Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The Answer Is....RED PANTS!

The question: What did I wear to school today?  Yes.  Red skinny leg pants.  Me.  In red pants.  I don't think I've worn any color but black, brown or navy since I was in FOURTH grade!  A very large person just doesn't look good in red pants!!  

I was in New York last week on spring break.  My mom and I did a lot of shopping, and I found some tremendous bargains, including a gorgeous turquoise cable knit cardigan, originally priced at $40 for $3.99!!  I bought the red pants, a pair of dark teal jeans with zippered ankles and a great pair of black jeans with "blinged out" pockets for $14.50 each.  Their original price? $58 at Macy's!  Macy's sales are incredible.

I also found an amazing pair of jeans (straight with this blue-on-blue floral design) marked down from $44 to $7.05!  And they're a size 12.  TWELVE!!! OMG...I think I wore a 13-15 when I made my confirmation in 7th grade!!!

This ride is not a smooth one...I don't know from one day to the next when I may eat one bite too much and risk vomiting.  I'm getting better at stopping, but food is delicious, dammit.  It's sometimes hard to stop, but I'm learning.  Sometimes the hard way, but I'm learning.  It's hard to get my head wrapped around all of this, and sometimes I feel I still weigh 300+ lbs.  I look at my OWN clothing and think, "No way is that small pair of jeans going to fit me..." Because of the surgery, I can't take ANY anti-inflammatory medications, like Aleve and Motrin.  My knees, which are, according to my new orthopedist Dr. Smith, at least 75 years old (I'm 55!) with their worn, arthritic appearance, hurt like hell sometimes.  I had two cortisone injections today, which SHOULD buy me a few months of less pain.  Don't get me wrong--my knees feel SO much better today than they did 120+ pounds ago, but I've been without cartilage in my left knee since I was 17.  Imagine walking bone-on-bone all that time! An oral NSAID would help, but since I can't take them, I had to opt for steroids.

No...this isn't easy at all.  But I have to tell you...as I look at that picture from the day before surgery...I wouldn't have it any other way!

Oh and by the way, I've been in two other community theatre productions in the area in the 10 years I've living in North Carolina, but the play I'm rehearsing now is going to be the best!  It started as "Dracula"...and without revealing a lot of sordid details, we're now doing Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple."  I play Gwendolyn Pigeon, one of two women in the play.  The women in the play are described as being in their early thirties (!), cute and very English.  In "Dracula", I was a Gypsy woman.  I probably would've gotten the part as the Gypsy woman 120+ pounds ago, but I certainly wouldn't have been right for Gwendolyn Pigeon!  It's rather exciting to think of that!  (BTW, if you're local, the play is at Edgecombe Community College 4/24 (free preview) thru 4/27, all shows at 8:00pm and 4/28 at 2:00pm.  Come out and LAUGH!