Day 29

I need to find a way to keep my jewelry that's not "tossed in a box", but that's going to have to wait until after we move, because there is NO ROOM in this house for anything I already have, let alone more. So picking out of a box it is. I will say, Amrita Singh jewelry gave me an idea to help organize it all. They put their jewelry in little mesh baggies. I was trying to figure out how to keep things separate without being too cluttered and I think that's the answer. Like, jewelry in a box, but in a bag IN the box, so it doesn't get all snagged up. So now I have to go to the dollar store and find mesh bags. I honestly know I have a ton, because I use them in my Mary Kay orders, but with that on suspend for the move, they're in storage. *headdesk* Go pay 5 bucks at the dollar store or go rummage through storage....eh, 5 bucks it is. It would probably cost 5 bucks in gas anyway. LOL!

So yeah, project for me: Go through my jewelry and see what to keep and what not to keep. I have some stuff that really just needs to go. I know I do. And I have some stuff I know I want to wear more, but it's just not accessible. So I'm going to fix that soon. Speaking of jewelry, I'm not wearing anything today but the wedding bands. My ears need a break and it's too humid for necklaces or bracelets.

Weekends are both good and bad around here. Husband is home, which makes things more complicated and also better. Complicated because he always has to be doing something I don't want to do at that time, or getting in my way when I'm trying to do something, or wanting to go somewhere that's not in my plan. Better because it means I get snuggles, the recycling always gets taken out, and I get to give him Honey-Do projects. But mostly snuggles. Yay snuggles. ^_^ (Yes, we are THAT couple.)

Anyway, on to the fashion! Today I'm wearing a LOUD Jessie dress by Lularoe that I bought from Amy Welch - again. I guess she's my Lularoe Lady now. ;)

I honestly had a hard time picking Tieks for this dress. I started off with Poppy, but they weren't quite right. Pop Pink are too bright, Razzleberry was too pink. Fuchsia would have been perfect, but I don't have them. Also, possibly Pacific Green, but nope. Honestly even Electric Snakes might go with this, but I don't have those either. So I went with Outrageous Orange. I think these were honestly the best pick as they really bring the orange out in the dress, and match the dress in LOUDness. :)

Seriously, this dress is loud. Zebra print AND flowers? AND POCKETS!? My kind of dress!! <3 

Also, I'm trying out a new thing with the phone where it sets a timer, then takes a few pictures in a row, but gives you five seconds to reposition. I think it works! lol. We'll see. 

No Mr. Soba Noodle today. He's hiding. 

Day 27

Ohio - One day it's 75 and 20% humidity. The next it's 82 and 69% humidity. *sigh* Is it October yet?

I was going to wear a dress today, but I decided to just be comfy instead. It's another laundry day, and while I have plenty of clothing, I kind of wanted to wear something I wore before, but it's not clean, so alas, I cannot. So I went for comfy today. I want to wear my California Navy's with this, but with those in question about being returned, I cannot. If you're not from TA, My CA Tieks came with a weird imperfection:

They fit WONDERFULLY, but the imperfection is a bit odd. I put in for an exchange and I'll keep whichever pair fits best, regardless of imperfection. It's not a scuff (more like a scar in the leather) so I'm not TERRIBLE worried about wear and tear, it's just odd.

Anyway, On to today's outfit. Shirt by Liv Activewear (A subset of Lane Bryant), leggings by Torrid (yes I have two pairs like this, these are the clean ones. LOL). No jewelry today, just wasn't feeling it. Love Potions on my feet, because LP's go with just about everything! 

Like I said, had I had my CN's for real, I'd have worn those, as it would have brought the blue down with the black, making them look better. Oh well. No biggie, as I have no plans to go anywhere today. My eyeballs are being weird (new nasal spray is drying out my eyes, consequently messing with my contacts and my glasses are on hand in reserve all day) so I don't want to drive unless I have to, and I don't have to today. So being a homebody in activewear it is. 

