Now I really did it :((

[missy]

Hi Missy,

That is awesome you cleaned out closets and drawers. I bet you are tired and sore but doesn’t it feel good to do something like that plus organize your drawers and closets? I hope the ice helps with your pain. I am glad I helped inspire you.

I am glad to hear you slept better last night. I woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep. Rats. I don’t sleep as well when Marty is gone but I get used to it. Since I got up early I stopped at a bread store and picked up some cinnamon bread for work.

Work was amusing to me today. My boss told me to look up signs of a person with a toxic personality so I did and I had to completely agree all of those traits are very visible in that one employee of mine. Then I waited patiently for someone to discover that employee forgot to do something that should have been done yesterday. Of course they had the typical reaction of I didn’t do that nobody told me it wasn’t my fault. I love having the paperwork to prove that just isn’t what happened. Remember though I am mean and evil and yell at them all the time.

Marty is in Belgrade and they are celebrating liberation day this week. I guess Putin is coming for the parade. Marty says it is crazy there – there are tanks in the street, riot police everywhere and jets flying around. He said if the opportunity presented itself he would so try to get a selfie. He posted a picture on FB tonight showing two rows of tanks in the street. I hope they are friendly.

Have a great evening.

Marcy

Good morning Marcy! Wow, it sounds like there is a lot going on where Marty is and I hope he gets some time and has the opportunity to take it all in. As long as he is careful and stays safe. And I hope he gets that selfie LOL.

I know you are joking as you are the furthest thing from mean for sure. You are such a sweetie and I have a feeling your employees see the real you and respect and care about you no matter how much they are messing up. I am glad at least it was more amusing than frustrating for you yesterday. Things like that can really ruin a perfectly good day. And unfortunately I know about toxic personalities especially narcissistic personality disorder. Wow is all I can say about that person and not in a good way. Since they are your employee you cannot distance yourself too much from that person but in my life I distance myself as best as possible from the NPD person we have in our life. Toxic with a capital T.

Thank you again for inspiring me. It does feel so good to have things organized and neatly in their place. I have a lot more to declutter and rearrange but I did make a good dent yesterday. I think I will need to take the rest of this project more slowly however because I overdid and as a result wasn't able to do my PT exercises/stretching very much yesterday. I did a round in the AM and I did get to workout on the elliptical but I was too sore after all the closet and drawer cleaning out and vacuuming to do any more PT the rest of the day and I am limping extra as a result. That's OK though I will get back on track today and I am seeing Victor this morning. Hope he takes it easy on me but I know better haha.

OK this cinnamon bread you speak of...I must find some. Sounds delicious! I love cinnamon and add it to my coffee before I brew it every morning. Something so comforting and warm about it and the smell. Ooh so wonderful. Hope you enjoyed the cinnamon bread. You made a positive out of a negative and maybe next time I am having trouble sleeping I will have to find an all night bakery that makes it by me...but I will wait till I am walking more confidently before venturing out on my own at night don't worry.

I'm sorry you had some trouble sleeping the other night. Not fun at all and I hope it is far and few between your restless nights. Hoping Marty returns home soon to keep you company!

 

[missy]

Hi Missy,

That is awesome you cleaned out closets and drawers. I bet you are tired and sore but doesn’t it feel good to do something like that plus organize your drawers and closets? I hope the ice helps with your pain. I am glad I helped inspire you.

I am glad to hear you slept better last night. I woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep. Rats. I don’t sleep as well when Marty is gone but I get used to it. Since I got up early I stopped at a bread store and picked up some cinnamon bread for work.

Work was amusing to me today. My boss told me to look up signs of a person with a toxic personality so I did and I had to completely agree all of those traits are very visible in that one employee of mine. Then I waited patiently for someone to discover that employee forgot to do something that should have been done yesterday. Of course they had the typical reaction of I didn’t do that nobody told me it wasn’t my fault. I love having the paperwork to prove that just isn’t what happened. Remember though I am mean and evil and yell at them all the time.

Marty is in Belgrade and they are celebrating liberation day this week. I guess Putin is coming for the parade. Marty says it is crazy there – there are tanks in the street, riot police everywhere and jets flying around. He said if the opportunity presented itself he would so try to get a selfie. He posted a picture on FB tonight showing two rows of tanks in the street. I hope they are friendly.

Have a great evening.

Marcy

Good morning Marcy! Wow, it sounds like there is a lot going on where Marty is and I hope he gets some time and has the opportunity to take it all in. As long as he is careful and stays safe. And I hope he gets that selfie LOL.

I know you are joking as you are the furthest thing from mean for sure. You are such a sweetie and I have a feeling your employees see the real you and respect and care about you no matter how much they are messing up. I am glad at least it was more amusing than frustrating for you yesterday. Things like that can really ruin a perfectly good day. And unfortunately I know about toxic personalities especially narcissistic personality disorder. Wow is all I can say about that person and not in a good way. Since they are your employee you cannot distance yourself too much from that person but in my life I distance myself as best as possible from the NPD person we have in our life. Toxic with a capital T.

