redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
( Dec. 4th, 2013 02:13 pm)
I decided recently that I wanted to be measured for a bra, mostly because I haven't been in a couple of years and body shapes do change. The Macy's web page told me mainly that it doesn't play well with Firefox; Nordstrom's explicitly said they provide this service. OK, Nordstrom's it is. (They're about a block from each other within the same mall in Bellevue.)

a bit about body shape, but mostly about clothing sizes and my trouble finding clothes )
In today's editorial episode, no, we are not going to tell the eighth graders to hit liquid nitrogen with a hammer.

This gym renovation stuff is getting old: everything is crowded, and I have to waste time walking the long way around to get from the stairs to the locker room, and then from the locker room to the areas where I can actually exercise.

Nonetheless, I saw Emilie. I was grumpy at the beginning, because I was already stressed from work. and then Emilie kept me waiting, for an indeterminate (and longer than expected) period when I couldn't really go off and find something else to do except wait, and I'm not good at doing that calmly without a book. (If I'd known, I might have done a bit more cardio, or lifted something.) But we did good balance stuff, and some other good stuff, and one (lat pulldown) that I hope doesn't prove bad for my shoulder in a day or three. She says I am getting toned. Some of what she's noticing is stuff I had a year ago, before the knees got awkward and I wasn't exercising much for a bit. Specifically, I have visible back muscles again, and my legs, including hamstrings, were looking good. Details at the end of the post.

The problem isn't that it rained today. The problem is that my raincoat is too big, so I was dry but not warm. I think it fit better last year; there are disadvantages to a shifting body weight or shape, even when it involves being more toned. And this coat doesn't have a belt, or even belt loops. It does have really good pockets and a zip-in lining, both of which I am glad of.

My left shoe also leaked a bit, but I've been planning to retire this pair of shoes; I already have the replacement, I've just been wearing them alternately while I break the new ones in. (Alternating is supposed to make the shoes last longer.) These might still do for dry days; I'm not going to throw them away immediately.

workout details, such as I remember )

The problem isn't that it rained today. The problem is that my raincoat is too big, so I was dry but not warm. I think it fit better last year; there are disadvantages to a shifting body weight or shape, even when it involves being more toned. And this coat doesn't have a belt, or even belt loops. It does have really good pockets and a zip-in lining, both of which I am glad of.

My left shoe also leaked a bit, but I've been planning to retire this pair of shoes; I already have the replacement, I've just been wearing them alternately while I break the new ones in. (Alternating is supposed to make the shoes last longer.) These might still do for dry days; I'm not going to throw them away immediately.
redbird: drawing of a coelacanth (coelacanth)
( Oct. 6th, 2010 09:55 pm)
I went shopping with a coworker after work today. This came about almost by accident.

Last week, I was complaining about my difficulty finding pants that fit, after I told her that the problem wasn't that my body shape had changed and I had to buy new clothes, it was that I needed new pants and hadn't been able to find them, which was (a large part of) why I was getting "men's" pants from a catalog. She said it shouldn't be that difficult, and I asked where she would suggest I shop, then.

I was mostly thinking that this would get me sympathy/agreement that okay, maybe it is difficult. What it got was "Macy's" and a conversation that ended with us agreeing that since neither of us actually likes shopping for clothes, mutual support might also be good. Mostly, my goal was to take advantage of her offer of recent expertise, specifically knowing her way around there and having some ideas of what parts of the store/store brands would be likely to fit me.

The plan was that we'd look for pants for me, and maybe her, and then for a dress for her. (In the end, we revised that slightly, by stopping in at Lane Bryant briefly so she could figure out whether there was anything she wanted to try on after work tomorrow.

She asked me what size I wore, I told her, and she said this seemed unlikely. I don't think her saying that she didn't think I was that big was meant as flattery (I'm thinner than she is); more to the point, apparently, at least in Macy's sizes, she was correct. Either the catalogs I have been looking at use a smaller size 18 than Macy's does; things have been shrinking more than I realized in the dryer; or my waist is smaller than I thought. Possibly some combination. I now have three essentially identical pairs of pants, two black and one dark blue, in a "14 short." The same brand and style in a "14 petite" were both too large in the waist and too short in the rise (the latter is my usual problem with petities). The plan now is to wear one of them a time or three, and then launder it. If it shrinks significantly in the wash, I will return the other two; if not, I will have an idea of a place to look in the future.

These don't solve the problem of needing warm pants, because the fabric is a bit thin for that, but they are pants, they have pockets, and this is promising.

