Further Preparations, and Treggings Explained!

A couple of days ago I was in Marks & Spencer's and noticed that the exchange rate for the US dollar was more favourable than it has been for quite a while, at 1.5923 to the pound. Since I found out I'm going to Chicago I've been saving half of the money I earn at my Monday job (working at a friend's gallery), and it just so happened that I'd hit the total of £100 which, with a few extra pence found in the darkest corners of my purse, bought me 160 of the finest, crispest US$. I was really pleased about this since I hadn't gone in to buy currency and it was quite by chance that I noticed the exchange rate - clearly the dollar gods were smiling upon me and willing me to buy, buy, buy. These lovely bills are destined to be exchanged for a few goodies in Chicago and/or NYC!

On a completely different note, but with the link of Marks and Spencer's, I'm here to answer the cry that I heard in the comments section of my last post 'What are treggings?????'

So, you all know what jeggings are - the result of a love-in between a pair of jeans and a pair of leggings, a.k.a stretchy, tight-fitting denim-based leg coverings.Well, treggings are the love-child of a pair of trousers and a pair of leggings - i.e. stretchy, tight-fitting, non-denim based, leg coverings. Simple, non?

I really dislike the words jeggings and treggings; they sound ugly, don't you think? But what else could they be called? Jeanings? Trousings? Ick.

A Good Day All Round, and Comparison Photos

Sunday was a very good day. Firstly, and most importantly, I got to meet up with Tina and Caroline at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol. We spent over two hours sitting in Starbucks (Tina was very pleased, as it meant she could get herself a 'fake' coffee), chatting about this, that and the other. We actually didn't talk about band-related stuff all that much, even though it is what brought us together in the first place, but perhaps we talk enough about that on our blogs so in real life it's good to talk about anything and everything else!

L-R: me, Tina, Caroline


Before and after meeting up I also managed to get a bit of shopping done - it's always nice to have the opportunity to shop without my little boy in tow. I got myself two pairs of trousers (1 pair of jeggings and 1 pair of treggings in actual fact, but urrrrggghhhh, how I dislike both of those words) in size 16 (US 12, I think?) - the first time I have been in this size for who knows how long - decades, I think! Then I paid a visit to two of my favourite chocolate shops - Thorntons and Hotel Chocolat - to stock up; what a dedicated bandster I am. Yes, I'm banded, but there is no way I am EVER giving up the foods I enjoy and that includes chocolate, cake and biscuits. Which leads me neatly on to reason two of why it was a good day - when I weighed myself in the morning I'd lost another 1lb!

12st 12lb - 180lbs - BMI 30.0

(a total loss so far of 82lbs; 12lbs to go!)

Look at that BMI - I'm teetering on the edge of being overweight, instead of obese - just one more pound to lose!

Anyway, that latest pound means a new round of comparison photos; so here we go; photos in the green top are from January 2010 (18 months ago - which reminds me, I forgot my 18 month bandiversary!)

Funnily enough, I was really quite disappointed with this set of 'after' photos as I don't think I look that good in them - the side view in particular makes me look as if I still have a big stomach and bum, grrrr! I think I prefer these odd photos I took in the M&S changing room when I was trying on my new (smaller!) trousers.

Mini-B00B Meet Up!!

Tomorrow I'm heading an hour up the road to Bristol to meet up with Tina and Caroline - how exciting is that?! I finally get to meet some bandster-bloggers in real life in the UK. I've only met one other bandster-blogger before and that was the lovely Catherine, last December when hubby & I were in NY.

Tina is over here on holiday (from the USA) and Caroline lives in Bristol (only an hour away and yet I've never met up with her before); Tina has been a very kind and supportive follower of and commentor on my blog since very early on and it will be great to meet her at long last; she's also going to Chicago so it will be great that I'll at least have met one person before I go there in September. I'm afraid I don't know much about Caroline as I've not read her blog before now (obviously this will change), so it will be good to meet her in 'real life' before getting to know her more through blogland.

And, to top it all, we're meeting at the big shopping mall in Bristol and hubby is staying at home to look after our son, so I'll get a little bit of free time to hit the shops/drink coffee/chat away to my heart's content. Blissssss.

The Never-Ending, Ever-Changing, Learning Curve

Are you still constantly amazed by foods which will go down without a problem one day, but will trip you up the next? I am. Hence this post. Who would have thought that a (rather large) bite of chocolate packed full of air bubbles, could ever get stuck?!? Actually having said that, although chocolate is classed as a slider food, I still find I can only eat a certain amount of it (ie 3 or four chocolates from a box, or 6 or so chunks from a bar) in one go; whereas pre-band I could have eaten 3 or 4 boxes and 6 bars... But, back to the point, how is it that something as slide-tastic as this can get stuck after just one bite? I'm sitting here waiting for it to go down so I can take a slurp of the good, strong coffee I made to accompany it.

PS, the photo above is not of the bar I'm eating; the one I'm eating is smaller - honestly!

Starting My Preparations!

Today this wonderful book arrived from Amazon; I only ordered it a couple of days ago so I'm very impressed with their service (and that of the Royal Mail, of course.)

Now I can start planning my B00BS trip - how exciting!!! The first pages I'll be consulting (after the 'how to get into the city from the airport') will be the ones that tell me where to go shopping, of course!

Weightloss holding steady at 12st 13lbs - I must be using up enough calories to warrant the chocolate, biscuits and cakes I can't stop eating... But I am trying to eat more protein, so I've had cauliflower cheese for dinner the last two evenings (plus a side serving of courgettes for extra goodness!), plus some cheese with crackers for lunch today. Now, I'm fully aware that cheese isn't the healthiest form of protein but I am trying, honest! Plus I don't eat red meat, so that's out of the equation, and chicken doesn't go down well any more. I should give yoghurts more of a go, I know, but one step at a time.

Now, talking of B00BS once again, I'm sure I read about the possibility of going to a drag show for those of us who arrive on the Thursday evening, but I can't find a reference to it now I try to find it again - typical. Now, was I dreaming about it or can someone point me in the right direction? I've never been to a drag show and I think it could be rather fun!

99 (and -1)

Fear not, this is not a post about maths or statistics or equations because that would not be my thing AT ALL. Maths gives me the heebeejeebies; I can add, I can subtract (as long as the number is small or ends with a zero), and I know my times tables, but anything more complex and you'll see me reaching for the calculator or, more likely, ignoring the issue entirely.

No, this is a short post about more interesting topics by far. Firstly '99' - that's how many followers I now have! Many thanks to Stephanie for mentioning me on the B00BS forum so the other attendees know about me - I think this is where most, if not all, of my new followers have come from. I say 'think', because I'm having an ongoing issue with Blogger in that I can't actually see who my followers are; I know there are 99 of you, but the field where your little photos/names used to pop up is blank and has been for a while. I've had a look on the Help page and it appears that many other people are having this issue, and that Blogger are aware of it, but that's about as far as it goes. So please don't think me rude for not having popped over to say 'hello', I just don't know who it is I need to say hello to!

Secondly '-1' refers to the fact that I've lost another 1lb! I am now in the '12-stone something' bracket, which is a great place to be. The last time I was in the 12-stone bracket was in 1999, when I was a young and sprightly 27-year-old. At the time I was no doubt worrying about my weight, wishing I could be slimmer, constantly thinking about what I should/shouldn't eat. If only I had appreciated the size/weight I was then (and if only I'd stayed at that size/weight...)

Anyway, as of Tuesday, I now weigh:

12st 13lbs - 181lbs - BMI 30.1

(a total loss so far of 81lbs; 13lbs to go)

Just one more pound til my next set of comparison photos!