Blah. I need my teenage slave to do my laundry. hehe. One of the benefits of having a teenager is using her for all the chores I don't want to do. Muahahahaha! I *should* condition and carbon pro some of my tieks today. Eh, we'll see. I might just sit and read all day too. I dunno yet. I smell a lazy day and that's ok. Sometimes we just need those. Yesterday was all go go go and hard on my brain, so maybe I should just chill today and rest up. 

Oh! I did get Mr. Snoot out yesterday. :) I'll make a whole other post with him, because I got some good pictures. <3 

*drums fingers on desk* I have nothing really profound today. I mean, you can't expect greatness daily, right? :P (this is sarcasm y'all. My ego isn't that big.) But in all seriousness, I think I'm on chill brain. Time to take a break. 

Day 26

--------------------------

I'm going to preface this post with the fact that we ALL have bad body image days. Today is such a day for me. I tried on about 10 things after writing this post and I didn't like ANY of them on me. This tells me that it's in my head today. While it's not the most flattering outfit, it's probably fine and I'm stuck in my head today, as everything else wasn't right either. 

--------------------------

So, this is a shirt. However, but I might move it to my pajamas. I can't make up my mind how I feel about it. I think I'd like it A LOT more with the right belt, but I have no belts. I've never needed them much, as I've always had good fitting jeans (and a butt and hips to hold them up. lol) Even if I DID have belts, I doubt I'd have the *right* belt for this look, as I'd want to go with a gunmetal and silver color with a touch of burgundy and well, yeah. I'd not have that in my wardrobe. *shrugs* Oh well. No belt and I look like I'm wearing pajamas and jeans. *smh* Today isn't starting off very well for me.

This is NOT the most flattering look on me. I know this. It is, however, comfy. So I'll roll with it today. It's only 75 out today, so it's not terribly hot. I had my hair up at the start of this, but then I wanted to take a picture of my earrings so I put my hair down and left it that way for the rest of the pictures. I wear it up a lot as I can't stand the feeling of hair in my face, or on the back of my neck. I should just shave the bottom hairs and get it over with, but I can't seem to commit to it. lol. 

My earrings are amazing however - from Amrita Singh - and I love them. They're gunmetal in color and fun to wear. Not heavy at all and kind of have a satisfying gentle swishy tinkle sound when I move my head.

I *almost* wore make up today. I might put some on later and come back and edit the blog/make another post. It may or may not happen. I guess check back in later today and see if it made it (or just come back tomorrow). lol

I'm not a huge fan of Torrid jeans to be honest. They don't really fit right, they never stay where I want them to stay and I miss Lane Bryant's perfect fitting TT jeans already. *sigh* These are Torrid's jeggings. I'm not a huge fan, but they'll do. The shirt was on sale in the clearance section. It's long, which honestly DOES make it look like jam-jams. 

Pants and shirt by Torrid, Raspberry Truffle Tieks by Tieks. :) 

This was the most flattering shot I could get today, and it's a good one. But let's look at the reality shots, shall we? 

I'm leaning against the rail and the rose bush totally snagged my shirt. lol. 

Eh, not too bad.

Reality of Torrid jeans falling down. They NEVER STAY and I've got hips and a butt! I hate belts usually, so I won't really wear one. But because they fall down, you get belly rolls. Which is fine. *shrugs* reality. But not terribly flattering.

Same.

Just being silly now. But hi, real talk, belly, thighs, arms. I'm a big girl!! 

The funny thing is that while I see imperfections, I showed these to my husband and he goes, "You're so cute." and kissed me. I said nothing about how I felt about them, just that I wanted to show him my outfit of the day. He's always loved me for ME and not for what I look like. I wish more people saw the world like he does. 

We focus too much on our imperfections. And I try really hard not to, but it's honestly hard for me not to go change into something else today because of what *I* see and pretend this outfit never even happened. I won't, because it's comfortable, and while I don't feel like it's terribly flattering, it's not AWFUL either. Am I comfortable in it? Yes. As comfortable as my lemon dress? Oddly - no. I'm not. And that dress exposes far more of my insecurities in general this this one does. Here, my arms are covered and my legs are covered and it's less revealing in general. But it's not as comfortable for some reason. It's interesting how clothes can make us feel. 

