The Store is OPEN!
Hey y’all!
Another light and fluffy post for the weekend before we get into the aforementioned “My Way or the Highway” post.
It’s time for a fun announcement: you are all invited to shop for bling and swag in the first official Hot Mess Princess SWAG Shop!!
For about two months, we’ve been having a chat over on my Facebook fan page about how fun it would be to have t-shirts and such. Well, I’ve been toiling away at it while trying to do a million other things in my Hot Mess world. After spending all day on it yesterday, I’m finally able to say…the shop is ready! We have t-shirts, gym bags, water bottles, and more!!
There are a few sites out there that let you put your art and logos on their items and ship them out…it was fun to shop around for just the right place. I finally decided on cafepress.com – in fact, the decision was pretty easy…because they had the widest range of products AND they had plus sized shirts. Many other sites didn’t have plus sized shirts (apparently we chubbies aren’t supposed to dig the hip stuff…oops!)
I will gradually add more items and more art as we go along. For now, there’s a pretty nice selection of items available – and if there’s anything you want that you’d rather have in another color or something, please feel free to either message me here (use the Contact Me tab above) or privately message me on my Facebook fan page and I’ll do my best to get the item up in the shop for you. The hardest parts are over for me, thankfully!
Cafe Press uses different transfer techniques for different items. Click here to learn about their different transfer techniques.
When shopping for apparel, please make sure to pick the right size by using the Cafe Press size chart. For example, I’m a size 28…but I had to buy the size 32/34 t-shirt…so be sure to check the size chart before ordering! Click here to see the size chart now.
Also, please follow the care instructions on Cafe Press for apparel:
Apparel (includes t-shirts, sweatshirts and baby items)
You might notice that new apparel products feel stiff. Don’t worry, they will soften after the first wash. We suggest:
Wash in cold water
NO BLEACH
Tumble-dry with low heat
If necessary, warm iron inside out
Please also note that the printing process is different if you’re ordering a t-shirt or a journal. If you’d like to learn more about the printing processes used, please click this link.
Here’s the design I put on the black t-shirts (available in blue or pink):
That’s enough technical mumbo-jumbo, I think. I really hope you like these items…I had fun putting them together. And I had fun shopping!
Yes, I’ve already shopped in my own store. 
So if you live in the DFW area and you see me troll’in around town with my Hot Mess Princess bumper sticker, y’all better honk & wave! I may not hear you right away if I’m singing Adele at the top of my lungs, so be patient and don’t drive all crazy.
In the next few days, I hope to have a permanent widget installed here on the blog so that you can click through and shop in the store. Until then, please click here to shop in the new Hot Mess Princess SWAG store!
The best part about all this is that when I have a raffle, I can throw in some of this stuff as well. Yay!!!
I’ll be back tomorrow…and we’ll talk about that whole “My Way or the Highway” thing I keep teasing you with. :-)
…and the winner is….
Peeps!
Thank you all again for your support and love and laughs and tips and…well, just THANK YOU!
Congratulations to Breanna Shank!!! Breanna, you’ve won this lovely pink S2H pedometer…so please us the “Contact Me” tab above…or message me on my Facebook fan page…and give me your shipping address so I can get this to you. Congratulations!!!
I’m hoping to have t-shirts and mugs, etc. ready this weekend…so you can look forward to more raffles very soon. (Yes, these items will be available for sale as well!)
Coming up between now and Saturday: My Way or the Highway….NOT!
Big hugs to y’all!
Dianne
Happy 100 to Me!
Peeps!
This is my 100th post.
I’m so, so, SO grateful for all the support and love I’ve received from all of you. When I started this healthy change in December, I never would have thought that I would hear from so many who identified with what I have to say…and I continue to be profoundly touched by all your words of encouragement, whether they are comments here…on my Facebook fan page…or via private message.
I wish I had a million dollars to give away as a 100th post reader appreciation prize…but, sadly, I don’t. I do, however, have a pretty cool “toy” to raffle off today:
The S2H Step pedometer.
S2H STEP
If you haven’t heard of this before, it’s a pretty fun idea: wear the pedometer every day and it tracks your steps. The pedometer will give you a 12 digit/letter combination code for every 10,000 steps you take. Go to their website and redeem the code for 60 points. Save up points for rewards like gift cards…discounts off spa weekends…sports equipment…workout gear, you name it. Now, I think it’s important to note that the rewards offered change consistently. You can look at the rewards one day and be really UNDERwhelmed and the next day…OMG! When I first got my S2H, a Nintendo Wii was available as a reward. So wear your pedometer and save up your points. You never know what’s going to pop up!
