Sometimes posting is hard… I’ve been taking on extra shifts here and there, I had a super-crabby time o’ the month, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been coming down with something for a week now (but it’s never come to fruition… weird…) and somehow life still hasn’t felt like a struggle enough to inspire some kinda post. 😉 It’s the hard times that really get me writing the good stuff. So, I’m going to throw a few small things together that have been floating around in my mind…
Like the pic? Abilene has discovered that she can find the freshest kibble by just waddling right into the bag of kibble and eating there. Who likes stale kibble anyway?! Ha! She has also discovered the stick-shift when I take her for drives. She likes to rub her face on it while I shift gears. She’s ridiculously adorable.
My neighborhood TJ Maxx moved the women’s plus size clothes over to the men’s part of the store. In the past, this would’ve caused a two week long triggered episode followed by a starvation diet. I’m happy to say that I’m merely annoyed. I really wish folks would consider the perspective of fat women (and fat folks in general, except that fat men at this store can find all kinds of neat clothes and their clothes aren’t exiled to a “plus” section or some other part of the store…). I spent so many years of my life having to buy my clothes from the men’s section, because the women’s plus-size stuff was so not flattering and I couldn’t find anything that fit decently in the other women’s sections. It hurt that the best clothes I could find were in the men’s section. I know the teenage me would’ve felt really hurt at finding the women’s plus-size moved in between men’s suits and men’s undies. Plus size women’s clothes in this store got bumped for a few section with shampoos and lotions. Not cool. To ice the cake, this store is chock full of clothes options for even the very fat man and those men aren’t even exiled to a plus sized section (let alone a plus sized section near women’s undies). They can find their 3X’s right there with the men’s mediums. The implication being that very fat men are normal (which they are) and that fat women (not to mention very fat women) aren’t normal (and all flavors of fat women ARE NORMAL, darn it!). I still love TJ Maxx and will still go there. I’m also very happy with the sweet jeans I found there. I love them and I’m pretty sure my hubby is really going to like them. 😉 But still… not cool, TJ Maxx. You can do better!
I have accidentally created the perfect pair of shoes. Danskos + trainers in-soles placed right on top of Danskos in-soles = heaven. Even after spending $130 on special super-comfy shoes for my standing all the time job, I’ve still had a lot of foot pain. Danskos helped me have less pain than ever before, but the shoes were really loose. They were long enough for my long feet, but my toes and heel are actually really flat, so my feet were swimming in those shoes. Add some Asics in-soles and woah! Pain free! Whooo hoooooo! Thanks again to commentor Aud for recommending Danskos!
Part of the reason that I haven’t been posting is that I’ve been working a lot on learning new ways to manage my own struggles and life in general. You know when I’m having a lot of success, because I will go very quiet to focus on learning more and seeing what else I can accomplish with new methods. For example, I’ve figured out that affirmations work a lot better if I visualize my affirmation as opposed to just focusing on the words. Apparently, some part of my brain really needs to see pictures of what I want to accomplish before it can get into gear to help me out to get there. For another example, I have a lot of fear of people… which makes working with the public difficult. I’ve discovered that visualizing myself being wayyyyyyyyyy bigger (like 10 feet tall… LOL) makes me feel safe, able to cope and able to manage the interactions with confidence. Given that I’ve been looking for finance jobs to get back into and my burn-out from my last finance experience, I’ve found it very helpful and important to learn to cope and manage… life, work… everything… anything… in the hopes that I will be able to thrive in my chosen trade this time around. Well… we shall see. Wish me luck.
The kitties are trying to beat down their bedroom door, so they can escape and eat some breakfast. I suppose it’s time to let them out, before they try to turn Abilene into a battering ram. 😛
–AngryGrayRainbows
Angry Gray Rainbows 
That really sucks about TJ Maxx. It displays a real lack of customer awareness along with many other things. And I always wonder why the men’s plus sizes are integrated with the standard sizes, but not the women’s. Clothing size integration would have two big positives (that I can see immediately; I am sure there are more): not ostracizing larger women, and making it easier for everyone to shop, especially in-betweenies. My mom is in misses sizes on the bottom and plus-sizes on top, and it’s really frustrating to the point where she avoids shopping for herself whenever possible.
And thanks for the tip about the Danskos. I love them, but they run wide and my feet do not, and thick socks only go so far. I’ll have to check out the insoles.
I’m glad the Danskos are working for you, albeit with some alteration.
I have started making leather shoes (more like moccasins, but from patterns made from shoes at a viking grave site), and what I found out is…that everyone’s foot is different. Even feet on the same person are different! Shoe companies try, but they cannot accommodate everyone. It was much easier in the time before shoe companies…just go down to the cobbler, and he would make you a set, just right and personalized to you. I’m not saying living back then was great…it wasn’t…but some things were better.
Shame on you, TJ Maxx. You know better than that. When I was younger, I would blame that on me…I’m not thin enough. Now, I blame it on the store, or even try to rationalize it – hey! maybe they don’t want my fat girl money. Maybe I should go somewhere else. That also reminds me about buying clothes – the dressing room excursion(s). I used to hate the dressing rooms, and so did my husband, who would wait faithfully outside. I’m sure he feels better now- I used to get depressed and moody after some clothes didn’t fit, but now he laughs when he hears me say something like: “Damn jeans aren’t big enough!”
Sometimes you have to try to see life from a different perspective to see it all clearly.