Thank you again for inspiring me. It does feel so good to have things organized and neatly in their place. I have a lot more to declutter and rearrange but I did make a good dent yesterday. I think I will need to take the rest of this project more slowly however because I overdid and as a result wasn't able to do my PT exercises/stretching very much yesterday. I did a round in the AM and I did get to workout on the elliptical but I was too sore after all the closet and drawer cleaning out and vacuuming to do any more PT the rest of the day and I am limping extra as a result. That's OK though I will get back on track today and I am seeing Victor this morning. Hope he takes it easy on me but I know better haha.

OK this cinnamon bread you speak of...I must find some. Sounds delicious! I love cinnamon and add it to my coffee before I brew it every morning. Something so comforting and warm about it and the smell. Ooh so wonderful. Hope you enjoyed the cinnamon bread. You made a positive out of a negative and maybe next time I am having trouble sleeping I will have to find an all night bakery that makes it by me...but I will wait till I am walking more confidently before venturing out on my own at night don't worry.

I'm sorry you had some trouble sleeping the other night. Not fun at all and I hope it is far and few between your restless nights. Hoping Marty returns home soon to keep you company!

 

[missy]

Hi Missy,

You are such a warm person and this thread is so wonderful in bringing us people together. Sometimes good things come out of bad things too.

...​

I am Jewish but also celebrate both Xmas and Hannukah as my father was not Jewish, also many people do where I live though this seems really odd to most in my opinion.

Wow, I cannot believe how openly I have talked about things here.

I am sorry for the threadjack, but in trying to catch up in missy's thread I was drawn into your life, OVincze. I started to try to find other postings by you and find out more about you and where you were from. I saw that you wrote your parents were doctors in Europe; I noticed that a company name with which you are affiliated has the words "estrella" (star in Spanish) and "stella" (star in Italian) in it. But although you once refer to the crown jewels in "your" country I did not see you name that country. I have to admit to curiosity based on my own husband, who is an Italian Jew of Sephardic origins. I wondered if you had any similar interesting beginnings! (He once met a secretary in a prestigious law firm who turned out to be a distant relative from southern France!)

Deb/AGBF

Hi Deb! I hope all is going smoothly in your life and please, feel free to threadjack as much as you want. I love hearing about others experiences and lives and I appreciate the sharing that people are so generously doing here. Way more interesting than reading about my life these days LOL.

 

[missy]

Hi Deb,

You can of course ask anything you like, it is really nice to connect with people here more on a personal level. I am actually Hungarian and I work in Hungary and Austria mainly. I do have roots from Southern Europe from my maternal grandma and I know I look a bit like that too with the dark hair and eyes. I took after her a lot. I named my company Stella Estrella after my favorite kitty I lost, her name was Stella and it also means star. I went to a Spanish high school in Hungary and that is sort of why I picked Estrella too.

I have had a bit of an adventurous life I would say, I lived in the Bay Area for 9 years and I went to Berkeley. In the meantime I figured law was really not for me as I have always been into creative things, arts and things like that. Somehow the passion for gemstones came although I had it even as a child. I always really loved pearls and colored stones that was how it began, I started taking courses at GIA while going to Berkeley and also I worked for Macy's Stanford while I went to school and even after that. I loved it more than any other job I ever had, I loved working with jewelry and with people although it was more like mainstream, mass produced jewelry, the job was a lot of fun to me.

Back in Hungary I worked for law firms for a over 6 years but I never liked the field. I started going back to school to study gemology and jewelry appraising further. Again this was a lot of fun and even when I was in the hospital I went out to some classes. The rest is history. People that knew me asked me when they needed or wanted something, diamonds, engagement rings, they had special ideas in their heads and I knew this was what I loved but also it was nice to see that people are interested and that was how I started Stella Estrella. I am not that into pearls anymore (although now I am having something made by Hisano whose work I admire), instead I mostly prefer diamonds especially fancy colored ones but still love white diamonds and colored stones too. Strangely, initially I was not so much a diamond person but became a serious fan over time.

In the meantime I moved from Budapest to Vienna. Ah this is of course just a short story from one perspective and of course it only says certain things about me. I have to look at your posts now Deb.

It is very nice that this way getting to know each other we can connect posts to a person. I was also involved with perfumes and befriended and even met people from the forums. I know I have to get to the next PS get together.

Ovi, thank you so much for sharing about your life. It's fascinating and I am enjoying learning more about you. Where was your favorite place to live so far? And what field of law were you in before you left to pursue your real passion? So brave of you to change fields like that in order to find a career you would love.

I also celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas as well as Passover and Easter. I am Jewish and my dh is Catholic and though neither of us is religious we both enjoy celebrating the holidays with family. And though not religious we are both very spiritual people.

Thank you for posting about your life here and please continue to do so. I am sure that Deb and I are not the only ones enjoying learning more about you.

 

[Sunstorm]

Hi Missy,

Your life is very interesting to hear about too even if you are home these days. There is something nice about that too, being able to declutter, organize when you can, reading and enjoying things you can only do when you are not working. I love having days off sometimes and doing everything at home in pj-s. I can also spend more time with the animals then, which I really love.

Nothing exciting, I worked for international corporate law firms, criminal law would have been much more interesting but I still think it is not the best match for me. I still do a bit of work in the field privately because there were some clients I did not want to let go of but working for these big firms one has no life at all, sometimes I had to work 18 hours a day for longer periods. There were some nice people I met and befriended of course.

