I think I was a size 12 about 12 years ago...that's kind of neat, kind of not.

Eta: I don't have a mental "right" size for myself - I have approximate measurements in mind from, oh, when I was in high school but I don't rightly no what dress size that is. What I thought of as my size at the time was the size pattern I'd use, and I don't even remember what that was.

I won't lie: I miss the 8/10 I was a couple years ago, but I'd really just be happy to live my life out as a 12.

This is totes me.

I like the Flylady concept, but I can't bear the e-mails; the assumption that you're a mom with a husband; the constant lols; the amount of God; or the general cheeriness.

I like the organization and the baby steps, but all the rest seriously makes me want to take a bazooka to their heteronormative asses. Even though brain bits would get into the perfectly shiny sink.

(Seriously, I did try, and tried to filter out the crap. Until the day when she took the whole day's motivational mailing to answer a perfectly reasonable reader letter with the advice that OF COURSE it's right that it should be the woman's job to do all the housework because men would never do it anyway even if you try to include them and then the children wouldn't feel comfy and at home and anyway didn't you come here because you were dying of the shame of a dirty sink.)

I haven't found anything equivalent for grumpy agnostic single people.

I once had serious thoughts of creating such a thing. But I don't give enough of a shit about the clean house, even though I'd very much prefer to be more on top of things.

I use Flylady. I roll my eyes a lot and translate things. I like that they do have a green aspect, even if it's annoyingly called going purple. It was originally recommended to me by my lesbian GP. I would love a red and black punk version.

I am happy at an 8, but depending on fashions of the moment it would sometimes be easier for me to get back to a 6. I am probably a 10 right now. my waist/hip just makes it a moving target with what size will fit. I think even at a 6 waist I would be over 40" in the hip, so I am edging closer and closer to no straight skirts unless custom made.

I have never heard of flylady until today. interesting.

Oh yeah, at size 8 pants I am still a large or extra large on top because of the boob factor.

I always figured 8 was the lowest I could not be skeletal, but I'm actually at a six right now and still carrying a fair load of belly flab.

This happened to me too. I always figured I was big-boned, or didn't know where I could lose fat from, etc. But even at a six or so I was still flabby, it was just distributed everywhere.

And maybe take an inch or so off my waist, because that looks better on my mutant short-waisted frame.

God, seriously. I hate that I inherited my family's mutant short-waisted frame.

A Brief History of the Ampersand

The ampersand can be traced back to the first century AD. It was originally a ligature of the letters E and T (”et” is Latin for and). If you look at the modern ampersand, you’ll likely still be able to see the E and T separately.

The first ampersands looked very much like the separate E and T combined, but as type developed over the next few centuries, it eventually became more stylized and less representative of its origins.

...

The word “ampersand” was first added to dictionaries in 1837. The word was created as a slurred form of “and, per se and”, which was what the alphabet ended with when recited in English-speaking schools. (Historically, “and per se” preceded any letter which was also a word in the alphabet, such as “I” or “A”. And the ampersand symbol was originally the last character in the alphabet.)