Not being sure of my pants size isn't as weird as not being sure how tall I am (because I'm standing differently), but it seems to be more of the same, in some sense. Less so in some ways—height is measured in inches or centimeters, which are well-defined units, rather than in "14" or "18W" or "L"—but it's all weird. However, I am reasonably confident that the shoes I just ordered will fit; they are the same size and model as the pair I'm currently wearing, and which is wearing out.

Even a successful expedition can be draining; I spent about two hours on my feet, though I didn't realize it until we were done and leaving the store. A much less stressful two hours than many such expeditions; mutual support is useful.

Also, I understand, somewhat, why a company might make their size 14 larger, so as to sell to women who want to think of themselves as thinner. I don't understand why the same model from the 14 petite was bigger around the waist than the 14. Haven't they figured out that if people can't find a product, they won't buy it?

P.S. She liked my tattoos.

ETA: I also ordered some gloves online, which arrived today. Two pairs, both medium. One fits well, the other is significantly too small. This is rather less irritating, as they aren't the same style, brand, or material.
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
( Jan. 12th, 2010 09:18 pm)
While I was working out today, one of the trainers, who was working with someone while I did my thing nearby, looked over and said "You've lost a lot of weight," and I gave some variation on "huh?" and, when she said something about "since you started," I said something about the surgery and about muscle being denser than fat. It's not just that this isn't a weight loss program. It's that if it had been, I'd have stopped exercising long before I lost weight, because exercise doesn't seem to affect my weight: what I've lost weight from is the Bell's palsy (or, more precisely, the prednisone I was given to treat that) and the gall bladder surgery. I don't know how long that trainer has been seeing me there; it may have been several years. But I still don't know how to answer those remarks, especially in that sort of context that's part appearance and part health. Also, the gym has been posting "daily fitness hints" for the last couple of weeks, and today's was to take "before" photos and measurements. That's going to be irrelevant to what a significant number of people want, because it has nothing to do with ability: even in terms of the fitness culture, along with those who want a better mood, there are people whose goal is to improve their marathon time or their basketball game.

That aside, it was a good workout, and afterwards, when I went into the usual Starbucks, the woman looked at me, and said "Tall whole milk hot chocolate" and when I said "you got it" told me it was on the house. Which was a nice extra.

the usual numbers, in weights and reps )
I was filling her in, since it had been a while since I'd seen her, and mentioned that I'd lost some weight after the surgery, and not worried because I knew why, and she said "it's a good weight." 163 pounds (about 75 kg, or 11.5 stone if you think in those terms), at 5'3". Not praise for the change, much less anything critical: "It's a good weight."
Tags:
though it may take a while:

I happened to notice my reflection at work today, and thought "looking good." It still surprises me to think that in just ordinary going-about-my-day contexts (not being admired by my beloveds, nor yet being strong and visibly tattooed at the gym).
though it may take a while:

I happened to notice my reflection at work today, and thought "looking good." It still surprises me to think that in just ordinary going-about-my-day contexts (not being admired by my beloveds, nor yet being strong and visibly tattooed at the gym).
As a side benefit of pet-sitting for [livejournal.com profile] porcinea, I found and read two Amanda Cross books I hadn't realized existed. (The other is a short story collection.) Honest Doubt is her first novel with a detective other than Kate Fansler (though Kate is a character in this one), and her first novel told in first-person rather than tight third.

It also has footnotes. Not weird or silly footnotes a la Nabokov (I'm told) or Pratchett: actual academic-style footnotes, to books and stories the characters refer to. I had a lot of fun reading it: it flows well, and the viewpoint character is good company. Then I got to the end, wandered off, and started scribbling notes.

here there be spoilers )
As a side benefit of pet-sitting for [livejournal.com profile] porcinea, I found and read two Amanda Cross books I hadn't realized existed. (The other is a short story collection.) Honest Doubt is her first novel with a detective other than Kate Fansler (though Kate is a character in this one), and her first novel told in first-person rather than tight third.

It also has footnotes. Not weird or silly footnotes a la Nabokov (I'm told) or Pratchett: actual academic-style footnotes, to books and stories the characters refer to. I had a lot of fun reading it: it flows well, and the viewpoint character is good company. Then I got to the end, wandered off, and started scribbling notes.

here there be spoilers )
.

About Me

redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
Redbird

Most-used tags

Syndicate

RSS Atom
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios

Style credit

Expand cut tags

No cut tags