Yeah, I could say it was not an easy decision to make to change professions but it really was to me, I never had any doubts. At the time I was also moving in with my ex fiancee and it would have been no problem for me to not work for a while. Then some really bad things happened and things changed but when I felt down what kept me going was going to school really. Overall, I think it was the best decision I made. I also met wonderful people in the field, somehow I was lucky this way, really great goldsmiths, diamantaires, etc. this is more like my world than conservative law was.

My husband I met in school too and he is in the field. I cannot say that things have gone great and most the time I feel that I made the wrong decision there but this is quite typical of my private life. Then again, perhaps marriages can be really hard in the beginning. Who knows? Only time will tell. I think it is also hard for me that he is not jewish, not because I would normally have a problem with that but he thinks differently and I always felt that I clicked better with Jewish men, difficult to explain what it is. I have a lot of friends who are not Jewish but it may be different when you are married to someone. Ooh, I hope this did not sound bad because I really meant nothing bad about it.

I have never been religious but spiritual, yes, very much, most of my friends are very deep, spiritual people as well. There were times when I followed religion more because of my relationship but not anymore. The holidays are really wonderful though. It is great that you can celebrate both with your husband Missy.

How are you feeling today? I still have to go back and read the pages left of the 40 whatever that tells me more about your journey.

 

[AGBF]

missy-

I have to drive my daughter to school now. I hope to catch up with you later today!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[AGBF]

In trying to catch up on your progress I read through a lot of postings I had not read, missy. I apologize for dropping the ball and not following your story. I am delighted that you are walking without the boot (and, in fact, have a new pair of boots!). I am very sorry that you are walking with so much pain, however.

There are so many stories, little stories about you and other people as well, contained in your thread that I felt as if I was reading a novel! It was enchanting!

I loved reading the story of your elopement. The explanation for why you eloped made such perfect sense. It was really beautiful.

Were the earrings you just lost (and think you threw away) the same ones that originally broke? I hope you either replace them or get another pair you you love. You shouldn't do without.

It was lovely to see how many posters stayed with you for page after page of this thread. But then again, you are the kind of person whom people love, missy!

Big hugs,
Deb

 

[missy]

Hi Missy,

Your life is very interesting to hear about too even if you are home these days. There is something nice about that too, being able to declutter, organize when you can, reading and enjoying things you can only do when you are not working. I love having days off sometimes and doing everything at home in pj-s. I can also spend more time with the animals then, which I really love.

Nothing exciting, I worked for international corporate law firms, criminal law would have been much more interesting but I still think it is not the best match for me. I still do a bit of work in the field privately because there were some clients I did not want to let go of but working for these big firms one has no life at all, sometimes I had to work 18 hours a day for longer periods. There were some nice people I met and befriended of course.

Yeah, I could say it was not an easy decision to make to change professions but it really was to me, I never had any doubts. At the time I was also moving in with my ex fiancee and it would have been no problem for me to not work for a while. Then some really bad things happened and things changed but when I felt down what kept me going was going to school really. Overall, I think it was the best decision I made. I also met wonderful people in the field, somehow I was lucky this way, really great goldsmiths, diamantaires, etc. this is more like my world than conservative law was.

My husband I met in school too and he is in the field. I cannot say that things have gone great and most the time I feel that I made the wrong decision there but this is quite typical of my private life. Then again, perhaps marriages can be really hard in the beginning. Who knows? Only time will tell. I think it is also hard for me that he is not jewish, not because I would normally have a problem with that but he thinks differently and I always felt that I clicked better with Jewish men, difficult to explain what it is. I have a lot of friends who are not Jewish but it may be different when you are married to someone. Ooh, I hope this did not sound bad because I really meant nothing bad about it.

I have never been religious but spiritual, yes, very much, most of my friends are very deep, spiritual people as well. There were times when I followed religion more because of my relationship but not anymore. The holidays are really wonderful though. It is great that you can celebrate both with your husband Missy.

How are you feeling today? I still have to go back and read the pages left of the 40 whatever that tells me more about your journey.

Hi OVi, you are right in that it is nice to be home with my sweet (sometimes not so sweet lol) kitties and to take care of things at home (though minimally these last few months due to my condition) but honestly I would much prefer to be working with 2 fully functioning legs and just being healthy and strong. I haven't been to work since June 26th and while the time has thankfully gone quickly considering it has been and continues to be very draining physically and emotionally as I am sure you understand unfortunately having been through physical and emotional trauma yourself.

Thank you for asking how I am feeling. I am so glad to be "walking" and up and about but I am also so far from where I need to be. Walking this way (huge limp and pain) takes so much energy and the swelling increases when I am on my feet making the pain and limp worse well, it can be discouraging at times though I am trying to keep my positivity up. During the day I have many moods depending on how I am feeling physically. But I am not complaining because compared to where I was a few months ago I am leaps and bounds ahead. It's just that progress is so painstakingly slow that I wonder if I am ever going to be able to walk without pain and the limp and if my ankle will ever be able to move enough to give me most of my life back. I try not thinking those negative thoughts though as it is not beneficial except to perhaps mentally prepare me for the challenges ahead. And even so I prefer to think I will be OK.