I might end up throwing on something else today too. I'm not sure yet. But for now, this is outfit of the day, #26. 

Day 24

So hey. I've got A LOT of clothing apparently. I honestly didn't realize I had this many clothes. Now that I'm putting together outfits, I realize I haven't repeated myself yet (leggings aside). Which is kind of odd. I guess I have more than I thought I did! I DO think I'm hitting the home stretch of summer clothing though, so we'll probably start repeating here shortly. (I know I've only got 3 dresses left that I haven't worn in the summer clothes, but I DO have plenty of shirts left. So we'll see!) 

It reminds me how fortunate I am to have what I have. I look back at the times I struggled and knew what it was like to sew up the holes in my clothing in the least noticeable way, or patch jeans and darn socks (a lost art!). I'm so lucky to be where I am today. And it's honestly sheer, dumb luck. 

I hope that it helps anyone who is down on their luck, who is in a difficult position, who might be living in that dark shadowy place; to know that your luck can change at the snap of a finger. All it takes is ONE thing. One tiny change can be the precursor to the biggest, most massive change in your entire life. You never know who you might meet, what you might say, or how you view something that changes your entire life, *snap* just like that. 

I think for me, it started out with positivity. I used to be really negative. No! I DID! I called it realism, but it wasn't. I was negative. I trash talked happy people, people who dressed how they wanted to, people who had confidence to get out there and do their thing. I was a mean girl. 

It's hard to believe now, but I WAS! I started to slowly change that mentality one day. I was unhappy and I realized that my inner self was in turmoil. I wasn't at peace. So I said, well, what can I change to be more peaceful? Well, I could be kind. Maybe I can try to do one nice thing a day. I'll compliment one person a day...and it ended up starting out online. 

I went online and I found something pretty someone made and I told them how I thought it was beautiful. It felt good. It made me want to do it again. I didn't, but it made me WANT to. So the next day, I did one kind thing again. I complimented a lady at Wal-Mart on her shirt, sticking to my "baby steps". At some point, I ended up telling people online, in stores, at a doctor's office something nice. It was a genuine compliment - always - no point in doing it if it's fake, and it got to a point where I'd pick a person in every single place I went and complimented them. Now I just do it automatically. I look at every person I see and find one thing I like. And there's something in EVERYONE. I can look at a  bunch of people, adults, kids, men, women, etc, and I look at them and I think, "I love his hair!, and her purse! and gosh, her shoes are adorable! He smells good. I wonder what cologne that is? He picked it well for his body chemistry." *Weird, but true* lol. People look at me weird, sometimes, but I'll do it in groups of people. It's interesting how they ALL smile. Maybe puzzled, but there's always a smile. And then they get to talking, about each other. And finding compliments for everyone that's there. Suddenly everyone is chatting it up like we're all BFF's. 

I think being positive changes who we are more than we realize. As soon as you start doing positive actions, you change the way you look at the world. You change the way you behave. It makes you a better person, makes you more understanding, and makes not just YOU better, it makes THEM better. They're happier INSTANTLY. And maybe they spread that happy to someone else! 

So today's outfit is inspired by doing those things. Be positive, spread happy. Do good things! 

Ahh, good things. :) Wal-Mart flower earrings that were part of the necklace set and my wedding bands are my only jewelry today, and even the earrings I took out early on, as I think my ears need a rest day, which is sad, cuz they give the look completeness. Oh well. 

These are them. :) 

Shirt is Torrid, leggings are so old the label is worn off, but I think they're also Torrid (lace bottoms still with no holes, so WOOT for that). Ballet Pink Tieks to finish the look. :)

And....oh oh! Look at my first Cricut project!! ^_^

I LOVE IT! <3  It's gonna be a laptop decal for my computer. :D It took me forever to figure out how to use this thing, but it's mostly cuz I'm a derp. I was at it for TWO BLOODY HOURS last night. Ugh. lol. 

