Thesaurus Thursday: "Loquacious."

Today's word is "loquacious," an adjective meaning "talkative or chatty."

I am not a loquacious person in real life, preferring to silently process information, even though my blog might give the impression that I am naturally expansive.

What is this strange device?

Thesaurus Thursday: "Gelastic"/Fit & Active October.

Today's word and segue into short Fit & Active October post is "gelastic," and adjective meaning "laughable."

A very uncoordinated person joining a dance class for exercise might seem gelastic, and in many ways it actually is; you just have to learn to laugh at yourself.

I mentioned in my last post that when deciding on classes to take at the Y, I resolved to only continue ones I enjoyed.  One that stuck out to me on the schedule was Dance Blast.  I thought perhaps because I sometimes turn music up very loud and jump around to it in my kitchen (Um, never mind.  I don't do that at all.  Ever.  I swear.), it might be something I'd enjoy.

Like this. Only different.

What I didn't realize is that the classes don't methodically lay out all the steps for you, even when doing new songs.  More difficult steps might get a brief introduction, but for the most part the instructor just jumps right in, and you follow along.  So during my first class, I was completely lost, oh, about 50% of the time.  That said, when the class ended, I was hot, sweaty, exhausted, and happy about it. I've never been happy about exercising in my life.  But to enjoy myself, I had to focus not on how much I was messing up the steps but on how much more fun it was to move my body around to the music than to simply listen to it while pedaling a stationary bike or running on a treadmill.  I found out that my body doesn't particularly like monotony.  Which was rather surprising considering that I am normally all about routine and habit.

I also had to realize that no one was focusing on me.  Everyone was busy with their own dancing; it wasn't a competition.  When I did look around to see if I could follow someone nearer to me than the instructor, I noticed that many people weren't perfect.  Some knew the choreography better than others, and some knew it perfectly, and some hardly did the same dance at all, but everyone was dancing without any apparent self-consciousness.  I've gotten better at following along each time I've been, but I'll still never be a great dancer.  It doesn't matter, though.  I'm getting a workout and having fun, and no one is judging me for not being perfect.

So here are some thoughts to take away from this: if you're ever nervous about varying your exercise routine, remember that you'll never know how much you'll enjoy another activity until you try.  And always, always remember that it's OK not to be perfect.  It's your workout, no one else's.

Oh, and sometimes laughing makes exercise even more fun.

Thesaurus Thursday: "Discombobulated."

Today's word is "discombobulated," an adjective meaning "bewildered" or "disconcerted."

The fact that it is Friday and not Thursday leaves me discombobulated and wondering where the time went.  

Thesaurus Thursday: "Pandemonium."

Hey everyone!  Today's word is "pandemonium," a noun meaning "disorder, confusion, or chaos."

If there were no teachers looking out for kids during recess, there might be complete pandemonium.

Thesaurus Thursday: "Adversity."

Today's word is "adversity," a noun meaning "hardship" or "misfortune."

When your bra size changes, it can be difficult to triumph over adversity and find new bras that fit.

************************

When your body size and/or shape changes for whatever reason, be it hormonal, through intentional or unintentional weight gain/loss, pregnancy, or exercise, it's easy to let clothes (especially bras) not fitting get to you.  Having bras that don't fit can even become painful.  I've been struggling with some health issues, and that and changes in exercise routine have drastically affected my bra size, even though my body hasn't changed much in weight or appearance.  It's easy to get overwhelmed when you know you need new bras but have no idea what size or brand or shape.  It feels like starting from square one all over again.

After doing a lot of research on Bratabase, I took the plunge and ordered three new bras, and I'm crossing my fingers that they'll fit when they arrive, because even though the measurements "match" my own, sizing isn't an exact science.  Measurements alone may or may not accurately or precisely determine one's size. I can exchange them, but honestly, finding a perfect fit can be exhausting and sometimes pricey.  Do you ever get frustrated with bra buying?  Is there anything that would make it easier for you?  

Thesaurus Thursday: "Capricious."

Today's word is "capricious," an adjective meaning "given to sudden changes of mood or behavior."

