One of my most prized – and oldest – possessions is my Smurf record. I don’t remember when, where or how I got it, but I do remember it’s been a favorite of mine for years. I’ve been listening to this record for nearly 40 years.
I bought a little red turntable about four years ago, but haven’t used it in at least a year or two. I have a very small record collection, but do like to pull it out when hubby isn’t here and blast my vinyl. I thought today would be the perfect day for a walk down memory lane with my oldest friends, the Smurfs.
“The Smurfs All Star Show” kept me company so many days throughout my growing years. I hadn’t listened to this album in at least a decade so wondered how much of it I would remember. It was just like riding a bicycle. The upbeat campy tunes came right back to me like old nursery rhymes. As I listened to the album in my latest iteration I realized how each song reminded me of some of the greats out there, either the vocals or arrangements or both. One song sounded just like an Abba song, another one could have been by the Beatles, yet another one could have been written and sung by today’s Vampire Weekend. It was amazing how the Smurfs pulled their influences from different genres and groups.
I’m not sure if there are digital copies of the record anywhere considering it was released in 1981, but if you can find it check it out. My favorite song is “Catch Me,” a fast-paced, catchy tune that will make you dance around the kitchen while you cook your favorite meal. If you can’t find it online and want to listen just let me know…you can come over and we can Smurf it together!
The fabulous Ashley with her Yippie Ki Yay…before *I* drank it 🙂
Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the opening of ‘Miracle on 24th Street’ at Queen’s Park here in Birmingham. Queen’s Park is a lovely establishment that opened in late September 2018 and has been a hot spot ever since. It’s known for its delicious, one-of-kind cocktails, super fun ‘Tiki Tuesdays,’ and annual Miracle Pop Up, among other things.
I heard about ‘Miracle on 24th Street’ from so many people last year, but never had the chance to go. I knew I wasn’t making that mistake this year. The minute I found out when it was happening I reached out to my #1 Queen’s Park fan, Amanda, to see when we could schedule a date. We were both free on opening day so it was perfect.
Miracle is a Christmas-themed pop up that serves holiday drinks in a festive setting in bars all across the world from November 25 – December 31st. It was started in a bar in NYC and grew to over 100 participating cities this year with our very own Queen’s Park representing Birmingham. While I was remiss in taking pictures of the amazing menu, here are a few pictures of the beautiful interior that will definitely get you in the spirit. And now you have an even better reason to go inside and check out the menu in person. Believe me, it’s worth it!
I looooove to procrastinate when it comes to chores and not-so-fun things I have to do or deal with on a personal level. My dad knows this, Daniel knows this, anyone close to me knows this. I’m not proud of it, but I am working on it. I thought I’d share my top 5 distractions these days and how I’m working on combatting them when they arise.
Sleeping. This is my number one distraction, by far. I’m not sure if it’s due to a medical condition/conditions or what, but I’m working through that theory. Hence my surgery this week. So, that’s how I’m combatting that distraction…going down the line of possibilities and trying to eliminate them. Sinus infections/issues, hormones, Sjogrens, Hashimoto’s, etc. ALL THE THINGS. I use my weekends to catch up on sleep. You’d think I had triplets or something as much as I like to sleep on the weekends. This is another reason it’s taking me forever to unpack.
Social Media is probably number 2. It’s not as bad as it used to be, thankfully, but I can still get lost on Instagram or TikTok for far longer than I’d like to admit. When I find myself spending too much time on them I put down the phone or close the computer and pick up something substantial – either my Kindle (if I’m still in a mind mood) or laundry or a box to unpack if I need to do something with my hands.
Television is almost as bad as social media for me. Thankfully we don’t have cable or I fear it would be a lot worse. But we do have all of the digital stuff – Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, Disney+, and a lot of other channels on the Roku that suck me in too many hours that I’d like to admit. I allow myself some TV time, but I try hard not to watch too much “fluff” TV, which is my favorite. If I find myself starting down that path I try to at least change to something educational like a documentary or the like. Baby steps, ya know? lol.
Shopping (window). I love to window shop online. I can spend hours looking at things I’d love to buy, but never do. Clothes, shoes, things for the home, places I want to go, etc. I put tons of things in my cart just for fun, but never check out. The only time I actually shop is if I have a coupon or someone is having a huge sale. If I am spending too long window shopping and I have something I need to get done I close my tab and lose my cart. It’s so sad and all my stuff is gone. lol.
Literally anything else than what I need to do. lol. I am just a procrastinator. But, the reality is that when I finally do whatever it is that I need(ed) to do I’m so happy it’s over with that I’m ecstatic. WHY DON’T I JUST DO IT AND GET IT OVER WITH? I am my father’s daughter. lol. It runs in our family. 🙂 So, yes, we’ll still be unpacking boxes in 2 years from our move and we *might* invite you over in like 5 years to our *new* place. Hold your breath.
First off, I cannot thank you enough for all of the messages, texts, comments, and posts after sharing my recent weight story. So many of you reached out with words of encouragement, support, and love. It’s hard putting yourself out there for the world to see – especially when you tack your actual weight to it – but you all were so accepting and positive and I should have known you would be. I truly have the most amazing friends.
I will tell you the best thing about writing that post – seeing so many comments from the people who inspire me in their wellness journeys. I don’t always speak up, but I follow many, many of you on FB, IG, Twitter, and the like. And I know many of you are or have been on your own wellness journeys through the years. I follow a lot of you and look to you regularly for inspiration. So, for any of you who might have gotten a nudge from my story, chances are I got one (or more) from you first in the past year or years. So thank YOU for being transparent and always being real in your posts. It helps so much more than you know, even if I don’t tell you. I’m watching. And so are others. 💕
The finale! I know you’ve been waiting all night for it! Especially after Part 1 and Part 2. Well, wait no more, dear readers. (I crack myself up.)
