Maybe the synthroid is kicking in!

I've posted this week's FLASHBACK! photo selection of the week only five days after the last issue. Maybe the new synthroid dose is actually working?! Eh, maybe. For this week's FLASHBACK!(older photos from my collections in celebration of the site's 10th anniversary at catay.com) we're going back to 2002. Hold on to your seats while we trip back in time....

Happy 8-8-8!

 

It seemed 8's were everywhere you looked at the BBQ tonight. Crazy! Eights that is.

It won't be long....

 

...before these puppies are beautiful ruby red. Yay! I love ripe summer tomatoes.

Reflections on Vegas

So many good things to report from Sin City. Typically what happens in Vegas stays there, but not this time.

I was able to meet some great new people from around the world and reconnect with a few fabulous people, too. I guess that is always the most important thing about the BBW bash circuit -- the people. Some go to dance, to swim, to buy clothing, to get laid, to drink, etc. I just go to connect on some level with others who attend.

This year I was touched by a couple of beautiful individuals who let me know what a difference this site has made in their lives. One, an FA and the other, a BBW. Two completely different perspectives on how, through the years, this site has changed their personal views and even changed their lives. I was, and am, very, very moved. Thank you for letting me know. I'm ever so grateful and I think I failed miserably in trying to convey this to them at the Bash. Thank you, thank you. You give me strength and purpose to continue.

To my friends with whom I reconnected, I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see you in the flesh again. No matter how much time I had with each of you, it really wasn't enough. It never is. I wish you could all move a bit closer so that we could get together more often. Seriously. Salt Lake City....consider it, please?!

The BBWNetwork bash hotel was always abuzz with bustling bbws. There's such a sweet feeling knowing you're not the only fat person in the pool, casino, restaurant, or hotel. So many other fat bodies to oogle and admire. I always appreciate that.

Gamble, Gamble! I won 400 on a penny machine at the Tuscany on the first night of gambling. One the third night, I won another 300 on the very same machine. Glinda, the good witch was very, very nice to me. I wish I had clicked my heels and left Vegas before I was able to gamble most of that away! Note to self -- do not win early in a Vegas trip. Win only on the last day. It makes gambling much more fun that way. Oh, and while I'm at the noting, please remember to wear sun screen when spending hours and hours chatting in the pool. Thank you.

I didn't spend my entire Vegas trip at the temporary fat mecca of the Tuscany. Only about half was spent there. After I left the bash, I headed to the Palace Station to stay -- comp nights -- can't beat the price! It's funny leaving the ~safety~ of the bash hotel for another hotel. Suddenly, I was one of the fattest around. I captured the eyes of non-admirers and it made me suddenly self-conscious. Luckily, there is this casino maintenance guy that is there every time we've been there. It's sooo obvious he digs me and the other fatter patrons. He's a gentle reminder that you never know where an FA may turn up (note to the single women!!)

Fat friendliness was all over Vegas this trip. We stopped at a rock shop on Flamingo, I believe. The attendant was completely flirtatious with his questioning. Funny, too, he would stop asking questions every time Ivan would come around me. Too fun!

Finally, just before we got in the car to head home, one last bathroom stop at the Palace Station. I was doing my thang and I got a couple of texts from the fam back in Salt Lake, so I was taking a little while to respond. Upon leaving the stall, I see this average size, blonde woman staring at me. I do my "kinda smile" and walk towards the sink. She looks at me and says, "I don't know if this is appropriate or not, but I just wanted to tell you..."

I thought, "Oh gawd, she's going to try to sell me on a weight loss program."

She continues, "I just wanted to tell you that I think you're beautiful and that you should never believe it if anyone tells you otherwise. I know it seems odd, and probably not appropriate but I just had to tell you, just don't believe them."

Blow me over with a feather. I did not see this coming. She seemed really kind of nervous. The kind of nervous when you tell someone that you have always been in love with them, or the kind of nervous when you ask someone out. Now, it does strike me as odd that she was watching my stall while I was texting -- I'm sure she wondered what takes someone so long?! Aside from that, it was a fabulous encounter. I thanked her and told her it wasn't inappropriate. Who doesn't like to hear they're beautiful in someone's eyes?!

As I left the casino, I saw her again, with a young man about her age and I thanked her again. What a great way to end the trip to Vegas.

Vacation

I'm off to vacate my body and brain by heading to the BBWnetwork Bash in Las Vegas. I'll be there for a few days and then spend the rest of the time vacating in other parts of Vegas. I expect that I will Twitter from time to time http://twitter.com/catay and maybe even blog, but probably not anything significant. I hope ya'll have a great time!

Attached to this post -- a beautiful desert bloom called Antelope Horn. Ivan captured this shot while down near Fillmore, Utah. Kinda purty, eh?

Dial The Wrong Number?

Note to all wayward dialers: when reaching an answering machine of
unknown origin, do NOT leave your credit card info.