You have had such an impressive life so far. Experiencing more than most people do their whole lives. I am pleased you were able to make a career out of doing something you love and it also speaks volumes about your character that you still do some work for those clients who need you. And I totally agree that it is almost impossible to have any real life while working for those big corporate law firms that expect you to log 80 billable hours a week. Crazy. So glad you got out of that situation. I mean it works for some but I just don't think it is worth it personally.

I am sorry you had some bad things happen to you and sorry about your first marriage. I often like to think that things happen for a reason and while I know that isn't always true I do feel like there are reasons for much of what happens to us and if there aren't I try to make the best of it and grow from each experience no matter how unpleasant. At least that's how I make sense of things. I won't share fully now about this but if some bad things had not happened I would have never met Greg and married him and that is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me (and hopefully him too lol).

I understand what you are saying about being different religions than your spouse and how it can be difficult but for us it was a non issue as Greg is anti religion due to his strict Catholic upbringing and how much he hated Catholic school and as I wrote before he is so spiritual (as am I) that he draws his strength from that rather than from religion so it has truly never been an issue of contention in any way.

Though I can see how it would be for many people depending on their beliefs and had Greg or I been more religious it would have been more challenging. Sure there were some things in the beginning of our relationship where we differed culturally and it took some getting used to (mainly on his part) all but he is now used to my superstitious quirks and such. Honestly the biggest problem we had when we first got married and moved in together was that he (accidentally) left the toilet seat up too much of the time having grown up in a household with 2 brothers and a dad and a mom who didn't care about that. I had to finally tape it down for him to get the idea and remember to leave it down as it bothered me to have it up. He never forgot after that. Hahaha.

How long have you been married now? I found the very first year of marriage to be extremely challenging because I had never lived with anyone (save a college roommate freshman year) before. It took some getting used to as I was/am set in my ways. My dh and I found the Gottman book The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work an amazing book and it really helped our relationship immensely. We read it together. I highly recommend both you and your dh reading it if you haven't read it yet. I think it is a useful read for anyone in a relationship.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/849380.The_Seven_Principles_for_Making_Marriage_Work

Thank you so much for sharing your story Ovi. And (((hugs))).

 

[missy]

In trying to catch up on your progress I read through a lot of postings I had not read, missy. I apologize for dropping the ball and not following your story. I am delighted that you are walking without the boot (and, in fact, have a new pair of boots!). I am very sorry that you are walking with so much pain, however.

There are so many stories, little stories about you and other people as well, contained in your thread that I felt as if I was reading a novel! It was enchanting!

I loved reading the story of your elopement. The explanation for why you eloped made such perfect sense. It was really beautiful.

Were the earrings you just lost (and think you threw away) the same ones that originally broke? I hope you either replace them or get another pair you you love. You shouldn't do without.

It was lovely to see how many posters stayed with you for page after page of this thread. But then again, you are the kind of person whom people love, missy!

Big hugs,
Deb

Oh my dear Deb, there is no need to apologize at all! I always feel you are on my side and supporting me no matter if you are posting here or not. Thank you for taking the time to check in on me and big (((hugs))) to you too!

I am glad you are enjoying catching up with the thread that has perhaps gotten out of control lol. I feel so self indulgent continuing it but it truly helps me draw on my inner strength reading everyone's generous posts to me. As long as people are willing to continue supporting and encouraging me here I will gratefully accept it. Though I do long for the day this thread is no longer necessary for me.

The earrings that I lost were not the same earrings I posted about in Rocky Talk. I actually returned those earrings and decided not to go ahead with the purchase. She is getting some new inventory in November so hopefully my dream earrings will be among those. I also have my eyes on a gorgeous pair from someone else but they are too far above my budget. Though if they ever go on sale to the point I can stretch it those beauties will be mine!

How are you and your family doing? I hope the rest of your summer went well and that you are enjoying a lovely autumn. Thank you for your too kind comments Deb. I feel the same way about you my dear.

 

[missy]

You need to take a picture of the new boots when they arrive. I can't wait to see them. I love that you bought the blue. It seems everything I've purchased lately has been black. Pretty boring.

Callie! How was your birthday? I hope you had an amazing birthday and that all your birthday wishes come true.

The boots arrived last night and I snapped a quick pic for you. Sorry it is not as clear and good a picture as I would have liked but these best depict its lovely blue color. Also snapped a couple of the pretty Stuart Weitzman box.


ETA: Taking off the left boot after I tried it on last night was impossible even though I ordered this a half size larger than my usual pre-accident size. I needed Greg's assistance and even then it was extremely difficult. Just hoping and praying that with time I will be able to remove my boots by myself!!!
Oh, what a gal does for fashion.

 

[AGBF]

I saw your beautiful legs in those boots, missy, and was going to say, "I wish I had your legs!". I did the typing equivalent of biting my tongue for a moment as I remembered the terrible pain you still had. So I do not wish I had your legs. I wish I had legs that looked as lovely as yours and I wish I could wear boots as well as you do and had boots as chic as yours. I also hope that all your pain is gone very, very soon.

You look absolutely spectacular!!!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[ame]

*cat call* nice gams!

I have had the pleasure of "speaking" with OVicenze a couple of times on another forum, and what a delight that has been!

