...meekly looks around...
Is anybody here???
Hello Dolls!
I can't believe it's been over since months since my last post! Wowsers! I am super excited today because of today's MONUMENTAL Supreme Court ruling! As a GLBT/Q ally, I am so very happy that this day has come. I know I don't get political on this blog but there are some things that should just be and that is the purveyance/pursuit of equality for ALL. Whenever I hear someone say, "I believe in equality but [fill in the blank]", my skin literally crawls. There should not be any contingencies or qualifiers placed on what is just. #thatisall
For those that have stuck with me this far I have something wonderful in the works that I will be unveiling in the next couple months. Remember how I said that I would be opening my own online store? Well, a brunt of my time has been focused on this endeavor as of late and I intend on rocking the socks off the plus size fashion community. Big talk huh? Well I fully believe in speaking things into existence so slowly, I've been eliminating "I hope", "Perhaps", and "Maybe" from my vocabulary. I definitely encourage you to try it--it's so liberating!
So, consider this my comeback post. I will be blogging more regularly (as my time permits...I do have 3 kids after all) and thank you all for sticking with me! I plan on a badass giveaway in a week so please be on the lookout. It's my way of saying "Thanks for hanging around". ;-)
<3
Showing posts with label izzyspeaks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label izzyspeaks. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Friday, September 28, 2012
Girl, where have you been???
Hi Everyone!
Over a month (wow!) has elapsed since my last post and I want to apologize for being an absentee blogger. I've been experienceing a lot of flux in my life as of late and wanted to fill you in on what's been going on with me. As I mentioned in a previous post, I now have a new job which I am super excited about! I am a project manager for a hospital system outside of Boston and am working on things that I am really passionate about. Namely, patient-centered medical home development which is essentially coordinating care in a way that improves quality of care, improves health outcomes, and reduces cost. I'm working with some serious visionaries who all want to turn the current healthcare system upside down (hooray for troublemakers!). I've also been helping my son adjust to kindergarten which has been a bit of a challenge. He is in his 3rd week of school and is doing great for the most part. Despite the strides that he has made, I've had to contend with the negative treatment he has received from his peers and the consequences that this has had on his psyche. It's not easy to hear your six-year old say "I don't have friends" or "No one likes me at school" day in and day out. It's difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that this is about the age where social boundaries are established and "different-ness" is mostly received with a wary and fearful eye. Needless to say, I've been doing a lot of hugging and pep-talking.
My perception of my self has also shifted in the past several weeks. The stress from the transition between jobs and worrying about my son caused me to gain several pounds. I was also faced with the anxiety-inducing fact that my tenants were moving out and that soon I would have to pony up 100% of my mortgage. I couldn't stop eating. I still can't. My weight gain has resulted in feelings of inadequacy and failure and just general ugliness (inside and out). So what am I doing about my stankitude (stank+attitude)? I'm trying to put everything in perspective. Achieving perspective has been a journey in and of itself. It's hard for me to celebrate my wins when in my mind, my losses/faults/flaws are so glaring to the point of being palpable. I guess talking about my feelings is the first step though right?
Since I'm not wanting this post to be so depressing, I wanted to give you the heads up of a guest post coming your way soon by my bestie from another teste--Rosa. You have Rosa to thank for my post today because she's been in my ear like: "Damn son, what's up with your blog?". I've been so caught up with things goiug on in my life that I have completely ignored one of my biggest support systems--you all! But seriously, I thank all of you for sticking with me this whole time and showing me love--it's appreciated and means more to me than you will ever know...<3
On another note, have you seen the pro-Bama video from Samuel L. Jackson? Whatever your political leanings there is no denying how funny this is. What makes me chuckle is how almost every movie he's been in contains the phrase "and I hope you burn in hell!" or some iteration there of. The vid is below if you want a good laugh (or at the very least, a pronounced smirk). Please note that there is cursing and one sexually suggestive scene so view with caution. Shout out to my girl Ruthie for sending this my way!