Bonus pic: 

Me, not quite ready for my camera's countdown. Darn it. lol. 

Bonus!

OMG I JUST GOT NEW PAJAMAS AND I'M SCREAMING BECAUSE THEY'RE SO STINKING CUTE!!!

Look at them! 

I honestly had to show them off here because they're ADORABLE. 

Close up!

I don't even care that I'm not wearing a bra cuz FOXES!!!!

*dies a swooning death over how cute they are*

Oh and Mr. Soba says THANK YOU for all the snake support. He will, however, be away from the camera for at least two days, as he ate a mouse today and is going to be sleeping it with his head in the aspen for a while.

picture under the read more cut for those sensitive souls who are somehow mysteriously afraid of my sweet snake.

Day 22

Apparently my snake provoked some controversy yesterday when I posted a picture him in the Tieks group. It was relative! He matched my dress. And he's cute! I get that some people are afraid of reptiles. That fear is completely unfounded (in general) and society tells us we should be scared of anything that isn't cute. Plus there's that whole "the devil is a snake" thing. They've got such a bad rep for such amazingly gentle animals. Honestly, I'm way more afraid of dogs than I am of snakes. I know a lot of people that agree with me. 

*sigh* I reposted the picture in the comments section after he was removed, as someone was like, "oh I was looking for your snake in the pictures and didn't see him" And that's when I got attacked by a troll. It was fun. Also, apparently I think I'm the SHIT cuz I have a "fan club". (and WOAH is that giving me WAY more credit than I deserve, and shows that she's OBVIOUSLY threatened by my confidence.) I'm also "promoting obesity" by showing my outfits of the day. Uh huh. Because I haven't heard those 10000 times before. I should stick to my blog and promote my obesity there. 

Got anything new yet?

Nope.

I do genuinely apologize for scaring anyone with him yesterday. It was not my intention. Snakes get discriminated against as much as fat people do, so he and I are in the same boat. It's ok though, I understand. I don't want to scare anyone. 

So yeah, admin contacted, and explained to me why the picture was removed even though it was 100% tieks related and relevant. (Exposure therapy guys! In all seriousness, this is how we overcome fears and how we get better at facing challenges. I did it with my autistic son as a child.) However, I did post a lot of education in that comment section before it was taken down, and I have 7 or so message me and tell me that I helped them overcome their fear a little because my snake looked so sweet. ^_^ So YAY that!!

Not only am I changing the world one fat people picture at a time, I'm changing it one snake picture at a time. lol.

Anywho...

Day Twenty Two!

Today's OOTD is casual. For one reason only. My bra yesterday has those silicone grips on it and when I took it off, it ripped my skin off. 

OW. 

So today I've got sores on my back. And a blister. Seriously. I'm not posting the brand of the bra until I talk to the company and see if they can come to a resolution. Because that shouldn't happen. I'd post pictures, but THAT might offend some people, because it's medical-ish and gross looking, so I won't. 

So yeah. Today's outfit is a comfy cotton bra with neat neck detailing from LB, which shows through a V-cut grey tank top from Old Navy paired with black leggings from Torrid today. My new mustard Tieks complete the look adding a much needed touch of color. 

The back of this shirt has a really cute white crochet at the top.

Also, yes, I'm aware that this is pretty um...showy. (As my 14 year old will say "Your nip-nips are showing!" LOL.) It's a home day, so Shhhh. Today's honestly not as much about fashion, it's about heat evasion and comfort from skin being torn. If I left the house, I'd wear it, but only because of my bra injury making it impossible to wear a "real" bra for probably the next few days until I get proper scabs. Ow. :( 

Heat index of 110 again. Ugh. Staying inside with my AC. 

My Cricut came from Amazon anyway, so I want to play with that today. ^_^ 

...

