It has been a while fellow bloggers.  Sorry for being a stranger again.  I am new to blogging and finding balance in my life (pre-blogging) has always been a challenge.  Glad to be back...

I just finished reading a FABULOUS book...Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere.  I learned so much and may need a second read in the future to help things sink in.  The highlights that come to mind are the importance of taking care of yourself, not putting life on hold because you aren't the size you think you should be, and avoiding toxic people/situations. 

On the topic of self-care, I have been neglecting myself physically, emotionally and spiritually.  This has led to my feeling tired a lot, overwhelmed and my clothes don't fit.  I am an 18 now, which is ok, but I have such nice clothes in a 14/16 that I cannot wear.  I also have let my exercise pitter off and that is such a necessary release for me.  To help myself get back in the groove, I jumped on the treadmill this afternoon and walked a mile.  I felt really good afterward and hope that I continue getting in shape. 

I am hoping that if I stick with the exercise (again) it will help keep things steady in the weight department but my pattern is that once the scale starts going up, or in recent cases the sizes in clothing, it keeps going until I do some insanely restrictive diet to get the weight down.  This is simply not an option anymore. 

So...those of you who are pleasantly plump out there and able to maintain a size, how do you do it?! 

Thank God I have therapy today!  I had a visit from my in-laws yesterday; a once a year event, typically.  My husband gets all out of wack, acting out terribly pre-during-post visit.  In addition, my mother, upon hearing of said visit, becomes super-wicked and lashes out at me every chance she gets.  

The one positive that I am trying to focus on is that my house is fairly clean and organized thanks to my obsessive prepping for my in-laws arrival and the ironing that was piling up for weeks is done and put away.  

I am still battling my weight, as usual.  I feel like my stomach is growing exponentially and have become really awful with buying clothing like the end of the world is coming and I need to stockpile things to wear to survive.  Wearing new clothes helps my mood because the clothes fit (easy when I keep buying bigger) and they are fresh from the store so I feel good about myself wearing them.  It is quite the catch-22 because I really cannot afford this clothes buying addiction I seem to be struggling with.

When I have a bit more time later, I will post some of the amazing clothing and accessory finds I have recently made.  I do have a few things to return that were major disappointments when they arrived in the mail...a risk of online shopping I suppose.