This mirror loves your eyes, like polished stones, and the way they catch and hold the light; the way they lie about their exact color, shifting and flickering like fish in a river, and the sweet way that they sit in your eyelids, like jewels in a fine setting. They sparkle with your intelligence, gems of the highest clarity.
This mirror loves the map of your skin. It loves the textures and travels, the lines of joy and movement and sorrow that it reads in your skin. It loves the story that your mouth tells, and it loves the secrets hidden in the corners of your lips, which give you so much of your beauty. It loves your beautiful human teeth, the hardest and toughest part of your body, because they are so perfect, so useful, so strong and fine and good. It loves the clever, architectural way that you’ve put together your curves with your angles, straight lines and swoops, in the presentation of this lovely piece of art – how intriguing, the shadow that lies under your eyes, and the line that runs down your nose, and the effect of the overall sculpture. What witty ears you have! And what interesting contours! This mirror also really gets your eyebrows.
I don't have big breasts -- or at least not as big as I'm apparently "supposed" to have, based on the sewn-in racks of the clothes that otherwise manage to fit the other parts of my body -- but I deeply appreciated Elodie's post, and not just because we went through the grueling and torturous process of bra-shopping this week. (High point: Finding a bra that fit, but in a smaller cup size than my measurements say I'm "supposed" to be, and then having the fitting person try to argue me into buying the larger, non-fitting size instead Because Numbers. *facepalm*)
RECOMMENDS! Whatcha been up to lately?
21 comments:
I want to know who these people are that fit these clothes. I'm "Supposed" to have breasts three size smaller based on the shirts that fit my belly.
That's lovely. It's nice to have something affirm your body, and will join in the feelings of 'sigh, small boobs.' When you're big around and small chested, finding clothes that fit (and pretty bras) is just as difficult. Thank goodness for Lane Bryant.
As for doings, not much. Still working on long, silly fic, but that's fun. Successfully made onigiri (this is an accomplishment) and found a recipe for earl grey muffins that I want to try.
I come pretty close to fitting department-store size proportions (though that's partially because I've gained weight over the last couple years - if I lose it I'll be right back in the zone where my boobs take a larger size than my belly). Where I have problems is with bras and v-neck tops, because I've got a mild case of Pectus Excavatum - not enough to noticeably impair my heart or lung function, but enough to make my boobs point straight forward instead of out to the sides. So anything designed to push up inevitably results in center spillage, underwire is laughably unsuitable, and I wind up just wearing sports bras and embracing the Uniboob.
Enjoyed the post immensely although none of it applies to me. I've had many girlfriends, though, who it did apply to.
Women's blouses and shirts are usually too short and/or tight, the arms aren't long enough, and they constrict my stomach, while often "caving in" over the chest. Yes, I can wear sundresses with spaghetti straps; however, I look terrible in them, so I DON'T wear them.
I wear mostly men's shirts, because they allow me to move around in them, and they don't pull tight at the stomach.
My editing and writing business is up and running, and I have a website: www.fiadhiglas.com.
At some point, there will be a second blog, connected to that website, which will likely focus on writing, editing, and environmental issues. Since I'm now hosting my own website, I can't just start a new Wordpress blog. Instead, I, or Spouse, first have to learn how to create a blog using Wordpress ourselves. That may be a while.
I haven't decided if I'll have an online identity (for comments on other people's blogs) that links to my professional website, before the new blog is up. But I do know that I DON'T want people who don't already know me from here, or Slacktiverse/Slacktivist, to stumble across all my very-personal blog posts about my family of origin, on Fiadhiglas muses & capers.
So, for the time being, I remain Pqw.
I've been doing women's work. Laundry, etc. It makes me perpetually cranky and I don't really have the spoons for as much of it as I'm doing but my friend is being all "I have even less spoons than you do and I do my laundry by hand!" which makes me feel worthless.
I hope you feel better soon, Ana.
I've been mostly enjoying the autumn and trying not to fret over my puppy (7.5 months) having recently started trying to growl at and boss (mostly) smaller adult dogs we meet at walks. I hope it's just a phase. She's usually more interested in other dogs than even dried liver treats so teaching her to pass others is still underway.
But, autumn! Yay! Energy!
Yay for autumn. I'm getting started with baking now that the weather is cool enough that turning on the oven won't kill me. I made a low carb gluten free quick bread, and blogged about it here. I think you have to be a member of the site to comment.
If I can get my Wordpress blog going, I'm going to repost there, maybe with some changes. I have three reasons for this: 1) I can use affiliate links on the Wordpress blog, 2) I hate SparkPeople's blogging system and 3) I don't think people should be forced to sign up for a site in order to comment on a blog post.
Pqw, I have a link to your personal blog on my blog - would you like me to take it down?
No, please don't remove the link!
The reason I put that comment up here is precisely because I'm confused about What to Do, and maybe What I Should Do. I was *hoping for* feedback, so yay!
I think Spouse is more squeamish than I am about potential clients finding my personal blog and thinking that I'm really emotionally needy and self-absorbed, and therefore, they don't want to work with me after all.
I don't actually know how likely his fear is. Plus, aren't most people at least somewhat 'emotionally needy' and/or 'self-absorbed'?
So many questions, so few answers...
I've actually considered just changing the focus of Fiadhiglas muses & capers to reflect my new interests, and not bothering with a second 'professional' blog, but Spouse thinks that's a bad idea.
Spouse has 2 or 3 blogs of his own, that are focused on his, or other people's, photographs. He never writes about anything personal on his blogs.
He's emphatically not an Emoter; I think he's more like a Logic Bomber. So his idea of 'presenting oneself professionally' is very left-brained, but in a creative way.
