I just frivoled away an hour watching a rerun of What Not To Wear, and it was really kind of heartbreaking.

But did she like herself in the mirror at the end???

Oh I just do not want to call people about their job applications today

In the end, yes. But it took a lot of work; she was just so utterly convinced of her own awfulness. And all her friends and family were saying they'd been telling her for years how beautiful she was, and every time one of them said that within earshot of her, she got this cringey "Please don't make me listen to the terrible words" look on her face.

In the end, though, yes, she loved herself. Ugly knees, weird arms, twenty post-marriage extra pounds and all. And it was totally fabulous to see her being so happy in her own skin; it's just depressing to think that practically every single woman under thirty they've had on the show has started out reciting exactly the same litany of BID self-loathing, and to think how many millions of under-thirty women there are reciting the same litany who'll never get the BID exorcism.

That is sad. If her friends and family haven't been responsible for her BID, did it all come from internal and societal influences? Scary to think about.

I don't remember friends or parents telling me I was pretty or anything like that, and my BID are blessedly small. The only thing I really dislike on me is my belly and I've even kind of made peace with that. As a kid, I hated my freckles/moles but I grew out of that in high school, I think.

Ugly knees, weird arms, twenty post-marriage extra pounds and all.

See, what I got out of this sentence is "great...even she's got a husband."

The funniest was, remember that lady who was stuck to her toilet seat? Both my (also, tragically single) best friend and I had a split second of "HEY, even stuck to toilet lady has a boyfriend!" when hearing that story.

So, thanks to javachick, we knew that being able to watch DVDs would be helpful for keeping S's spirits up. Turns out the new laptop arrived literally just in time. All the nurses have been amused that we're watching DVDs in the room. A couple weeks back, I'd bought S the Complete Creature Comforts DVD boxed set (she's a HUGE Nick Park fan). Yep, we're watching cartoons in the hospital room. It also turns out that the little iHome2Go speakers my dad bought me for Christmas (which do not fit either my iPhone or my Nano) make great external speakers for the laptop.

I think one of the blessings of being so overweight all my life is that whenever I drop any lbs. at all I feel like I look AWESOME. (whether this is justified or not).

The flip side, of course, is that if I put on any weight I'm almost always going to think I look awful.

One of the things I loved initially about GF was her total lack of BID. She never talked about having a plump butt or thighs (both of which look fab - she has a great hourglass figure [says the jealous boyish bod]). She was just pure confidence, strength, and opinion. It was so refreshing to meet a female friend like that.

I think one of the blessings of being so overweight all my life is that whenever I drop any lbs. at all I feel like I look AWESOME. (whether this is justified or not).

Since my twice-sprained ankle is, for the most part, healed, I've been able to go back to the gym starting in February. Well, *I* keep noticing changes, like, the backs of my thighs feel tighter. Which leads to conversations like this:

Me: I guess the gym is paying off -- the backs of my thighs are tighter.
The Boy: Really? You can tell that?
Me: Well, *yeah.* I wash them in the shower every day, so I notice things....shouldn't *you* be noticing? Maybe you should have your hands on my ass more!
The Boy: Okay, bring it over here.
Dog #1, to Dog #2: Jesus, they're *weird*!
Dog #2, to Dog #1 (or, possibly, the couch): I'm pretty!

(Dog #2 isn't very smart.)

Sure, but you don't know what colors they're using in their kitchen or the china set they want to put together or what they already have.

Well, yeah. But that would be like a random registry gift. I generally have only gone to weddings of close friends so I get them things with some sort of personal connection, even if it's just the Georgetown bowl from Tiffany (usually accompanied by some note about our salad days).

But again, if I don't know you well, I'm probably not going to your wedding.

when my friends got married their favorite gift was not on the registry. The groom's family got together and bought all kinds of household items that you might not think of- mops, scrubbies, cleansers, plastic wrap and foil... they assembled a near life-sized bride and groom out of the component parts.

My dad did that once. Not the life-size part, but all the different kitchen supply stuff. It was for a very young couple who were really just starting out.

Much to her dismay, one of my sister's favorite gifts was from her mother-in-law. She didn't realize it at first because she thought it was just a basic set of monogrammed towels; it took her awhile to realize they were actually their school colors (blue/white and blue/red).