Over a month (wow!) has elapsed since my last post and I want to apologize for being an absentee blogger. I've been experienceing a lot of flux in my life as of late and wanted to fill you in on what's been going on with me. As I mentioned in a previous post, I now have a new job which I am super excited about! I am a project manager for a hospital system outside of Boston and am working on things that I am really passionate about. Namely, patient-centered medical home development which is essentially coordinating care in a way that improves quality of care, improves health outcomes, and reduces cost. I'm working with some serious visionaries who all want to turn the current healthcare system upside down (hooray for troublemakers!). I've also been helping my son adjust to kindergarten which has been a bit of a challenge. He is in his 3rd week of school and is doing great for the most part. Despite the strides that he has made, I've had to contend with the negative treatment he has received from his peers and the consequences that this has had on his psyche. It's not easy to hear your six-year old say "I don't have friends" or "No one likes me at school" day in and day out. It's difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that this is about the age where social boundaries are established and "different-ness" is mostly received with a wary and fearful eye. Needless to say, I've been doing a lot of hugging and pep-talking.
My perception of my self has also shifted in the past several weeks. The stress from the transition between jobs and worrying about my son caused me to gain several pounds. I was also faced with the anxiety-inducing fact that my tenants were moving out and that soon I would have to pony up 100% of my mortgage. I couldn't stop eating. I still can't. My weight gain has resulted in feelings of inadequacy and failure and just general ugliness (inside and out). So what am I doing about my stankitude (stank+attitude)? I'm trying to put everything in perspective. Achieving perspective has been a journey in and of itself. It's hard for me to celebrate my wins when in my mind, my losses/faults/flaws are so glaring to the point of being palpable. I guess talking about my feelings is the first step though right?
Since I'm not wanting this post to be so depressing, I wanted to give you the heads up of a guest post coming your way soon by my bestie from another teste--Rosa. You have Rosa to thank for my post today because she's been in my ear like: "Damn son, what's up with your blog?". I've been so caught up with things goiug on in my life that I have completely ignored one of my biggest support systems--you all! But seriously, I thank all of you for sticking with me this whole time and showing me love--it's appreciated and means more to me than you will ever know...<3
On another note, have you seen the pro-Bama video from Samuel L. Jackson? Whatever your political leanings there is no denying how funny this is. What makes me chuckle is how almost every movie he's been in contains the phrase "and I hope you burn in hell!" or some iteration there of. The vid is below if you want a good laugh (or at the very least, a pronounced smirk). Please note that there is cursing and one sexually suggestive scene so view with caution. Shout out to my girl Ruthie for sending this my way!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Eff it!
Hi!
I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! My weekend was...well, "eh". My daughter's friend came over for a sleepover which was....interesting. They have this thing where they love each other one second and hate each other the next. I know that may be typical for four-year olds but I almost pulled out my hair after hearing "I'm not your friend!" over a million times. Also, the hubby was was celebrating his 30th birthday at a casino so I was feeling a bit like a hater resentful. Imagine me cleaning butts and wiping up stickiness all while envisioning my husband in a club swinging his shirt over his head while gyrating on some female. Yeah, I have a vivid imagination. Well, it turns out he did none of the things I was imagining although I was giving him my "yeah, mmm-hmm" face as he described his angelic behavior.
So...my clothing purchases have recently started reflecting my "eff it" attitude. What do I mean? I mean that I've been opting for styles that I wouldn't normally wear. I don't really know what spurred the attitude but I like it! Case in point: I recently spotted this dress from the ASOS website.
Cute right? Well, after clicking the link I tried convincing myself why the dress wouldn't work for me. It was strapless! It was fitted! It was too stripey! It was strapless! For those of you that are new readers know this, Izzy no likey her arms. I embrace all my other lumps and bumps but for some reason my arms upset me. With the dress languishing in my shopping cart, here is a sampling of the argument I had with myself:
"So what if it's strapless? I can just throw a shrug over it"
"Kinda defeats the purpose of it being strapless though"
"The peplum is nice and flattering"
"You have 400 things that are peplum, underwear included"
"But my arms!" (said in a really whiny voice)
"Woman up"
"But my arms!"
"Yeah? so what about your arms? You use them to hold and comfort your children, to console others, to cook, to clean, to carry burdens and joys...basically, to hold it down!"
...
"yeah, eff it!"
So after the "place order" button was pressed, I felt great! I waited a week for my package to arrive and began to assemble the outfit in my mind...