Also, fan club....*giggles and shakes my head* I'm still honestly laughing over that one. Um. Yeah. A daily post of myself in a closed group that is empowering women of all sizes (Hi, there's like, 5 of us at least who post daily and get a ton of comments) and my blog gets like, 4 hits a day and so far has zero comments. Yup. I'm REALLY popular over here with a HUGE fan club. *SNORT*

As Madonna said: "If you don't like me and you still watch everything I do, bitch, you're a fan!"

Day 21

 

Happy Friday!

So it's 8:54am, and it's already muggy and hot. Heat index for today is 115. Oh my! Staying inside most of today. We have to go out later for my daughter's homeschool assessment with our awesome assessor teacher Miss Colleen, who we have seen since Chloe started homeschooling. She's awesome. She'll look at Chloe's blog, listen to her talk, look at her focuses this year and pass her as long as she's progressing. And she is! So we're good. Chloe's very worried about possibly going back into public school. I'm not even sure I want her to honestly. It's a huddle we'll come across when we move, but for not we're trying not to worry about it. Next topic....

Our bodies.

I've had a lot of my Tieks peeps private message me lately with words of encouragement, sharing their personal stories and just support for doing my outfit of the day and blog. I'm blown away by such a positive response. I really am. I can't express how much I didn't expect this to happen. I have posted places before (instagram, fashion sites, even plus size fashion sites) and gotten trashed for being fat, shamed for having the audacity to be confident in my skin, told I have bad taste, been told that it's great that I'm fat, but "I'm so worried about your health." and "You should lose weight because you can't be healthy" and I have also been flat out bullied "Hey fatass, go work out", "I bet you can't even run", etc. I've never been encouraged like I have in that group and it's <astounding to me> how positive everyone there is. It helps keep me going.

What else keeps me going is other people telling me that I'm helping them be brave enough to go out into the world wearing what they feel like, instead of what society tells them they should. I keep going and do a happy dance every time someone tells me they should love themselves more. I am so there for that!!!!! THAT is why I do what I do, and that is why, if there are ever haters, I will continue to dance all over them, because for every hater, there are 1000 women getting a positive message that says WE ARE ALLOWED TO BE WHO WE ARE!!

I would not be who I am today, having gone through all my struggles and fears, grown into this human being without THIS BODY. This body got me through teenage years when I thought I was fat then. (Um, I was a size 16. Please... I was not as big as I thought I was. I just had a best friend that was a size 4.) Comparing ourselves to others will kill us. It will kill your confidence and your attitude. Stop comparing yourselves. It's toxic. This body is what got me through childbirth. This body left an abusive relationship, and this body found my amazing husband now. This body is perfect. If I want this body to lose weight, it's just another addition (haha - or subtraction) to this body. My body is MINE and I love it for getting me through this life. 

We're ALL beautiful. Our bodies got us through to where we are, and you would not be who or where you are right now without it. So love it. Start with one tiny thing. Love your hair. Love your eye color. Love your nails. Love your dimple. Love the mole on your left leg. Just pick something and love it. Then once you love that, it's easier to love the next thing. (Like, hello, I started with my eyebrows. No joke! They've got a killer shape!) But yeah. Love yourselves. Confidence follows.

Anywho.... 

As it's going to be excessively hot, it's going to be a dress day! I got this from Torrid recently when their dresses were on sale and I spend Haute Cash on it and a few other things. :D It's kind of inbetween a neon green and a neon yellow, but I went with the Tieks unmellow yellows, as I think they're the best choice to go with it. I could pair it with the matte blacks as well, or even add a pop of color with something else, but I went for this combo today.

I added the awesome tassel earrings from amazon that while flimsy, seem to hold up through my wear and tear to complete the look. 

{Picture of me on my porch, in front of the climbing roses, wearing a sleeveless midi snakeskin dress with bright yellow undertones and black snakeskin overlay. Hands on my hips, one foot forward and a smile on my face. I have a ponytail and a cute black scrunchie with a little bow. Unmellow Yellow tieks and tassel earrings complete the look. Picture 2 and 3 are basically the same, arms and legs in slight variations, picture 4 is a close up of my face to see my earrings better, and you can get a better view of the bow.}

Mr. Soba Noodle!!

