Not too small

Sunday:

Last night I rummaged through my box of 'too small' clothes, looking for an old belt. I haven't been this small for over ten years, and some of the clothes are probably twenty years old! I only kept my very favourites, plus there were a few things from my mother's wardrobe after she died. I kept some clothes of hers but throw out more every time I go through them, the only thing I actually wear is one white cardigan. Anyway, I didn't find the belt but I was looking at a couple of size 12 skirts and some purple corduroy jeans and wondered if I could fit into them. I didn't really think so. So small! I have bought a couple of size 12 items recently (US size 10) but didn't really believe that was my new official size yet.

The fit easily! The jeans are even a tiny bit loose! I suddenly have two 'new' skirts to wear to work and some cool purple jeans. Yet the size 12 jacket and coat are a bit too small. I dug everything out of the box and hung it up in the closet (and tidied and rearranged everything), hoping I will fit into more things soon. The smallest are a couple of favourite sundresses in size 8 (US 4), I don't know if I'll ever get into those! I used to wear them when dating Tim and he remembers them fondly. But mostly the box contained formal dresses that I might fit into soon, if I ever have anywhere to wear them.

By summer I should be throwing out a lot more 'big' clothes.

Tim and I learned something about the USA today. He has a work trip coming up and had to book accommodation. Only after booking did he realise that Washington DC and Washington are not only different places, but on completely opposite sides of the country! Who names stuff like that? (If I knew they were different, I still would have thought one was a city inside the other.) Luckily he booked the right one (DC). He's quite stressed about the whole tipping thing. We don't do it in Australia, or rarely. He was reading up, sounds like you tip everyone. Even if you don't see them, like leaving a tip for the person who cleans your hotel room. Means you have to carry a lot of cash all the time. We're used to using our cards for everything, if we leave a tip at a restaurant we add it to the bill. And then it's however much you like, not a set amount. (People's wages are much higher here, of course, they don't survive on tips.)

And taxes aren't included in anything so you don't know how much anything is even when it has a price on it? Is that right? You'd think Australia and USA would be very similar, but there seem to be quite a few day to day differences.

We're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate a family birthday. I'm determined not to derail this week's weight loss - I'm currently at my lowest ever (well, not ever I guess, I was a baby once, but for the past ten years at least). Shouldn't be too hard, I'm still not very hungry today.