For the gentlemen who read my blog, I must apologize. This particular S2H Step pedometer is pink. If you like pink, more power to ya! But if you don’t…please stay tuned. I plan on having many more raffles to show my appreciation!
In order to use the S2H Step, you do need to register for a FREE account with them. I’m not being compensated by S2H in any way for doing this…and I bought this pedometer with my own money as a gift from me to one lucky reader. Please check the S2H website for more information before you register for the drawing.
All you have to do to register for the raffle is post a comment here on my 100th anniversary post. That’s all. I will draw the winner (using random.org) on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 6 pm central time. The winner will be announced here sometime that night.
I am cooking up many more thank you’s for y’all…including my first YouTube video…and, of course…some raffles for Hot Mess Princess t-shirts and water bottles. I need more hours in the day to get all these things done! When I say that my number one priority must always be watching over my food & exercise, I know you get me.
I appreciate your patience and encouragement so very much. Every single of one you is a part of my silver lining.
So, so grateful,
Dianne
Texas, My Texas
Hey peeps!
Just a light weekend post this morning to let you know something special is about to happen. No, I’m not talking about my 100th post…although that’s coming next time! I’m talking about my 6th anniversary as a “naturalized Texan”.
It’s a cardinal sin in Texas to call yourself a Texan if you weren’t native born. State pride is huge here – in fact, it’s one of things that made me fall in love with the Lone Star state. So many things made me fall in love with Texas on my first trip here. No one, least of all me, ever though I would leave California…but it took a place as special as Texas to get me to see that I belong here.
I’m so good at the Texas lifestyle that one of my Texan friends slapped me with the title of “naturalized Texan”…and I wholeheartedly accepted. I’m a good citizen of the Lone Star state. I fly my Texas state flag on Alamo Heroes Day, Texas Independence Day, and all the state holidays. I listen to Pat Green music…I even go to his concerts. I cheer for the Dallas Cowboys, even though they suck. I cheer for the Texas Rangers because they’re the most awesome baseball team in the universe. And whenever possible I make food in the shape of the great state of Texas. (I’m pretty sure that’s a state law.) So I made something special for breakfast this morning involving carbs – and even sugar – in honor of my six years in this heaven on earth I call home.
On my first anniversary in Texas, my girlfriends bought me a waffle iron that makes Texas shaped waffles. I don’t use it very often, but it’s one of my favorite things. It can be a little tricky to get the batter all the way over to El Paso and down to Brownsville, but I get it done. Whenever we have guests from out of state, I whip it out and make waffles for breakfast. Like I said…Texas law.
Six years ago this coming Tuesday morning, Hot Mess Hubby and I packed up the cats and all our stuff and left southern California behind. The morning after we got here, I was driving to the grocery store and I couldn’t stop smiling at that big, blue Texas sky. The green grassy fields and trees were gorgeous against it. White puffy clouds. Simply a gorgeous day. But most days are like that here. That morning, I made a promise to myself that I would never take for granted the fact that I live in a place that has such a big, blue sky…and beautiful green fields…huge lakes…and woods everywhere. Six years later, I can say from the deepest place in my heart that I never have. I love it here every bit as much as I did back then.
Hot Mess Hubby and I at the Alamo in 2005 before we moved here. My mother in law isn’t a great photographer and she cut off the top of the Alamo. Tsk tsk tsk!!
The bike and jogging path that runs for 20+ miles behind my house. Look at that big beautiful Texas sky. I do walk here in the fall…not in the spring or summer. Click here if you don’t remember why.
Wherever you go…wherever you live…my wish for you is that you’re as happy wherever you are as I am right here at home. In my beloved Lone Star state.
Just a Big Girl…Living in a Big Pants World
Spring cleaning this weekend. Most people go about it without any issues. For me, however, it’s usually a humbling experience. It’s not something that’s particularly pleasant for me to write about, but it bothered me enough that I knew I had to. And there is sort of a happy ending to this – so if I start bumming you out, keep reading…it really does get good.