I can’t speak for all plus size people, but I can speak for a vast majority of us when I say that when you get larger you stop shopping for clothes and shoes. It’s no longer fun and it’s definitely no longer easy. As the years went by and I expanded in size I found fewer clothes and shoes I could actually try on in brick and mortar stores; I was having to look online more often for my size. Eventually I outgrew nearly every store in the mall and in my city and was down to pretty much one and it was pretty expensive.
I started asking around and found great suggestions for affordable places online that had cute clothing. Don’t get me wrong, there were retail stores in my town and price range that carried plus size clothing, but they all seemed to be styled for much older women who didn’t care too much about fashion. I was still young, curvy, and wanted to look and feel good in my clothes. And their clothes all felt like pastel-colored polyester potato sacks, some with legs.
I was able to find respite online in a few somewhat stylish shops and, as body positivity became more mainstream, more shops and more designers added to the fold. I was eventually ordering all my clothes and shoes online (heaven forbid a regular retail store in the mall carry women’s WIDE WIDTH shoes that aren’t athletic!) and trying everything on in the privacy of my own home. When the clothing box subscription services started I was so excited to possibly have some somewhat tailored-to-me fashion help until I realized none of them went up to plus size. Being plus size is a huge PITA when it comes to clothes, shoes, and a million other things, lemme tell ya. You can’t go shopping with your other-sized girlfriends AT ALL for a fun Saturday because, well, you just end up holding their bags. And it’s a dagger to the heart every time you go into a store with anyone and they look at anything off-the-rack because you know you can’t do that (and haven’t been able to for years and may not be able to for years. But I digress…) So I learned to just stay away from stores all together. Or at least the clothing section of them. Hadn’t been in YEARS. Until Belk. And that was by accident.
A few months ago I had to go to the mall for something and I parked at Belk because it was the quickest entrance to the store I needed to get to inside. (I’m always strategic with my parking at the Galleria because I can’t stand walking around that place all day.) I raced into Belk, planning to zip through into the main mall to the store I needed to get to, when a dress caught my eye. It was a cute, short, patchwork dress of purples, pinks, and browns – perfect for the upcoming fall season. Of course I haven’t shopped at Belk, um, ever and I haven’t look at anything on an actual rack in years. I do recall them having a plus section because some of my friends have worn pretty cute plus-size items from Belk before.
Do I dare? No. But could I? Noooooo. Keep moving, Sherri. It always ends in disappointment and you just end up crying the whole way home. Is this the plus-size/women’s section? I have no idea….I’ve never been in Belk before to shop, just to run through. It’s realllllly cute though. And it’s reallllly me. Hmmmm, let’s just see. I looked around to see what section I’m in. I can’t tell at all, there are just huge displays of brand names with their clothes on display. I’ve never heard of any of these brands and I know a lot of plus-size brands, but I don’t shop at Belk so maybe they’re special to them. I start looking at the sizes of the dresses to see how they run, that should let me know if I’m in the plus-size section. XS, S, M, L, XL. Crap. I think I’m in the regular ladies department. That blows chunks. I go to another rack to check those dresses just to see if it’s this one brand. Nope, those are all the same sizing structure, too. CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP. But the dress is soooo cute!
I pull out an XL and hold it up just for giggles. It looks pretty large. I have lost some weight. Maybe I won’t cry? Let’s cross ALL.THE.THINGS and see. I take it to the dressing room and put it on.
Then I pass out.
I get back up.
And freak out.
And take this picture.
And then another.
And another.
And then take a few more because I still think I’m unconscious and I need proof that this happened in the alternate reality that I’m currently in.
Then I wake up (or something), get dressed, look at the price tag, pass out again, wake up, put the dress back, and run around the floor like a wild banshee. Then I call my friend, Jennifer, of Stellar Fashion and Fitness.
Her: Are you ok??? You sound strange.
Me: Um, I’m crying.
Her: What’s wrong???? Are you ok?
Me: I’m in Belk.
Her: Um. What happened????
Me: I tried on a dress.
Her: ????
Me: Off the rack. From the regular ladies section. It fit.
Her: SHERRI!!! THAT’S AWESOME!!!!!! I know how huge that is! I know how hard you’ve been working on everything. I know what a big deal that is! Congratulations!!! That is so wonderful! Way to go! Did you take pictures? I want to see!
Me: Thank you. I can’t believe it. I’m totally bawling in the middle of Belk right now. People keep looking at me. I look crazy.
Her: So what! Let them look!
And the conversation went on like that for a little bit longer while she helped calm me down enough so I could send her pictures and get myself home where I proceeded to tell my husband the same great news.
I didn’t tell many people about it because while I’m very surprised, pleased, and proud, I also don’t want to sound braggy. I have worked hard (yes, I know I took pills, but I did have to work on eating smaller portions, increasing my water intake, and some other things), so I didn’t want to seem boastful and showing off in a dress feels boastful, unfortunately. I wish it didn’t so I could plaster that friggin’ picture all over the place and go, “LOOK AT ME, WORLD! LOOK AT WHAT I DID!” But I won’t because it’s not about that. It’s about feeling better and healthier and I absolutely do. I still have a long way to go – I want to lose about 100 more pounds, but any loss is a good loss.
Tell me about your journey or if this has helped you at all. And thank you for sticking around for all 3 parts. 🙂
From this to this. Also, John Cusack is my boyfriend.
