The Early Bird Gets The… Theater!

Today me (middle), Penny (right) and Laila (left) got up bright and early and went into the city center to see the new Sex and The City movie.  We chose to go early on a Saturday so that they could arrange child care and we’d have time for lunch and shopping afterward.  I won’t get into too much about the movie, it was pretty much what you expect from Sex and the City.  Perhaps it was a little more silly and less emotionally driven than the first one but a very good laugh.  It got two out of three thumbs up, Penny and I quite enjoyed it while Laila gave it a  MEH.

We booked our tickets in advance, just on the chance that everyone else had the same idea.  I have a Pathe Unlimited card that allows me to go to any movies I want for €18,50 / month (roughly the cost of two movies).  I chose not to use it this time though as I can only get a ticket within the 30 minutes before the film.  I didn’t want to risk us all not being able to go if we were too late and it was sold out.  This turned out to be pretty unnecessary, as it was not at all as busy as we were expecting.

All was not lost though, I did learn a very valuable lesson while ordering the tickets.

What interesting lesson did I learn, you ask?  Well, I learned that if you go to a film before noon, it’s only €5!!  Now I’m thinking if most movies have early play times (which I’m not sure they do) I could go to roughly 2x as many movies for almost the same price, at €5 a pop.  This will require a bit more investigation but here’s what I know so far…

If you are cheap and you hate people, morning flicks at the Pathe are perfect for you!

Anyway, boy were we surprised when we walked into the theater and were the only ones there other than the girl who took this photo and a few others.  We were a half hour early and a few more did show up a little later on but it was far from full.   Just how I love my movie theaters, at least half empty.  Did I mention I don’t dig crowds?  Pretty sure I did.

Yeah sorry, I should have mentioned.  That cheap and hates people example I gave earlier, that’s me.

After the film we went to Bagels & Beans and sat out on the terrace while having some lunch.  Bagels aren’t really a dime a dozen here like they are back in North America so it was a rare treat for us.  The sun was shining and sat basking and chatting while we ate.

Odd fact… I hate pickles, but for some reason I love the pickles at Bagels & Beans SO much that I always ask for extra.  Go figure.  If only I could find the same kind in jars at the supermarket I’d have a great low fat treat, but no luck.  Many a pickle jar has come into this house, been opened, one pickle bitten into and then promptly trashed.  One day I will track down these pickles… one day they will be mine!

Unfortunately Laila had to leave us after lunch, so Penny and I continued on to do a bit of shopping.  We decided it was Out Of Our Comfort Zone Day, her trying on dresses and me … you’ll never believe it… sleeveless tops.

Sleeveless like, without arms.  Other than MY arms, of which there is plenty.

Bare, naked arms.  MY bare naked arms.

Also, visible Armpits. Oh god help me!  Was that a twitch?  I’m pretty sure that was a twitch… *TWITCH*

I wasn’t so sure about it but Penny urged me to try them on, and I admit it was comfortable and felt nice.  So, I bought them and vowed to never lift my arms  high enough to give people a pit view because it’s only right, I wouldn’t want to see theirs.  There’s no reason I should make a point of showing them mine.  Who knows who else out there suffers Pit Phobia like me.  Surely there is at least one other.

All I can do is hope that I never have to check my hair, reach the top shelf, hail a cab or get someone’s attention… as long as none of those things happen I should make it through the summer with minimal trauma.

Also, these shirts aren’t just sleeveless, they have those spaghetti straps so other than the straps I”m feeling all naked from the chest up.  So those bare naked arms will be hanging off my bare naked exposed shoulders!   Not a familiar feeling as I’m used to wearing what my husband calls Big Triangle Tops. Yes, he actually said ‘big triangle tops’.  If it weren’t true I’d probably have been a little perturbed.  He means tunic style shirts, by the way.

Ok, so yes… over the years I developed a habit of wearing tops that are very baggy. I know it was delusional to think they were actually hiding something but it still made me feel better to be surrounded in all that fabric.

That’s just how a brain works when it’s surrounded by fat, don’t ask me to explain it.

Like most people, one of my biggest hurdles in this weight loss journey is learning to wear things in my size that fit me and trust that it looks ok, rather than buying a size up in an attempt to hide every bump, pucker and roll.  I’m getting there, and I no longer fret if it’s clinging to my bum or my lower belly.  They are there, they are mine and why wear a shirt that looks like I could fit a few more pairs of boobs in it just to have it baggy around the bottom. I’ve always known that it looks worse to go bigger, but nobody has ever accused me of being too rational, have they?

I’m working on changing it though, like my eating habits, my exercise habits and everything else I’ve had to learn to change about myself, I need to learn to change the way I dress too.  It’s not easy when you are after spending years just buying what fits… having options is not something I am used to!

It was a fun day though, I loved being out with my friends, just being girls and doing what girls do.

Oh, and it’s possible that Penny decided to treat us to some Haagen Dazs ice cream too, and I can neither confirm nor deny whether we had one scoop or two.  Yes, I know that doesn’t fit in with the diet, shrinking ass theme of this post but just go with it… I burned off at least a half a scoop trying on all those clothes.  True story, ask your doctor.