I cleaned the master bathroom today. Not a regular cleaning…a big, whopp’in detailed cleaning. We have a wonderful large oval tub in the bathroom. There’s a nice shelf area behind it, on which I have arranged lots of girly indulgences like bubble bath and bath salts (the fizzy kind, not the “I want to eat your face” kind). Every time I clean the shelf, I’m reminded that I never use these wonderful things. They’re just there to look pretty. I can’t use them, you see.
I’ve only used the tub once in the five years we’ve owned this house. After a long day of unpacking, I had decided to fill it up and have a soak. I was really sore…and tired…and had been looking forward to getting in that tub since the day we toured this house. It doesn’t have jets in it or anything, but it’s the nicest bathtub I’ve ever had. And who doesn’t love a few candles and a big tub filled with bubbles after a hard day?
I filled it up, used some gorgeously scented bubble bath, and got in. By the time I was all the way in, the water level had just hit the top of the tub. Not a drop spilled to the floor, but the water was well past the overflow doohicky. When the water was done draining from the overflow valve, there wasn’t nearly enough water to cover me. I was covered in bubbles and getting cold fast. Damn it.
I tried to make the best of the situation, but the fact was…I was too big for my dream bathtub. What was supposed to be an evening of self-pampering quickly turned into an evening of self-loathing. I was really disappointed. And ashamed of myself. And now, every time I clean the shelf with the girly bath stuff, I remember that night.
Today, after I cleaned the shelf and the bathtub (sadly, the tub gets dusty), I got down on the floor to wipe down the baseboards. I usually ask the Hot Mess Hubby to do it, but he was working and I really wanted it done. I guess I was a wee bit cocky after hitting the 45 pound mark this week.
Imagine 336 pounds resting on your knees. On tile. Ouch.
I couldn’t even stand it for a few seconds. I had to get up fast, which I’m sure was quite funny looking, but somehow I made it happen. And I twisted my knee in the process. So now my baseboards are still dirty and I’m limping. Classic!!
I limped out to the kitchen, grabbed a glass of water, and stretched myself out on the couch for a bit. There I was, laying on my side, rubbing my knee and trying not to feel sorry for myself. I reached up above my waist to scratch an itch and I felt my rib cage.
Does it seem weird that a 336 pound woman could actually feel her rib cage? Well…let’s just say that when you’re this big, fat moves and jiggles a lot, constantly reminding you that you’re overweight. It’s like a Twinkie guzzling fairy godmother that rests on your shoulder all the time and screams “You’re FAAAAAAAT!” in your ear. It’s really great. And when a fat person lays on their side all the fat just sort of shifts…it’s horrible, trust me. It’s like I’m part human, part melting snowman when I lay down.
But whatever, I’m not writing today to bash my fatness. Well, not too much. I’m writing because when I felt my rib cage, I started prodding around. With my fingers, I followed the natural curve of my ribs. Poke, poke, poke…prod, prod, prod. When I felt the area where my stomach would normally be if I were a regular sized girl, I nearly fell off the couch. In a good way. Oh my gosh…
I’m little under here!
This may seem strange to y’all, but poking my disgusting fat took me from thinking about my sad, dusty bathtub to being absolutely overjoyed in 2 seconds. I poked myself right out of the mental funk I was in. Just feeling that part of me (that I haven’t seen in over 20 years) filled me up with my usual “Go, girl!” spirit.
Now…I do realize that there will be lots of meat still on my bones when I hit my goal weight. I’m not imagining that I’ll be trot’in around Texas like some bony super model. But when you’re this overweight for this long, you have a very skewed view of what regular sizes are. I know I’ll probably end up around a size 12 or 14 when I’m done, but I can’t even begin to picture it in my head. It’s not realistic to look at pictures of myself in my 20′s and expect to look like that again. I’ve gotten used to flying blind and having no real expectations in that department.
It may not make any sense at all, but I felt hope.
Y’all know what I say: I always try to find the silver lining. But after the dusty bathtub, the unused bath salts, and the twisted knee I wasn’t feeling very optimistic. Isn’t it funny that I would find the silver lining by poking around the very thing I’m trying like hell to get rid of?
I found the me underneath it all. I am fat, but I am not my fat. I needed to reconnect with that today. This fat on my body comes from years of self-abuse, but it is not who I am. I am a fat busting, healthy eating, motivating machine. Someday my outside will measure up to what I am inside.
Sometimes the silver lining is right beneath your fingertips. I’m little under here.
Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works