Day 20

So yesterday, I wore the white pants and got strawberry on them. D'oh. I got the stain out, but I had to change because I was meeting another Tieks Sister - Priti - in Cleveland for Tacos and Rum! So this is what I changed into. :) 

(Haha, I just realized you can see my phone and the jellyfish stand shadow in this picture)

So I went for this outfit. We had a blast, got a free drink by a guy at the table next to us who wanted to get a drink put on the menu, and by all rights IT SHOULD BE THERE cuz it was delicious! 

This wasn't that drink. It was one on the menu, and it was good, but it pales in comparison. 

Anyway, we had tacos, rum, drinks, and went over to Mitchell's for Ice cream. We had a blast and I made a new friend! She was amazing, awesome and fun. It had been so long since I've gone out just for myself, and met someone and hung out and chatted about everything. I had a great time and I hope we can get together again soon! 

So now on to today's OOTD and blog. :D 

Wow, I've been doing this 20 days already? Boy time flies. They say it takes 20 days to form a habit and apparently they're right, because I get up, and one of the very first things I do (aside from groan that it's morning, take my pills, roll over and wait for my second alarm to go off) is think about what I'm going to wear that day. I get dressed and hop onto my porch for pictures. This morning some guy was driving by looking at me taking pictures on my porch cuz I was posing. I stuck my tongue out at him. haha. 

Today's OOTD is casual. I'm hanging out at home, and it's going to be hot, (heat index says 110 today. Ugh.) but not too hot inside because we have AC so I can wear my jeans in peace. Jeans from Lane Bryant, shirt from Torrid, razzleberry shoes by Tieks! 

Yeah, I did the pose.

I chose razzleberry because they match Sailor Moon's bows. ^_^

The shirt is Sailor Moon!! I was OBSESSED with Sailor Moon when I was a teenager. I wanted to be like Sailor Jupiter and she was always my favorite, but good luck finding plus size shirt with her on it. haha. But this anime and show was my happy place growing up. It inspired the very first fanfiction that I ever wrote (I still have that purple notebook. Filled up the entire thing, and honestly re-reading it 15 years later, it's NOT HALF BAD! Maybe I missed my calling to be an author?) But anyway, I get my hands on anything Sailor Moon now, even as a 37 year old adult woman because I still love it. I'm not ashamed to admit I even have Sailor Moon Funko Pop! figurines. 

And yes, I made all kinds of happy noises when they did Sailor Moon Crystal for the 20 year anniversary. It follows the Manga and is SO MUCH BETTER.

The shirt is thinner than I'd normally like, and if it weren't so hot, I'd put a tank under it to hide it's thinness, but oh freaking well. 

Anyway, pictures!

{All pictures have the same backdrop: My Porch. Picture 1: Me being goofy, in the outfit as described above, with one hand on my hip, the other in a peace sign on my forehead in Sailor Moon's classic post after she transforms. Pictures 2-5 much the same, just various poses}

On of the things I loved about Sailor Moon was her nail transformation. I mean, don't we all wish nail polish was that easy!? I got these press on nails from impress online. They were 7 ish bucks. Not too bad. They are supposed to last for a week, but I am HARD on my nails (which is why I usually get acrylics) and so they last for a day or two. Now, if I take off the press on glue and use real nail glue, then they last for like, 2 weeks or so. I usually use the stickies, wait until they fall off and then peel all the sticky off and reapply with nail glue (they toss once those fall off) or I'll peel the sticky and store them until I feel like wearing that color again. They have a new kind I want to try (the 'ultra') and I just ordered some, so we'll see how I like those too. Anyway, here's the ones I put on yesterday. 

They're shimmery mermaid. Obviously I didn't use the glitter nail. I have them stored though. 

Day 19

The kindness of strangers ASTOUNDS me. I was blessed with a gift yesterday. It made me cry. I won't go into what it was, because it's personal and I don't share *everything* and I'm trying to be tactful about it, but still share the love and feelings behind it. 