 

[Sunstorm]

Wow, really, you remember me Ame? Haha I of course remember you mostly from the other forum, here I have seen you less often. I was sure you would not remember me as I think I did not post that much over there. After I found this forum, I really fell in love with it. I am a bad cheater.) Ah yeah, me the fashionista frequented that place quite a bit too mostly because of my passion for fashion, purses, shoes, etc. but I really wanted to focus on jewelry and gems and I really fell head over heels for this place. So nice to see you here Ame and I feel honored that you remember me. Hope we will get to talk to you more here!

 

[ame]

Wow, really, you remember me Ame? Haha I of course remember you mostly from the other forum, here I have seen you less often. I was sure you would not remember me as I think I did not post that much over there. After I found this forum, I really fell in love with it. I am a bad cheater.) Ah yeah, me the fashionista frequented that place quite a bit too mostly because of my passion for fashion, purses, shoes, etc. but I really wanted to focus on jewelry and gems and I really fell head over heels for this place. So nice to see you here Ame and I feel honored that you remember me. Hope we will get to talk to you more here!

Oh, yes, I definitely do remember you! We did exchange some nice messages. And your experience in / adjacent to the gemology world is part of why! I am kind of on and off both boards, especially with it still being the thick of my busy season for weddings. It's hard to keep up on both of them and get all my work done. I didn't take on as many this year with my brother's being a couple weeks ago, but I do have two to finish up this fall, so I am working on those feverishly right now. During the day when work is a lull I can hop on more often but in the evening, no way.

I think you can definitely enjoy both sides of the luxuries, here for the gems and jewelry, and there for the "other" fun stuff. It can be dangerous though. Ideas and "lists" start to grow.

 

[Sunstorm]

Missy, those boots rock girl! They should make your spirits higher at least and inspire you to go out a bit and exercise your legs when and as much as you can.

I have been planning to buy gorgeous boots for years. I tell you my problem is that I have duck feet, really incredibly strange looking wide feet, imagine ducks seriously. Pair that with extremely fine boning, ankles and knees, no boots fit me. They all stick out and look hideous on me. I can exercise my muscles as much as I want but I still cannot make my bones heavier and for this reason I can normally only wear boots that end lower on my legs while I would love to have high boots but my knees and thighs are especially thin. Argh. I think in the US there is more selection and they often make boots for thinner legs too but here in Europe they are virtually impossible to find. So I have a lot of gorgeous sandals and love summer but once I have to wear pumps (ouch they kill me) or boots that look hideous on me, I fall into deep depression.) Also, I only wear dresses, nothing else anymore. I guess I must be a bit of a weirdo. I cannot wear pants as they fall off my butt but I have no waste either and skirts hurt there, that must be the gall bladder problems too, top that with an upper body that is at least two sizes larger than my lower.) Ok maybe that was too explicitly described.

Thank you that you find my life impressive. I do not know whether it is impressive, perhaps just interesting but sometimes I wish it was in some ways a lot less interesting. I am very impulsive, take risks easily and am very emotional and deeply feeling for people (and of course animals). I also often allow others especially men to take advantage of me I think. It is a great reference you sent me Missy, I must read it. I too think and have arrived to the conclusion after speaking to many friends that living together can be extremely hard. By now I understand that and I do not think the minor things bother me so much, think messy husbands, toilets seats, etc. What does bother me is character deficiencies in people such as lack of honesty, cheating, lying, stealing, violence and such stuff. I think my problems with the other gender were often due to my very strict morals in this sense. I am all for fun always but I regards ethics very highly.

I do agree that the best things in life often come out of tragedies and traumas. I think that the changes that took place in my professional life which greatly affect me in a positive way were at least in part due to that. That said, breaking up with my ex fiancee and the sequence of some tragic events that followed were not good privately. I think I made too hasty a decision to marry someone after not being over something as important as that relationship was. Then we shall see. It is also possible that I have a harder time in this marriage because I had not fully closed that relationship which was so influential on me. Adding to the hardships is that my husband is younger than me and it is the first time he has ever lived with someone, so often I think I adopted a kid while until now I was used to stronger, older men. I am not sure which one is right as I am a very strong personality myself and I have always been drawn to stronger, older men because my father who left my family and is a very dominant, successful person. Now see I am analyzing and sharing so much I never imagined I would publicly but then I am not ashamed of anything.

Missy this is so tough for you as an active person I am sure and yes I can imagine the mood swings due to that. It will take more time to get all better, bone traumas are the worst kind especially together with soft tissue trauma but you have been really strong and kept going. Share all you want to share, good and bad with us, I promise I will always come here and try to support you too. It certainly helps a lot that you have such a nice husband, otherwise I am sure you would be shopping even more, not that I see anything wrong with that.)

 

[Sunstorm]

I totally agree Ame, here there is so much knowledge from other professionals and connoiseurs, that is very interesting to me and of course great people and love sharing on a personal level but also hopefully giving people some helpful advice. The other forum is great for all things luxury and yes there are wonderful people there too but you see right now I am trying to limit myself on purses and shoes because it is enough that I am so crazy about gems and jewelry, it is an expensive passion for sure, even if I work in the field, I do keep for myself, well, more than I probably should but how can I not? Also, I do not think I would seem very authentic if I did not wear nice jewelry with my own stones and designs. Now of course it is a great excuse.) Time limits me too but right now I do not want to be enabled to buy too many new shoes and purses, have a lot and they are yummy, maybe next year. This year I am spending more on my company and also been a very bad girl when it comes to dresses. My excuse is that I actually gained some weight so I am not my old bone thin self. It is actually a good excuse as I do not want to look like a stuffed sausage. Who needs an excuse anyhow when buying nice things? When I have more time I will go over to the other forum too.

