Today’s cjs18 page was inspired by Caroyln Dube; I follow her on YouTube but tend not play long – I’m glad to say joining in fun. One of the recipes today was to use ‘trash’. I made these diecut pieces for on cards but wasn’t happy with them, so was pleased to repurpose them. Carolyn suggested using a medium you can’t totally control, so I got the inks out too. As you can see, my fascination with old photos, family and memory continues.
Day 2, inspired by Tina Walker. The prompts I used were crayons, sprays, drawing, stencils and splattering. The photo is an old family one that wasn’t needed so I figured repurposing it was better than throwing it out! The page references our journey with Tony’s cousin Alison who has dementia. Some days she’s fairly coherent but other days her long-term memory is poor and her short-term memory almost non-existent.
I’ve been debating this blog post for a while now. I’ve been very honest about the whole process but blogging about my excess skin makes me hesitate. But if I don’t, how do others know what could be in store if they go the gastic bypass route? In the end, I’m not going to pretend it’s all pretty – cos honey it ain’t!
To recap – I started at 139.9kg, goal weight 75kg, current weight 63.1kg. I’ve lost 76.8kg. A friend who has about the same as me (started heavier but not as light now) just had surgery to remove excess skin and they removed 11kg worth – so I’ve possibly got 5kg or more of skin hanging round. And I do mean hanging round…
People tell me the excess skin isn’t obvious and, fully dressed, that’s fairly accurate. My arms are the most obvious bit. People say most women have flappy arms at our age. Yeah, maybe, but not so loose you accidentally lean on the excess and it hurts 😉
The reality is the excess skin *can* be uncomfortable. Aside from leaning on spare arm skin, I sometimes find I’m sitting awkwardly on a fold of spare bum and it’s unpleasant – try adjusting that in public!
I used to wear a 26DD bra, now I wear a 14D but I sort of fold my boobs into it. Last time I got fitted the lovely lady at Farmers said “I’ll let you do the origami, you know how they go!”. Karma got me on that one, because I used to laugh as I folded Mum’s boobs into her bra..
I had a botched open surgery hysterectomy in my late 20s and that scarring, combined with the weight loss, is pretty ugly to be honest. One side of my tummy is longer than the other, and the whole things hangs low … if I get up to the loo in the night it audibly flaps. Not cool, or sexy!
Would I consider surgery to tidy things up? No! For a few reasons. With all the complications I’ve had I think elective surgery would be unwise. I had the weight loss surgery for my health, not appearances, and the skin isn’t a health issue for me (but it is for some). And, as I’ve said to a few people, Tony is 18 yeas older than me – he never expected to gain a slim wife in his 70s so a few wrinkles don’t matter!
If you are thinking of weight loss surgery, great! It’s life changing and life saving. If you think you’ll have the body of a 20 year old, think again…
Footnote – I’m really struggling to hit publish. My head tells me people in a bikini show a lot more flesh than this, but I feel so exposed and so, what’s the word, faulty maybe?
This is the third time I’ve done CJS (Creative Jump Start). I love starting the year with daily art, learning new things and being inspired by amazing artists from around the world. You can find out more on Nathalie Kalbach’s website.
The first daily challenge went up this morning. As this is a paid workshop I won’t share all the details…
I followed Mystele Kirkeeng’s lead fairly closely. Early on, I decided I didn’t like to woman I’d drawn and was about to start again when I realised that would be against the theme of ‘play’ so I just kept going, and am ok with the final result. It’s quite different to what I normally do, but I can still see my hand in it – so yay for day 1!
It’s been fun doing Colour Me Positive 2017, and I’m looking forward to the revised 2018 edition. Here’s the last page for the year – I used Tim Holtz Distress paints, Reeves fluro paint, Simon Says Stamp ink and some scrap patterned paper. 
Cath Sheard Art 