So what do you think? I'm not totally crazy about the dress on me but I feel triumphant nonetheless. I still don't love my arms but challenging myself in this way brings me one step closer to accepting and loving all of me...without conditions. I didn't intend to be so matchy-matchy but that's how things kinda worked out. Also, I was not trying to style my hair so I decided to throw on another banged wig. This one is "Lala" and it's by FreeTress. I think it's safe to say that my fascination with bangs has come to an end...for now...
Dress: ASOS (main range but the dress is super stretchy)
Clutch: Aldos
Necklace: Free People
Earrings: F21
Shoes: Corso Como "Del" pump
Bangles: Oasis via ASOS
So what about you? What part of your body are you the least comfortable with? What steps are you taking to be more accepting of your body?
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! I love hearing from you so please comment below!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Every Body...
Hi!
Many of my friends/family come to me for fashion advice because they think I am some fashion guru. I am flattered by the compliment but admittedly, it makes me feel uncomfortable. I think fashion is personal and it is hard for me to tell people what they should wear. I am of the adage that you should wear what you feel comfortable in and it should be what you like. If wearing sequin shorts makes you feel like a rock star than you should wear them! I am so sick of hearing people make comments that fat people shouldn't wear _______ or that tall skinny people should stay away from________. Seriously??? Life is too short to be boxed in. Putting yourself in a box/adhering to fashion conventions only serves to solidify the stereotype that only certain bodies can wear certain things. Haven't we evolved past that thinking? I know what you are saying to yourself: Izzy, I hear you but what about the designers who don't design for my body? It's true. As fatshionistas, we are sometimes relegated to what is at our disposal. It seems a bit disingenuous to tell a size 32 person to "make it work" when the majority of clothes out there won't/don't work for that size. Well now what? I don't have all the answers but I do know that if we continue to advocate for ourselves and each other changes in the industry will occur. I'm not just talking about advocating for all the size 20's just because that is the size you happen to be. I'm talking about advocating for the body to your right or the body to your left no matter how different it may be from your own. In social work there is a term called "we-ness"--it is essentially the cultivation and promotion of a common agenda and vision and the belief that as a unit, we must commit ourselves to moving that agenda/vision forward. So what should our agenda be? I believe it should be that all bodies have equal access to fashions/styles that make the individual wearing them feel fabulous, empowered, and just plain beautiful. In war it is a common conception that a soldier fights not for himself or herself on the battlefield but for the person next to him/her. Now let's all espouse that notion and do the same...
<3
Izzy
Many of my friends/family come to me for fashion advice because they think I am some fashion guru. I am flattered by the compliment but admittedly, it makes me feel uncomfortable. I think fashion is personal and it is hard for me to tell people what they should wear. I am of the adage that you should wear what you feel comfortable in and it should be what you like. If wearing sequin shorts makes you feel like a rock star than you should wear them! I am so sick of hearing people make comments that fat people shouldn't wear _______ or that tall skinny people should stay away from________. Seriously??? Life is too short to be boxed in. Putting yourself in a box/adhering to fashion conventions only serves to solidify the stereotype that only certain bodies can wear certain things. Haven't we evolved past that thinking? I know what you are saying to yourself: Izzy, I hear you but what about the designers who don't design for my body? It's true. As fatshionistas, we are sometimes relegated to what is at our disposal. It seems a bit disingenuous to tell a size 32 person to "make it work" when the majority of clothes out there won't/don't work for that size. Well now what? I don't have all the answers but I do know that if we continue to advocate for ourselves and each other changes in the industry will occur. I'm not just talking about advocating for all the size 20's just because that is the size you happen to be. I'm talking about advocating for the body to your right or the body to your left no matter how different it may be from your own. In social work there is a term called "we-ness"--it is essentially the cultivation and promotion of a common agenda and vision and the belief that as a unit, we must commit ourselves to moving that agenda/vision forward. So what should our agenda be? I believe it should be that all bodies have equal access to fashions/styles that make the individual wearing them feel fabulous, empowered, and just plain beautiful. In war it is a common conception that a soldier fights not for himself or herself on the battlefield but for the person next to him/her. Now let's all espouse that notion and do the same...
<3
Izzy
Top: Banana Republic
Pants: Gap
Belt: Talbots
Shoes: F21
Clutch: Purchased from Canal Street in NYC
Glasses: UO
Bangle: Ashley Stewart
Earrings: ASOS
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)