BTW, sorry about your accident, hope you are ok. There is always something. I would be more than annoyed if my jewelry was damaged, I like them in a perfect state but you are the most important. Did you not get neck pain? Ever since my car accident almost 15 years ago I have had terrible neck pains and it goes to migraines but my joint conditions could have something to do with it too. Just pay attention to it and have physical therapy if necessary. I still go to massages when it gets bad.

 

[missy]

Deb, Ame, and Ovi, thank you for the compliments on my new blue suede boots. I got to wear them out yesterday late afternoon for a short "walk" with my dh. I definitely saw people checking them out and this time they were staring more at my boots than me limping with a cane. Not that my limping wasn't a point of interest as well but still at least that is improvement lol.
And I got them off by myself Woohoo!

Ovi, thank you so much for your support. I appreciate that. On the topic of your footwear and lack of success with finding boots you love there are options. You should go to a Stuart Weitzman store if there is one near where you live and try on some of their boots or if there is not one where you live call them and see what they recommend. They are made for women with all size calves and feet. And they make custom as well. They can make the boots in narrow foot, wide foot etc. Also, in Europe there are DUO boots (duo.com) of which I own many pairs and those are custom made to fit your legs and feet. There are options so if you are interested you might be successful with SW or DUO. Duo is having a sale right now in fact.

http://www.duoboots.com

http://stuartweitzman.com

Adding 2 shots from when we got back from our yesterday for better perspective of the boots especially for Ovi so you can see if they might work for you...cannot really see the blue color in these but you can IRL.

 

[Sunstorm]

Wow, they are so yummy! I will research them and also the other brands you mentioned, thanks Missy! Ah yeah I was looking for the word calves, you also seem to have thin calves and thighs so if they fit you I bet they would most likely fit me. It is also great that they can work with you on custom fitting for your calves and feet.

How are you feeling now Missy? I missed hearing from you. Do not worry about the cane part so much. I know it is hard to even imagine for us girlie girls but my mom is very pretty and she had to walk with canes due to her Bechterev. I think what may stop people sometimes is that they do not expect to see such a beautiful woman as you with a cane but accidents can happen. I doubt that they are paying attention to the cane but rather how gorgeous you look.

 

[AGBF]

Those are great new photos, missy! Hi, OVi!

Deb

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I knew it was just a matter of time before some new, designer boots came your way!

cheers--Sharon

 

[azstonie]

Those boots are KRUSHING it!!!

 

[missy]

Thank you Ovi, Deb, Sharon and Kristie! Is it bad that I am wearing them even to "run" errands lol.

Sharon, you knew it before I did haha. I wasn't sure what my boot future held and truth be told I am still not sure I will be able to fit into many of my boots. My dh stretched a few of my favorite pairs for me (and as you read I bought 3 new pairs of SW boots just in the last 2 weeks in a larger size) and so far so good and I am not going to think about all my other beautiful boots right now as I am enjoying being able to fit into my (old and new) SW boots for now at least.

Ovi, sorry I didn't answer your question about how I am doing. Yesterday was a good day! PT went well and Victor introduced me to some new exercises on the Pilates Reformer (oh I so want a Reformer!) and I am in a bit of pain today but that is to be expected as I am not used to working out my core which is some of what I did yesterday.

And more importantly I was able to walk pretty decently yesterday and I was happy and Victor and my dh were impressed. Of course as soon as I sit back down it is hard to get up because for some reason I cannot put full weight onto the "bad" leg right away from a non weight bearing position. And I have to work the ankle all over again to make it less stiff. BUT, I am seeing improvement and hoping it lasts because some days I feel I am doing well but then I revert back to huge limping and pain. I did wake up at 1 AM this morning for a few hours and my leg started hurting. Hard to describe the pain-sort of like a weakness with shooting pains and it took 3 hours for me to fall back asleep but I do not want to start taking sleeping pills and I was able to fall back to sleep finally.

This morning I am still limping quite a lot but I haven't started my morning stretching and warm up routine yet as I am still drinking my delicious black organic coffee yummm and still waking up. Just happy to be able to update you guys with some good news.


Kristie, Victor finally started me on heat before stretching so you were right! He said that warmth before stretching and exercise might help me increase my ROM more easily and that because now I am in the chronic stage of swelling (I think that is what he said) it is OK to apply heat before exercises and ice after. He told me only apply heat once or twice a day for 5-10 minutes.

AND, I don't know how I misunderstood this (as I asked a few times based on your recommendation believe me!) but it turns out they have an ultrasound machine at PT. He just meant they don't have the special steroid cream the surgeon recommended to use with it on my scars. Again not sure how that misunderstanding happened because I am pretty with it (at least at PT haha) and Victor said that perhaps next week he might apply the ultrasound on one of my incisions which is pretty scarred up and needs some help besides the physical scar manipulation (ouch on that because that really hurts) he is doing.

