BulgingButtons

Not bad for a fat girl

Category Archives: Health


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Curvy Girl Regular Women Campaign: I freaking love this thing.

Thoughts on finding beauty in all bodies, not just the airbrushed images we are forcefed daily.

fatshionhustler's avatarFatshion Hustlings

Have you guys ever stopped to consider just how rare it is for us to see a photo of a woman in lingerie or other clothing that is sexy and flesh-revealing, that hasn’t been photoshopped?

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Throwback Thursday – Sick

Untitled-1Knock on wood I’m not sick at the moment, but a lot of my students have been. I’ve been washing my hands like a maniac and pumping out the hand sanitizer. It got me thinking back to when I was a kid and what it was like when I was sick. Here are a few of my childhood memories.

1. Mom and Dad’s bed. This is where I would spend the day missing school and watching game shows and sleeping. Mostly sleeping. There were so many pillows, and a bathroom closeby. Just in case.

2. Cough medicine with codeine. Worked like a charm. I’m sure Mom appreciated it too.

3. The sliver bowl. Next to the bed. ‘Nuff said.

4. Ginger ale from the big glass bottle. There was this weird rubber and metal plunger stopper thingie that reclosed it and kept the bubbles in. Mostly.

5. The glass thermometer under the tongue. I hated that thing. My mom always put it too far back and poked me.

6. The revolting taste of penicillin. I thought my dad was so lucky that he was allergic to it, but now that I’m all grown up I’m glad I was able to benefit from it as a child.

7. My grandmother’s huge fluffy featherbed from Germany. I believe the down of an entire flock filled that featherbed. It was toasty warm and chased those nasty germs away.

8. The horrible ordeal of getting a shot at the doctor’s office. Oh how I cried. Always. I was such a big baby. I still cringe when I get my blood drawn.

Kaopectate-Anti-Diarrheal-Upset-Stomach-Reliever-Vanilla-0411674000299. Kaopectate, chalky and soothing. I never even had Pepto Bismol until after I graduated college.

Through it all, my mom was there. She took my temperature, cleaned out the silver bowl (ew), took me to the doctor’s office, tucked me under the featherbed, turned on the silly game shows, and poured out the ginger ale and codeine laced cough syrup. She has always been there when the going gets tough, because that’s when the tough, like my mother, really get going.


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Six Months of Blogging

THANK YOU on speech bubble price labelsI had no idea when I started what this blog would look like or feel like or how its very existence would impact my life. I just knew that I needed to make some positive changes in my life, and I felt that by documenting what I was doing through a blog I would be more accountable. I knew it wasn’t going to make me fit and fabulous, and in the back of my mind I figured that I might put up a few posts, get busy with life, and move on. I’m happy to report that hasn’t happened.

Before BulgingButtons was born I was involved in a writing project. We had the assignment of writing ourselves a letter. The letters were collected and I quickly forgot about mine. That is, until yesterday, when it arrived in my mailbox. I didn’t even recognize my own handwriting on the envelope. It wasn’t until I opened the letter that it clicked. Right there, in the letter, I outlined my idea about this blog. These were my thoughts before I had even the vaguest idea of how to create a blog.

I want to create a blog with a fabulous name that will inspire a sense of hope and use humor but will also show a serious side of how my weight affects me. I don’t want it to be the typical blog about how great veggies and exercise are, but more essays on what my life experience has been like and will be continue to be like, whether I get healthy or not.

That was my jumping off point, and a good place for me to start. It was only a start, though. A start of something much greater than I ever expected. Here are some of the things that blogging has accomplished for me:

1. I have gotten in a groove with my writing. I write far more, and, dare I say it? Yes, I dare. I write better because I’ve gotten into an almost daily habit.

2. I have written a novel. WTF?! I NEVER would have expected that, and it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been blogging. Sure, it’s still a rough draft, but c’mon, it’s a novel.

3. I have joined an international community of bloggers and have learned so much from them about so many topics, not the least of which is writing. So many intelligent, compassionate, interesting, and kind people are bloggers, and I’m humbled to be a part of their community.

4. My blog has been visited nearly 8,000 times, has 365 followers at last count (one for every day of the year!), and has been seen on every continent (minus Antarctica) in countries I didn’t know existed (New Caledonia, anyone?). How amazing is that?

5. I’ve received awards from other bloggers, which confirms that some of those people who are visiting are actually not only reading the content, but like it! Actually, the likes and comments give that feedback too, and for those who take the time to weigh in (pun, get it?) I thank you. Even if you don’t agree with me, I appreciate hearing from you. This is a nice blog with nice readers, we don’t get ugly here. I’m proud of that.

6. I’ve branched out to include all sorts of different posts, depending on what’s on my mind at the moment. A blog is a great ADD outlet (which I don’t think I have, but who knows?). I have written to many prompts, I’ve interviewed my dog, I’ve played with photo collages, I’ve flashed back to my youth, I’ve listed things that make me happy, and I’ve shared many essays on health, fashion, exercise, and life in general. And all along the way you’ve given me support and encouragement.

What I have not accomplished through this blog:

Getting fit. Dammit.

1. I still dislike exercise.

2. I still procrastinate.

3. I still overeat.

4. I still eat the wrong things.

5. UGH

Ah well, I’m not a quitter. I’m going to keep on keeping on, and I’m going to keep on blogging. Maybe 2014 will bring some unexpected surprises. 2013 certainly did. Thanks for reading, you have made my year.