Overeating, Underexercising, Squeezing into clothes anyway

I haven't been to the gym since Monday, though today I shopped and shopped and shopped (it seemed -- but this was about the only bricks-and-mortar shopping I've done all year), so I probably burned quite a few calories just by being on my feet. I've been eating terribly, though. Breakfasts and lunches haven't been so bad, and since I don't have office parties to contend with I haven't had to face too many sweets all week. Last night I had beef stew for dinner, which wasn't so bad, either. But tonight I had cheese fondue -- about a million calories' worth -- with a caesar salad and a glass of wine to drink, and I had about a third of a beer tonight as well. Tomorrow's dinner will be lasagna and garlic bread, and more wine, and Sunday's will be a turkey dinner (healthy by comparison to the other nights, but probably way too much food). I'm doomed.

But I'm not allowed to eat anything between now and midnight mass tomorrow (which is at 11 pm, oddly enough) because tonight I bought a dress and I need it to fit! There weren't many actual dresses or even dressy separates; there were millions of suits, all in non-Christmasy colors and mostly with pants instead of skirts, and some evening gowns but nothing you could wear to church, and a few flowery church-type dresses, which again wouldn't do for Christmas, and a rack or two of little black dresses, and I already have one and don't want to wear it to church, either. I tried on a size 12 navy blue beaded dress and it looked nice, but it was really baggy around the waist and even a bit big up top -- can we say "size inflation"? This would never have been a 12 ten or fifteen years ago. In the end I found a few red, sparkly tops and some plain black bottoms. I tried on some 14s which were all huge, and they didn't have the tops in 12s, but I squeezed into a 10 and it didn't look half bad! So then I tried on bottoms -- there were black dress pants in 12s, and they were a little too loose!! So I got a full-length A-line satiny black skirt (it would make a good chorus skirt) in a size 10, too!! It is a weensy bit small, especially the top (I laughed putting it on because I thought there was NO way it would go on) so I need to make sure it fits (or is too big) by next Christmas. But I haven't bought anything labeled size 10 since college, and I'm thrilled. I'll post a picture this weekend!