Also, the PA contacted me finally and said if Victor doesn't think I need ultrasound that it is not necessary. He personally (the PA) doesn't believe it helps. Umm, so why did you put that on the PT Rx yanno? He said he leaves it up to the physical therapist. OK. Way to confuse me! And then of course the very next day Victor says he might do ultrasound next week. Cannot make this stuff up lol.

Thanks again and I hope everyone enjoys the beautiful autumn weekend!

 

[AGBF]

missy-

I think it is fabulous you are wearing the boots "even" to run errands! I tend to buy things and "save" them. That is so stupid! I have no idea what I am saving them for. (For what I am saving them, I mean.) A friend gave me a designer purse I love for my birthday. It was belated, so I haven't really saved it ever since my winter birthday, but I did receive it months ago, perhaps during the summer. It is big and orange and gorgeous. And it is still in tissue paper! When she gave it to me she admonished me to use it! (She, also, gave me the current purse I am using. Until recently I never bought good leather purses. I bought Vera Bradley quilted bags.)

I also bought myself-over the course of the past ten years-3 designer purses- and I am unsure if I used even one of the three!

Deb/AGBF

 

[junebug17]

Love your new boots missy, you look fabulous girl! You look great, and you are making me realize I am such a frump - you're inspiring me to update my wardrobe!

So glad to see the progress you're making too! I know you have worries and concerns, completely understandable, but it seems like you are definitely moving along in your recovery. Sorry to read about you having pain and trouble sleeping, you are doing so well handling the ups and downs of all of this though.

 

[Sunstorm]

Hi girls,

Hi Missy, I am glad that you have made such improvement but it is so hard that your leg can still hurt so much especially at night that you cannot sleep. I hope that sometimes you can take naps when you are home alone with dh being at work. I think PT is great but it could be that at first you feel your leg hurts more I think it has happened to me while in PT. I love it that you are rocking these gorgeous new boots, good for you! I know it is hard to even think about the ones you cannot wear now but most likely you will be able to wear them later, if not, well, I know it would drive me bonkers for a while but the main thing is that you are ok and the good thing about it is that you have a good excuse to buy new ones. After I gained 10- 15 pounds from my thin self, I had to again change my wardrobe. While it has happened to me before that I gained and lost and back and forth by this last time I built up quite a nice collection of dresses. A few I can still wear as I got them during gaining weight back but I had to give a lot of them away. It felt good when I was finally able to do so after a year or two, it sure took me a while but at least now it has given me a good excuse to buy new things. I tend to sometimes wreck my shoes I love and this is why I love jewelry, they last and last, if not forever but for a very long time. You can size them and repair them and they are fine.

Deb, you are so much like me this is not even funny, I do the same thing and I do not even know why. I have to have a collection of unworn things to look at and I sit on new things before I even wear them. I do this with dresses but after a while at least I do wear them. I am the worst with purses too. I have a thing for purses and find them so delish but now I have banned myself from buying more as I am really awful. I have at least two purses that are really nice and I have not worn them ever in the year or two I have had them, I do love them, I looked at them and considered gifting them away thinking this is nuts but I always figure ah, I will wear them out finally. The rest, well, I mainly wear two and the rest get worn maybe a couple times a year. Yes, when I see a new one I love, I would love to buy it but no, I am not letting myself because I do not need more purses for my closet. Ok, I know I am often in a hurry and do not want to change purses but still they could be worn sometimes. I get very angry at myself for doing this. I have no idea why I can wear our jewelry or shoes right away but still do this with dresses and purses the worst. I do it with cosmetics too, I have a habit of buying super creams and serums in gift sets and store them away for a while, always need at least one extra set but at least those are things I do use up.

 

[missy]

missy-

I think it is fabulous you are wearing the boots "even" to run errands! I tend to buy things and "save" them. That is so stupid! I have no idea what I am saving them for. (For what I am saving them, I mean.) A friend gave me a designer purse I love for my birthday. It was belated, so I haven't really saved it ever since my winter birthday, but I did receive it months ago, perhaps during the summer. It is big and orange and gorgeous. And it is still in tissue paper! When she gave it to me she admonished me to use it! (She, also, gave me the current purse I am using. Until recently I never bought good leather purses. I bought Vera Bradley quilted bags.)

I also bought myself-over the course of the past ten years-3 designer purses- and I am unsure if I used even one of the three!

Deb/AGBF

Hi Deb, I can be the same way believe me. I have many clothes and some purses still with the tags on them. And I tend to "save" really expensive things for I don't know when. However I am making a conscious effort to not do that anymore and enjoy my possessions in the here and now because we are living in the here and now. Not to get all serious but that is all we know for sure we have. I am trying to be present in the moment and all that follows with that philosophy if that makes sense.

Enjoy those purses Deb! And anything else you are saving for a special occasion or day. Now is that day girlfriend.

 

[missy]

Love your new boots missy, you look fabulous girl! You look great, and you are making me realize I am such a frump - you're inspiring me to update my wardrobe!

So glad to see the progress you're making too! I know you have worries and concerns, completely understandable, but it seems like you are definitely moving along in your recovery. Sorry to read about you having pain and trouble sleeping, you are doing so well handling the ups and downs of all of this though.

