Leopard

I’m becoming a leopard.

Source

I caught a rash from work back in the winter time. It started on my arms, where i have the most contact with the counter and shelves. And because I’m an idiot, i scratched the shit out of it and it spread.  It was on both my arms and spread to my shins ( i don’t know how i wear dress pants at work, my guess is when I’m home I sit hugging my legs alot. )

All of it is mostly gone by now except a patch on one of my shins. It gets better and is almost gone but then I shave my fur off and it gets irritated and comes back.

But then I noticed on my arm, right by the veins where a doctor would draw blood, I was having color spots. I didn’t think much of it. It’s summer in NYC and I thought maybe it was just my skin’s reaction to unwanted sun blare while waiting for the bus. But then the spots started becoming really distinct. So I showed the hubby and asked him if I should be worried.

He then informed me I have the same spots on my back.

I was like a dog trying to chase it tails. I was turning around trying to see my back before common sense kicked and ran to the mirror.

Source

Sure enough, I had spots all over my back.

Oddly, that calmed my skin worries down a bit. I figured it was a heat related rash of some sort. The spots on back were mostly where the bra strap covers.

Since it’s hot as hell at work, the AC doesn’t work on my floor, i get pretty hot when working.

And I wear 3 quarter length shirts to work a lot. I would wear long sleeves if I could. Working retail has made me a bit of a germophobe. But, it’s too hot for long sleeves. But, alot of the shirts I wear for work the sleeves end right about where the spots are. So , i figured it was maybe irritation from the heat and friction from the clothes.

But, this week at work  I strictly wore  short sleeves and I was hoping to see the spot clear up a bit.

It got worse.

I asked the hubby in that baby voice if he would still love me if   was covered from head to toe in these spots. I always had flawless skin and these spots have been making me feel a little iffy about my appearance.

He responded (and this is why I love him)

Source

“Of course baby, your turning into a leopard and I will love you as a leopard. ”

My world instantly exploded. I can’t help it, I love animal print, leopard being my favorite.

Now, i look at my spots on my arm and say in a smooth silky voice “I’m a leapordddddd”

Sometimes, perspective is everything.

Own Your Body

Source

Do you love yourself? Are you comfortable in your own skin?

Chances are ladies, you are not fully accepting of yourself or have experienced a time when you were not. This post is for those of you going through these issues.

In today’s world, it’s hard growing up and understanding your self-worth. As women we are told and dictated to aspire to an unrealistic and unobtainable level of so-called beauty.

This is me , telling you to stop hating yourself. Stop hating your body. Skinny does NOT equate to beauty. And fat doesn’t equate to unhealthiness.

Source

See the image above? The girl in the reflection is a beautiful girl. However, through an anorexic mind, that is fat. Are you kidding me? That girl in the reflection is beautiful. The girl looking in the mirror however is literally skin and bones. That is NOT beautiful and definitely is NOT healthy. Numbers on a scale are just numbers. It is YOU who give those numbers value. To the girl looking into the mirror, she thinks and feels ugly, feels fat. NO matter what her scale says, that is what she sees and feels inside her heart and mind. She is beyond skinny, she is bone thin to a dangerous level. But, she is trying to reach this impossible level of what she considers beauty.

Source

The picture above is a lovely picture. Just because one is big doesn’t mean they are unhealthy. People look at a plus sized person and assume they are lazy and eat crappy and excessively. That is not true! People assume every big person is unhappy and want to be skinny and suffer from self-image issues. I admit it’s hard to feel beautiful being plus sized when you are constantly judged and have society’s absurd definition of sexy, healthy and what a woman should look like. But, I am a plus size girl. I am not lazy. I don’t eat terrible. I work retail for crying out loud. I’m always on my feet, walking. At work, I’m in charge of the Levi’s merchandise. I lift and move heavy boxes. I re-do the whole floor plan. I bend, i stoop, i squat, i climb, i use ladders and step stools and i sit on my knees to pack the lower shelves. I run about all day long. Then i walk to the bus, most of the time stand on the bus, then walk home and start doing my home chores and errands. I don’t really exercise anymore but i used to jog 4 miles a day before my work schedule changed. But people look at me and judge me because I’m plus sized.

I just cannot express just because a person has more weight doesn’t mean they stuff their face all day everyday and do absolutely nothing all day long.

Source

The picture above is a variation of the “mirror image” i posted earlier in this post. I do get a little annoyed at the image because there is nothing wrong with the girl in the reflection. But, this gives you an insight into people’s minds. If they cannot be happy with themselves, their reflection .. how can we expect the world too?

Source

So this is my message to you ladies. Own your body. Big, small, in between ….it’s your body. By all means if you are uncomfortable with something, sure you have the power to change it. Just make sure it’s for the RIGHT reasons. If you need to put on a few pounds, there is nothing wrong with filling in! If you need to lose a feel pounds for health reasons, then by all means go about it with a proper healthy method ( consult a doctor or nutritionist!) There is nothing wrong with eating right, working out and living a cleaner life. We should all put back energy into our-self and take care of ourselves. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean losing x amount of weight is the way to go about it.  It’s not about the numbers, it’s not about size. Don’t aspire to anyone’s standard of beauty. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and forms. It’s about being HEALTHY.

So do me a favor ladies, go to the mirror and look at yourself in the mirror and say ” I love myself”. If you can’t say that with true honestly, then please sit and evaluate WHY you feel this way. Please feel reach to reach out…to me, to friends , to family, to whoever you feel comfortable with. Just please, be happy with yourself. Own yourself.

We all are beautiful people. As long as we are not harming our self and others, then we are beautiful. Let’s shed these negative cogitations of beauty and be beautiful together.