec 13^th.  This would make it really hard financially.  We are waiting to hear (Monday hopefully) if my team are exempt.  On top of that I have been offered a chance to move into a very different role on the project, this could be my way out of software testing.  They will teach me about this other area.  Best case: I love it and a new career path is born.  Worst case: I hate it and go back to test management.  No need to guess that I said I was interested.  It may not come about, but hopefully it will.  It does add to the uncertainty in the meantime though.
• Agreed with my manager to start and finish early 2 days a week so I can spend time with my DH who is on a very different work roster to me.  Some nights he goes to bed within 30 minutes of me arriving home!

What I am going to do:

• Switch my core work to evenings.  After the initial delight in my becoming a ‘morning person’ it seems to have worn off!  I am also getting to work earlier so I can leave early which has an impact to my morning plans.  But basically I have done pretty much zero morning exercise in weeks.  Time to change to evenings.
• Document my food intake.  I just thought – there may be an android application I can use to do that on my phone…  although I prefer not to track calories or points etc so I will really just be looking for some sort of daily list/diary…

So in a marathon update, that is what I have and will be up to.

As usual I am writing this at work, in a word document to minimise my web time in the office, so won’t get to read your blogs.  Maybe this weekend.