Some might see the sporadic Thesaurus Thursday posts as evidence of this blogger's capricious nature; she might even get up to make coffee and forget in the middle of a post that she 

Thesaurus Thursday: "Capitulate."

Happy almost-weekend everyone!  Today's word is "capitulate," a verb meaning "to give in, yield, or cede."

I told myself that I wouldn't buy any more bras this summer, but when someone asked if I would like one that didn't fit her, I capitulated to the urge to buy it and am now anxiously awaiting its arrival.

... These things just happen, you know?

Thesaurus Thursday: "Nictate."

Today's word is "nictate," a verb meaning, "to blink."  I couldn't think of a good sentence, so I decided to post this on Friday the 13th...

Don't nictate.

(I really am quite sorry about this.)

Thesaurus Thursday: "Kismet."

Today's word is "kismet," a noun meaning fate or destiny.

When I found a lone 30-band Freya Deco strapless bra in a department store among a sea of 32+ bands, I thought it was kismet, until I tried it on and remembered that the Deco shape does not work for me. 

freyalingerie.com

:-( :-( :-(

It works very well for a lot of people. though.

Thesaurus Thursday: "Coulrophobia."

Today's word is "coulrophobia" (n.), or fear of clowns.

My coulrophobia is not due to the film It, but that movie certainly did not help.

(There will be no picture with this post, because clowns are scary.)

Thesaurus Thursday: "Arduous."

Hi!  Today's word is "arduous," an adjective meaning "difficult, exhausting, or formidable."

Mr. Nerd decided to embark upon the arduous, ambitious task of teaching me to play Dota 2.  

Image from steamcommunity.com

I currently spend most of my time fleeing and shouting, 

"Run away! Run away!"

Thesaurus Thursday: "Wonted." + Freya Hopscotch Longline Review.

Today's word is "wonted," an adjective meaning, "customary, habitual, or usual."


I recently received my first longline and am now loathe to return to the wonted discomfort of regular bras, despite a few glaring fit issues.

*********************

I have always wanted a longline but been hesitant to purchase one, because I would fall in love with the patterns on Freya's padded half-cup designs, and I knew I needed a 28H, which they did not (and still don't) make.  Right now, though, after some weight shifting around, I'm sitting pretty comfortably at a small-ish 30 band and ~FF cup in most of my bras, so I decided to take the plunge and order this:

Freya Hopscotch Padded Longline

freyalingerie.com

Isn't she adorable?  I'm a sucker for cotton-candy colors and prints that aren't very bold, though; this might be too "sweet" for many people's tastes.  I ordered a 30FF, even though I knew Freya's bands tended toward the stretchier side, because my ribcage flares out a bit beneath an indent where normal bands sit before tapering to my waist, and I wanted to be able to breathe!  I should not have worried; the Hopscotch band is very stretchy. If your ribcage doesn't have a flare anywhere, I'd definitely recommend sizing down in the band if you're between band sizes, especially because there are only two columns of hooks and eyes.*

While a 28 would probably last longer, the 30 is still comfortable for me.  In fact, my first thought was, "Why are all my other bras not this comfortable?"  My next thoughts were, "The gore doesn't quite tack because the cups need to be a bit deeper, and there's some side- and quad-boob, but darn it, I like how my boobs look, so we'll just... not scoop-and-swoop completely, shall we?"

Top is semi-scooped.  Bottom is (er, mostly) scooped.

It should be noted that despite the bad picture quality, 

the colors in real life are more similar to my photos than the stock photo,

slightly more muted.

Yes, I know... I'm setting a terrible example!  A 28GG would likely check off more of the "perfect fit" requirements, but again, Freya's longlines are only made up to G cups.**  I could return this for a 30G, but (shhh!) sometimes I appreciate the extra oomph from slightly-too-small cups.  And I wore it all yesterday without any of the fit issues showing through my clothes. The width of the wires is actually perfect in this size, even though on me, they could stand to be a bit taller. This is a very low-cut bra; I imagine it would be great for those who like semi-wide, low wires, shallower cups, and less coverage. I think it could work for less shallow shapes too, though sizing up in the cup might be necessary.  But if you need a lot of depth and narrower wires a la Comexim or Ewa Michalak, this would not be your best bet.