Thank you Junebug! I wish we could go shopping together. I know we could do some damage.
And with your gorgeous jewelry you could never be a "frump". No way no how.

Thanks for your encouragement and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

 

[missy]

Hi girls,

Hi Missy, I am glad that you have made such improvement but it is so hard that your leg can still hurt so much especially at night that you cannot sleep. I hope that sometimes you can take naps when you are home alone with dh being at work. I think PT is great but it could be that at first you feel your leg hurts more I think it has happened to me while in PT. I love it that you are rocking these gorgeous new boots, good for you! I know it is hard to even think about the ones you cannot wear now but most likely you will be able to wear them later, if not, well, I know it would drive me bonkers for a while but the main thing is that you are ok and the good thing about it is that you have a good excuse to buy new ones. After I gained 10- 15 pounds from my thin self, I had to again change my wardrobe. While it has happened to me before that I gained and lost and back and forth by this last time I built up quite a nice collection of dresses. A few I can still wear as I got them during gaining weight back but I had to give a lot of them away. It felt good when I was finally able to do so after a year or two, it sure took me a while but at least now it has given me a good excuse to buy new things. I tend to sometimes wreck my shoes I love and this is why I love jewelry, they last and last, if not forever but for a very long time. You can size them and repair them and they are fine.

Deb, you are so much like me this is not even funny, I do the same thing and I do not even know why. I have to have a collection of unworn things to look at and I sit on new things before I even wear them. I do this with dresses but after a while at least I do wear them. I am the worst with purses too. I have a thing for purses and find them so delish but now I have banned myself from buying more as I am really awful. I have at least two purses that are really nice and I have not worn them ever in the year or two I have had them, I do love them, I looked at them and considered gifting them away thinking this is nuts but I always figure ah, I will wear them out finally. The rest, well, I mainly wear two and the rest get worn maybe a couple times a year. Yes, when I see a new one I love, I would love to buy it but no, I am not letting myself because I do not need more purses for my closet. Ok, I know I am often in a hurry and do not want to change purses but still they could be worn sometimes. I get very angry at myself for doing this. I have no idea why I can wear our jewelry or shoes right away but still do this with dresses and purses the worst. I do it with cosmetics too, I have a habit of buying super creams and serums in gift sets and store them away for a while, always need at least one extra set but at least those are things I do use up.

Hi Ovi, I used to think shoes/boots were immune to weight changes and other life events. HA, I couldn't have been more wrong. Lesson learned that is for sure. You are right that jewelry usually is though (perhaps with the exception of certain rings that cannot be resized but remade). That is one reason I only like wearing lightweight earrings. So my earlobes don't get stretched out making it difficult to wear earrings at all.

I always say this but I really want to make this happen. I want to simplify my life. I have too much "stuff" and it is more stressful I think. I want less things. Just high quality pieces in my wardrobe clothing/shoes/jewelry and otherwise. Less stuff, less clutter and more peace.

My friend read an article that said the best way to figure out the clothing you don't wear anymore is at the beginning of the season turn all your hangers facing the same way. Every time you wear something turn the hanger the other way and at the end of the season you can see what clothes just didn't get worn that whole season and then you can give it away to whatever charity/person you would like.

My problem is while I know what I am not wearing and have not worn for a long time I always think I will eventually wear it especially because it still fits and is still something I like. However years have passed (and literally decades with some of my clothing ) and I still have not worn much of it and really doubt I ever will. I don't know what makes me hang on to these things. If there is some mental/emotional issue or if I just hate getting rid of things.

I really am a minimalist at heart though sometimes it might be difficult to realize that if one was to look at my closets and jewelry. Time to declutter and de-stress it all.

 

[Sunstorm]

Lol I do the same thing Missy, I like saving really expensive things for I dunno when too, then after a year or two I start thinking ok this is nuts and sometimes start wearing them. With shoes, I have quite a collection of sandals and some other nice heels, I am especially this way after I have wrecked several pieces. Stiletto heels can be tough to wear out and I remember examples like when I wore my Fendi sandals out for a dinner party and got stuck in a hole on the deck which ripped the leather off the heel and of course it is mostly unrepairable, in this case the leather was still hanging there so they did a pretty good job fixing it which was good as it was colorful with a pattern, nothing to do otherwise. Then I do not feel the same way about them if they are ruined. So now I keep many of them to only wear once or twice a year. Unfortunately, heels are not immune.) Clothes, the same thing the best I now try to wear out right away when I get them so I will not start saving them but then only wear once or twice so I do not ruin them getting caught in something.

Believe me it feels great and you feel an order in your head once you have decluttered, almost impossible to start and do it but once you go through with it you feel better about what you have left and see it more clearly what you need or want. Quite the task but glad my mom got me started this fall.

Hope that you are feeling well today.Beautiful weather today here probably for the last time so time to go out and do something.

 

[Sunstorm]

Ah and yes wanted to add Missy that of course not all jewelry is immune either but I figure that my center diamonds are pretty much so and if I get sick of a piece or something happens that is irrepairable I can reuse the diamond that is the most valuable anyhow and make something else out of it. Loss and theft are not completely avoidable of course but nothing is to that.

I just extremely annoyed when I am in love with a dress or a pair of shoes and I ruin them or they no longer fit.