Anyway, now that I'm considering how to do a professionally-oriented blog, I decidedly *don't* want to become bloodless and All Left Brain All the Time, because that's not my personality. What would I write about?
And of course I worry that no one will want to hire me to do anything anyway. All that self-doubt we all struggle with.
I see the logic in separating the personal and professional lives, because of that "don't want to drive away clients who would otherwise use my services / but my stuff because they don't agree with my personal life. It shouldn't matter, but it does." idea.
I also know at least one costumer who mixes personal and professional and basically says "if ya don't like it, sucks to be you." Helps, too, that their partner add a steady normal job that handles bills and such. That's a consideration, as well.
I think, if you do decide to combine, that making sure all your professional birds are easy to find becomes quite important. Past that, do what feels comfortable. (I, on the other hand, will keep having to separate my personal and professional lives because employers have a bad habit of engineering excuses to fire you from the one because of the other.)
Anonymus writes: I've been doing women's work. Laundry, etc. It makes me perpetually cranky and I don't really have the spoons for as much of it as I'm doing but my friend is being all "I have even less spoons than you do and I do my laundry by hand!" which makes me feel worthless.
Everyone has things that are worth doing even when spoons are low, and things that are not. No one else will have the same list you do. Many people won't understand your list and will want you to use theirs, but this is very unlikely to do anything good for you. So I encourage you to blot out your friend's guilt-tripping, saying to yourself "That's HER priority list, and good for her; it's not mine."
I left two blankets in the basement and also didn't change the cat litter because we were having a family crisis. The four cats settled on those blankets as their new dump. OMG what a mess. I put them through the wash and they contaminated the washer and my martial arts uniform now smells like cat poop. I threw the blankets out but now I'm still trying to figure out how to clean the washer. I wish I had just thrown the whole mess away in the first place, but no, I did my Women's Work and now I'm sorry.
Anyone know how to get cat poop smell out of a gi? (Heavy white cotton uniform.) Already tried bleach.
There are some products specifically for dealing with pet poop/pee odor. I don't know if they'd be any more useful than bleach, though. I've also heard vinegar suggested, but again, I don't know if that works.
Ou, I can be helpful!
White vinegar worked to get the smell of cat pee out of one of those floofy bedspreads (the kind made of cotton and full of poly fiberfill). Nature's Miracle is supposed to work wonders as well - I haven't tried it on clothing, just on a rug.
I really enjoyed the linked post; I'm not especially large-breasted, but I was recently flipping out over a sudden growth in the boobage area that has made several of my favorite shirts no longer fit and shopping for any shirts that aren't t-shirts or tank tops a bit more difficult. This made me feel better, even though I wasn't quite the target audience.
As for the matter of the saleslady trying to sell you the wrong bra size based on Numbers... lordy, what a bunch of junk, none of those numbers even mean anything! Bra shopping is the pits.
@MaryKaye - There's also an enzymatic cleanser called Bac-Out that works pretty well in removing the outdoor and the actual cat pee from a lot of things. Its the first line of defense in or house when the animals are naughty or they throw up on things.
As for the mirror, I love it, despite not having the equipment mentioned, and I think that much of its advice could also apply to the people in someone's life - discard the ones that don't fit, find the ones that make you look good and appreciate yourself.
Thank you, Ana, you're sweet as kittens! That really means a lot to me.
Thank you! I love your blog, and your house crest + the conversation with your banker made me giggle uncontrollably, I must say. I frequently have to co-opt husband to get people to listen to me.
LOOK! I HAVE A HUSBAND! DO YOU SEE HIM? OKAY, WATCH HIS FACE WHILE I MAKE THE WORDS.
/facepalm
The friend is, objectively, in a much worse situation than I'm in. But knowing that doesn't increase the number of spoons that I have available to me. And if I didn't have electricity then I would just get used to dirty clothes.
Run the washer empty with vinegar in the place where you put the soap. It got rid of the fungus growing on mine. And next time that you have the spoons for cleaning the litter blanket, try to scrape as much of the poo off as you can, into a trash bag, before you put it in the washer. You can use the litter scooper to scrape it off. It's easier if you wait till it dries. My cat poos on sheets a lot, and as long as I scrape it, the stains disappear after a run through the wash. Use fabric softener too, it makes things smell better.
My cat uses all sorts of things as an alternate litter box. She was using a chair for a while till I hid it. She still likes pillowcases. And she was using pizza boxes for a while. I do mostly manage to keep the litter box clean these days but she likes going on cloth better.
You love your pets, but sometimes you just don't have the spoons for it. The "morning to night non stop laundry" gig that I'm on is because of a sick cat (not the one who objects to the litter box, but the one who dutifully uses the litter box no matter how long it's been since I cleaned it). It's easier to cover everything in sheets but then the sheets have to be washed. Daily. All 12 of them. And then hung up to dry. It's not sustainable, so enjoy it while it lasts, kittens. Thank God for $1 sheets at the charity shop. I'm not sure why people gave away perfectly good sheets with nothing wrong with them to charity but I sure am grateful.
@Mary Kaye, what everyone else said, plus remove any patches or colorful decorations from your gi, then soak it in that 3% drugstore peroxide. You can dilute the peroxide pretty heavily if you need to (think 1:10 in cold water) and soak it overnight. Peroxide removes pretty much everything organic without destroying most fabrics, and I've used it on white cotton (and actually, a gi, a long time ago) successfully, but it'll eat many dyes, too.
The heavier the nastiness, the more peroxide you'll need; it's pretty cheap here, but if you have to use a little peroxide, you can often make up for it by using more time. If it quits bubbling when prodded, though, it's probably done being peroxide and has returned to the more comfortable state of being water with some extra oxygen floating around.
+1 what the person above said about the vinegar in the washing machine, too.
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