I'm a little bit purple

I'm not a huge purple afficianado. I mean as color it's quite nice and it's in the rainbow, so how bad can it be? Suffice it to say, I'm not a purple obsessee. What I do like is lavender. The lavender in the garden is starting to bloom and it made me think, "HUH...I'm downright taken with the scent." You see, much of my toiletries are scented with lavender and by default they're bespeckled with purple. My shampoo. My bath soap -- Ivory now has a lavender scented variety and ME LOVES IT. It's not quite as pure as the regular scent, but heck, I'll give up my purity (he!) for a fresh lavender scent. My body lotion. My deodorant. And, last but not least, my shavers. Yes, for some reason the brains-that-be at ye olde Bic's plastic wares plant thought it was important to scent women's shavers with lavender. Methinks the idea came from a woman with a hairy lip. While shaving your legs or your pits there's very little chance you'll catch a sweet whiff of the shaver's handle...but under your nose...YUP...you can smell it! How sweet it is!

Photos of the Week

Time seriously moves faster for me...so, ummm...the "weekly" timing of the photos is more like 10-14 days. I guess that's more like a dog-week, right? Ahem. Anyway, this week's photo is posted, as well as several previous weeks, too.

It *should be* warmer.

We've had a cooler than normal Spring here in the upper part of Utah. It's been delightful and due to the abundance of rain, too, it's quite green. Typically the green of the grasslands are already starting to turn brown by now. Despite the beauty of the weather, I feel the need to complain about the weather forecasts. Time and time again, the weather forecasts will state, "we SHOULD BE 80 today." Accent mine on the "should be". There is no SHOULD BE in weather. There are averages and typicals, but there isn't a SHOULD BE. UGH. It chaps my hide! "The average is around 80," or "typically we are at 80" -- both have the same amount of words but mean so much different than "SHOULD BE". It's especially annoying when you realize that there are only 100 or so years recorded when figuring out the averages they use. It's a miniscule sample of years when you think of how old the Earth really is. Who's to say what SHOULD BE the temperature today? I seriously need a mocha...

Worshipping False Idols

I rarely see "famous" people, but I'm having a good run with American Idol celebs. First there was the spotting of Simon Cowell in Vegas in April. Tonight, there was cute little David Archuleta who walked in with a group of his friends while we were waiting for a table at Cafe Med in Salt Lake City. We made eye contact! Woot! (I'm sure there are millions of pre-teen girls who are SOOO jealous of me now! heheh.)

It was good to see him hanging out with normal kids on a Friday night. I always wonder if after appearing on shows like that they end up getting dragged into a world full of "handlers" and agents. It was good, too, that while he has a sizeable share of fame going on right now, especially in Utah, he was able to eat, talk and giggle with his friends without much interruption. When he was interrupted by a mom and an adoring fan, he was VERY gracious and accomodating. This photo was from that moment. We were tempted, but didn't tell him of the message from a girl in Colorado that we got for him. :-)

Updates on Etsy

I've added a few more Crippy Crafts to Etsy. Check 'em out:

Maybe it's just me...

But at this stage of the political game, the "undecided" Democratic Superdelegates are just political superpussies. Pick your frickin' candidate already. Everyone else had to vote already...

In unrelated news...

The herd in the backyard is growing. Run away!!

Not to be outdone by Nevada

...well, actually, it has been outdone by Nevada (see this post from a few weeks ago). I'm starting to wonder if there's not some sort of issue with desert air and the need to display old shoes on trees? This beauty was found in Milford, Utah. In the middle of the small town, not in the middle of *nowhere* as the Nevada shoe tree was, so that probably accounts for its diminutive size.

Phone a friend

Truth be told, we screen our calls to our home phone. If you want to talk, leave a message. Last night, we get three calls in row without a message. We don't use caller ID, 'cuz you know, we'd be ignoring more calls. Because of this limitation and curiousity about the three calls and no message, Ivan dials *69. It's someone from Pueblo, Colorado. As soon as he puts the phone down, the thing rings again. Ok, fine, he's gotta answer now even though we've got no idea who would be calling from Pueblo.

He answers and a girl on the other line says, "Is David there?"

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number. There's no one here by that name," replies Ivan.

"Oh, ok, thanks." says the disappointed girl.

Ivan hangs up and almost as soon as the phone hits the desk, the phone rings again. Ivan answers, "Hello."

"Hi, I forgot to ask. Do you know any Davids?"

"I know several. What's the last name?" queries Ivan.

"Archuleta."

"No, sorry, I don't know him," Ivan states to the crushed girl.

I'm really hoping for the girl's parents sake that they've got free long distance and/or free minutes on the cell phone. We're guessing she's trying every number in the Salt Lake Valley. Go, persistant girl, go!

For those of you who aren't aware, David Archuleta is the kid on American Idol that is from Murray, Utah. The local news was reporting that the kid was back in town after a break from the TV show, so you know, his groupies must be following as closely as they can.

Fat 'n' Flexible

While I like to believe I would look like this if in fact I were flexible enough to do it.

I know for a fact, this is about all I'm capable of. Both of these images are from this site: Eastern Serenity which has a whole line of fat "yoga fanatics" in bronze. Kinda cute, don'tcha think?

Trash to Treasure

 

 

Ivan took these photos of the famous "Nevada Shoe Tree" this past weekend. This shoe tree is in the middle of "nowhere Nevada". Seriously far from any city of significant size. I do think it's really thoughtful to offer up shoes to Mother Nature (or wandering people lost in the desert for that matter.) While part of me thinks "what a waste of a perfectly good tree...oh, and shoes, too", the rest of me is thankful for odd traditions in our American landscape.