So I subscribe to this club or email list or whatever it is and I wanted to share today’s message from the universe with you. It actually reminded me immediately of that Unicorn post the other day.

If suddenly and without warning, Notblueatall, you had absolutely nothing to worry about, do you know what the world would begin to look like?

Un-huh, exactly the same as it does right now.

Alright, if suddenly you had absolutely nothing to be afraid of, do you know what you’d begin to look like right now?

Yeah, cool as ever.

OK, OK. If suddenly you had absolutely no expectations to live up to and no one to disappoint, do you know how free you’d suddenly be?

Yeah, same, same.

Get it? The only thing that would really change is your thoughts. And you don’t need circumstances or other people to help you with that, do you?

I say it’s time to blow the lid off this popsicle stand –
The Universe

It just goes to show you that a lot of what holds us back is us. A lot of what stresses us out is us! And often when it feels that the weight of the world is on our shoulders? Well, it’s our own doing. Not always, I realize, but often. I know this is true for me.

Want your own messages from the universe to help you realize your dreams? Sign up for free here!

It’s Friday and while that’s usually my fave day of the week, I’m just not feeling well today. I don’t know what’s going on with me, I’ve tried both cold and allergy meds and neither have made a dent. I’m a true mess. But I’m alive and grateful as hell for that. =0)  So I thought I would share some interesting tidbits from the interwebz. Feel free to comment, discuss, etc. Hope you have a fabulous weekend.

Too many people feel let down because their life and looks aren’t ‘fabulous’ all the time. In Making Magic 2: On the Tyranny of Image, Rachel Hills says, “…One thing I believe quite firmly is that we’re sold a lie that through changing our appearance, we can change our lives. That if only we lost weight, had “better” hair, the “right” clothes, we’d be able to access that certain, indefinable magic we’re convinced the people who do have that aesthetic possess. I’ve been speaking with women who do have that magic – that capacity to make amazing things happen to them – and unsurprisingly, what I’ve found is that it isn’t about what you wear or how you look at all.”

Did you get a chance to read Lesley’s post about Public Health Programs? You totally should, it’s rad!

You simply must read this speech given by Andrea Zanin at The Floating World, a supercool (and absolutely massive) sex-positive annual weekend conference in New Jersey. “This is a talk about the lies we tell ourselves and the rest of the world. It’s a talk in which bullshit will be called, hierarchies challenged and strong statements made. It’s a talk about polyamory, and BDSM, and queerness, but above all, it is most definitely a talk about sex.”

Love Ryan Freitas‘ 35 lessons in 35 years!

A new approach for pan handlers, free credit cards? I truly enjoyed reading this.

And this weekend, I shall be making some pear gelato! I’m so excited! I bought these Bartlett pears at the store $2 for 3lbs and they’re a bit overripe. Perfect for gelato! I’ve only ever done sorbets, so I don’t know how this will turn out, but here’s the recipe.

You can ask me nearly any time of day or night what song I have in my head and I will most certainly sing or hum it for you. Last night while watching tv a commercial came on with a “Fascination” re-do and I was suddenly confused between three songs all at once. This is not unusual for me. I often hear songs within songs or just have a bunch playing at once in my head. Could this help my problem?

Have you been following the fatcasts? You totally should be! They are so fun and informative! And there’s a new one up today! Squee!

There are two other podcasts I’d like to give a shout out to:

Soulful Blend Radio: R U Real? I Am Plus! Thursdays if you happen to listen to last Thursday’s episode, you will hear yours truly sounding like a total valley girl. Oh well, it was a total blast! (Main page: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/soulfulblend)

And Golda Poretsky’s Body Love Wellness podcast! Be sure to stay up to date on her blog, too: http://www.bodylovewellness.com/

That’s it for today. What’s on your mind? What are your plans for the weekend? Tell me about it! =0)

Oh my sweeties! I have had one hell of a week, and it ain’t over yet! I know I haven’t been very posty lately, and I do apologize for that, but with all of the madness that is running your own business while also dealing with random maladies, well, it just happens.

