A lesson on Fit, Flattery, and Forbearance...

Happy Leap Day, y'all!  Anyone watch the leap day 30 Rock?  It was hilarious.  The gist was that leap day was an actual holiday, complete with a patron saint and official colors

Damn my embedded video isn't working.....anyway.....

So, because it's leap day, I wanted to dress in full holiday regalia...blue and yellow, blue and yellow.  Yeah-yah!  So here's where the lessons come in.  First...FIT.  This is the outfit I initially went with today, having full intention of wearing this today when I took the pictures

I thought I looked pretty good in the mirror...but then I took these pics.  First of all...don't I look terribly uncomfortable?  That's because I am.  And I wanted to wear my hair down...and because it's so long it's just not happening.  But that's under the lesson of flattery...let's get back to fit.  These pants were ones I bought when I was (unknowingly) 3 months pregnant with Jagger....my second little nugget of love.  So that means I had lost the baby weight with Hunter and was again 3 months pregnant.  They fit...just not well.  They are still just that LITTLE bit of tight that makes your back hurt a little.  Anyone else know what I'm talking about?  Anyone?  So the lesson here is no matter how much you WANT to where something...make sure the fit is correct or else your going to show it ALL OVER your face all day that you are completely uncomfortable.  And no matter how much makeup you put on, you can't cover up a constipated look because your pants are pinching just a little.

Anway,  I had to change...which brings me to flattery...and to this outfit (I just noticed my puppy Pepper photo bombed my picture)

Do I not look about 20 pounds thinner...no joke.  And not that I am like "oh look at me I'm so skinny!" because I'm pretty far from that point...but this picture is more true to form (or at least what I see in the mirror) than the before pic.  Let me break it down on why I think this outfit is WAY more flattering.  Right away would be the pants.  They fit.  I do not have to suck in to button them, or worry about anything twisting, turning, bunching or falling.   Then, the cardigan.  I think it perfectly skims my body to create a leaner line..and I'll be real, it's still way to cold to have my arms exposed. And lastly, the hair.  My face does not do well with extremely long, non-layered hair.  I say non-layered because I've had long hair before that had great layers and I loved it...but right now my hair is blllllaaaahhhhhh. So off my face is best right now.

I mean...look how much HAPPIER I look!  Because I feel good in what I'm wearing...not trying to feel good in pants I really really want to wear.

So my last lesson.  Forbearance (which is a synonym for patience...but I need another "F" word...ooooooo....."F" word......).

I really wanted to wear those striped pants.  SO badly that I picked an extremely poor outfit to wear.  So poor that my posture was bad, my hair was bad, and I just looked....bad.  My whole personality changed when I changed my clothes.  I am more confident, and happy, which in turn changes how I look completely. I often get hung up on the fact that I am not losing weight as rapidly as I did with my first child as I am with my second.  By Hunter's first birthday, I was already down to my pre-pregnancy weight, and 3 months later (when I found out I was pregnant with Jagger) I was still there!  With Jagger...we're approaching his SECOND birthday and the weight just isn't coming off as easy, despite the fact that I'm training for a marathon.  Don't even get me started on diet.  

The point is patience.  Things don't ever happen the way that you think they will, and it's hard to come to a realization that  you can't compare your situations with anyone else...or with your own!  What happened with Hunter unfortunately didn't happen with Jagger, but I'm on my way.  I've lost 6 pounds and have about 10 more to go...and its taken about 3 months....but it's going.  Just not as fast as I'd like.  And in this fashion blogging world, it's terribly difficult not to compare yourself to others.  You wonder how the heck girls have fit back into their skinny jeans and you're still rockin' your "big jeans."  But, it's important to realize that you are not like those girls (um...rock on to you ladies that do that BTW....I'm jealous...but applaud you) and that you are just YOU.  And, if you dress for how you fit NOW and not how you want things to fit...you will look your best for sure!  I'm so glad I took pics of myself and saw what I was doing....I just FEEL happier!