It was utterly unexpected, and exceedingly generous. I've never been gifted anything that valuable, nor do I think I deserve it simply for being myself, as that was why it was given. I talked with my mom about it, and she said, "They gave it to you because they thought you deserved it. It's not about what YOU think it's about what THEY think. It's how they view you, what you're doing and are able to do. It's not about you, even if you're doing it, it's about the impact you're making." I think she's right, and it persuaded me accept it instead of trying to find a way to return it. Returning it would be discourteous, and unkind. So I'll suck it up and accept it.

I have always had a hard time receiving things. While I love presents, I'm the kind of girl that is used to getting "popsicle stick presents". Things that mean something, but have little monetary value. I have a weird relationship with money, as I've been at the point where $20.00 was expensive, and meant diapers AND laundry that week. I've been at the point where $20.00 was dropped on earrings with no second thoughts too. I'm in a position where I'm financially comfortable - though dependent on my husband (he doesn't seem to mind) - but I'm still aware that finances are fickle. I prepare more for "some day" than he does. I'm more disaster prep than him, and I'm more likely to save things instead of throwing them away because I'm frugal and like to re-use things, where he's like "if you need it again, just buy it again." I've saved pots and pans that really were beyond using (I was probably poisoning us) because I didn't want to get new ones yet. "These still have life!" (They totally didn't.) 

The point is, I get how much the value of things costs. Not just the financial value, but how long you can stretch it. I am blessed with that knowledge, and so when someone gifts me something, especially something of higher monetary value, I don't know how to express my thanks. I unashamedly cried like a baby. I video'ed them and told them how grateful I was and how much I didn't expect anything of the sort.

Today I encourage you to be kind, and maybe give something if you can. It doesn't have to be something monetary. Or even to someone you know. It can be to a stranger. Give a homeless guy a conversation and ask him about himself and what he might need, or give a smile of understanding to a mom struggling with her screaming toddler in the store. Send someone a card telling them you are thinking about them. Give a random gift - even something expensive if you want to and can - to someone who inspires you. Dedicate a donation to a charity in someone's name. Volunteer somewhere. Or just call your mom/dad/brother/sister/aunt/uncle and talk to them for a while and be an ear and listen. Forgive someone. Today, we're all about giving. 

So now that my emotions are out....onto the OOTD: 

Today I have a doctors appointment, and the weather is all kinds of hinky. (humid and 70 now, more humid and 85 later, thunderstorms and 90 this evening, then 60...just smh. Ohio, get your sh*t together.)  And I decided to wear something I generally don't - WHITE PANTS. Now, I generally don't wear white pants (I'm not even sure why I own a pair TBH) because I have female issues and bleed all over all the time at random. However, I've recently got new pills (WOO!) and I seem to not be bleeding at inconvenient times. *GASPS* It's new, it's fun and I am confident enough to wear white for a short period of time. Now, I'll probably spill something all over them requiring a change later, but we'll see. LOL! 

Shirt and leggings from Torrid, earrings  (that you can't really see, they're just the tassel black ones) from Amazon, matte black shoes from Tieks. 

{Me, on my porch in front of the climbing roses, on a slightly less sunny day, wearing a navy shirt with black lace around the bottom, white text reading "Je Suis Prest" "Clan Frasier" around a picture of a stag. It's from the book/show Outlander. White leggings and matte black tieks. Tassel earrings complete the look.}

Je Suis Prest means I Am Ready for those of you who aren't Outlander fans. ;) 

I HIGHLY encourage you to read the books. They are one of the best series I've ever read, and trust me, I read A LOT. Diana Gabaldon (the author) does an astonishing amount of research for them and is a clearly gifted writer. They are very much R rated (sex, violence, swearing, war(s), rape) but are amazing, and involve time travel in a whole new light. They're fascinating and beautiful and there's even a show now on Starz (I think it's Starz) that does it justice. While it deviates from the books s, it's just as good. 

One day, my phone will focus the first time...ugh. BLOOPERS! (And pictures I chose not to use)