I was doing my usual reading of various blogs in the fat-o-sphere and came across this list of the top 40 fat fashion blogs when I had a sudden realization: I may have fallen out of love with FATshion!

Please, don’t feel sorry for me. It happens to the best of us. Things do tend to wax and wane, yes? I just don’t know. I think it may have started when I went to Big Moves Bay Area’s Cupcake & Muffintops 2.0 last month. I was at first overwhelmed with what to look at and try on and buy and then mega-underwhelmed when a pile of bottoms (mostly denim & capris) did not fit. I did buy some tops, but left with the weight of disappointment on my shoulders.

Next was the “Kaden” boots from Target that were posted on LiveJournal’s Fatshionista community with the promise of affordability and fit for larger calves…alas, it simply wasn’t so (unless you wear a size 11). And finally, when I went back to Target the next day to try on this Converse One Star dress (I was so bummed by the boots that I left without perusing the plus clothes) and it didn’t fit either. Maybe that is when I fell out of love with fatshion.

Or perhaps it is entirely due to the fact that I no longer have any sort of personal income with which to buy anything over $10. I had to save my tips for an entire week for the Cupcake & Muffintops 2.0 last month. All $29 of it were spent there, too. Glad I went. I had an incredible dark chocolate cupcake and got to talk to so many lovely fats. But damn. When you look forward to something long enough I guess it just builds up in your mind until it cannot possibly live up to whatever it is you think it should be. Like those damned boots!

I hate to sound bitter, but I have wanted some knee-high boots to wear with dresses for over two years now. And with all of my internet resources, wisdom and secrets I’ve still come up short. And damn, those boots would have looked amazing in that Converse dress, yo! Ha-ha! Of course it all plays into my fantasy of creating the ultimate grunge (to me at least) outfit. I suppose in the truest sense of it though, the heart of grunge, was to made due with what’s available or cheap or handy and not about buying brand names and whatnot. And certainly the things I had wanted to buy were/are cheap.

There is another reason: My current closet/wardrobe situation. It’s a nightmare! I have a pile of things I want to sell, donate and reorganize but never find the time/inspiration/motivation to even tackle it. I know, I know…little steps. Commit to one small task at a time, thus less guilt to harbor. But you gotta know by now, I just don’t do things the easy way. And we have so much less space for things than we used to. With fall & winter on their way I am looking forward to digging out the cardis and sweaters and layers! Oh how I love layers! But I also live in CA and that means those are probably a bit far off for now.

How do you organize your clothes? By season? By occasion (formal/casual/etc)? I have a friend who organizes all of her clothes by color! She even has hangers that match each item! I can’t get behind that because it would drive me insane. But I am open to your creative suggestions or advice! Please, help me fall back in love with fatshion, even if it’s just my own wardrobe!

Thanks for reading.  =0)

*Listening to Presidents of the USA “Everybody wants to be naked & famous” and loving it!

I was so moved by a post on the fat heffalump blog that I had to share it with you. So please check it out here! It’s 6 minutes of pure flabulosity! Also, hit up Marilyn Wann’s “Fat! So?” site here! because it has butts & tons of good info, too!

You read that right! Today is Tank Top Tuesday! Weather you call it a vest or a wife pleaser (there shall be no violence here), I want your pics! This will be the first in a weekly offering of fatties with heads and arms wearing TANK TOPS! I just had such a great experience the last time I went out sleeveless that I thought this would be a fun way to keep that positivity flowing and also to hopefully help normalize fat arms!

That’s me, death fat and all, in an Old Navy Tank from about two years ago. I love the top, but so rarely wear it because the color doesn’t go with much. But I do have a gorgeous cardi that will go nicely when the weather cools down again.

Submit your photo by first commenting with your email address (just the first part/username, so I don’t spam you) then emailing me: notblueatall@notblueatall.com with the attachment and if you have a blog, please submit the web address so I can give you & it some mad props and any info you’d like me to include in the post. Please submit only one photo at a time. If I receive many I may do a special post or just post date them for the next several Tuesdays. If you have any questions, please leave a comment. I hope this becomes a very fun and continuing adventure for all of us. And guys!!! That means, you, too!  =0)