One thing that many people have complained about with Freya's longlines is the band riding up, scrunching, and/or flipping.  The band did immediately crease right beneath the cups in front (you can see it in the top photo).  This was a minor cosmetic issue for me; it didn't appear to affect the fit. Unfortunately, the flipping band/riding up does happen.  It seems to be a combination of a stretchy band and lack of boning in the front to hold it in place. If it becomes too much of an issue, I'll probably add some flexible boning, an alteration I saw on Fussy Busty's Patsy longline. A tighter band might correct this without boning, but as it is, I'd rather not exchange something that's already comfortable and doesn't bother me, especially when the sister size of 28G wouldn't be a perfect fit anyway.  I know others have said the rolling and flipping can become uncomfortable and itchy, or create weird lumps and bumps.  If you really want the Hopscotch and have sensitive skin or hate it when bands don't stay in place, I'd plan for adding boning to be on the safe side.

So even though the Freya Hopscotch isn't a perfect fit, I'm keeping it, because it is so, so, so comfortable.  ... And also cleavage.  That is all.



*I don't believe any of Freya's longlines have three?  Let me know if I've forgotten one!
**Please, please, please, Freya, could you extend these to at least H cups like with the normal padded half-cup designs?

Thesaurus Thursday: "Beneficent."

Hi everyone!  Today's Thesaurus Thursday is also a general call to help out a good cause:  A Sophisticated Pair is accepting bra donations for Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA).  If you don't have extra bras or prefer to do other things with bras you no longer use*, that's OK, but if you do have any just taking up space and don't know what to do with them, consider sending them over!  They would prefer them in by the 25th of April, but they'll be doing fittings and taking more donations in the future. They can also provide tax receipts including shipping costs.

So today's word is "beneficent," an adjective meaning "generous or doing good."  

Consider being beneficent and sending some bras for TROSA over to A Sophisticated Pair; you can find more information about it here.

* I know I sometimes end up with a few spares in the back of a lingerie drawer.  We all tell ourselves they "might" fit again, right?

Thesaurus Saturday: "Agerasia"

I didn't get around to Thesaurus Thursday on Thursday because it was Mr. Nerd's birthday, but have no fear!  Today's word is "agerasia," meaning "youthful appearance of an old person."

Mr. Nerd claims he had a teacher with agerasia who looked like he was in his mid-thirties even though he was in his sixties, although he apparently also looked like he was in his mid-thirties when he was twelve.  

Thesaurus Thursday: "Finifugal."

Today's word is "finifugal" (adjective, obsolete).  It means fearful of or hating endings, or describes one who tries to prolong stories or relationships in order to delay their endings.

She was a finifugal Harry Potter reader, taking a month to finish Deathly Hallows because she didn't want to stop pretending that she too went to Hogwarts. (I read it the day I bought it and rather regret that :-/.  I still miss it.)

... After all this time? 

Thesaurus Thursday: "Chimerical."

Today's word is "chimerical," an adjective meaning wildly fanciful or visionary.  It can also mean "related to being a chimera."

The Chimera of Arezzo

Chimerical in both senses of the word.

The chimerical idea that humans would eventually be travelling the skies in metal boxes highly amused the society with which the time travelers interacted.

Thesaurus Thursday: "Acquiesce."

(Yes!  For once I realized that it is, in fact, Thursday!)

Today's word is "acquiesce," a verb meaning accede, comply or go along with.  If you hadn't heard it before, you might have noticed it in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean:

(t-shirt from skreened.com)

Means "No."

Her brother might acquiesce if she asks to borrow his iPod, but probably only if she agrees to clean his room for a week.

Thesaurus Thursday: "Legerdemain."

Ah, back on schedule again!  Today's word is "legerdemain," a noun meaning sleight of hand, skillfulness or adroitness.  

The magician used legerdemain to execute a particularly showy card trick.

Pick a card. Any card. And I can tell you... nothing, really.

Dam*it, Jim, I'm a blogger, not a magician.

Thesaurus Thursday: "Hyperbole."

Hi all!  Today's word is one of my favorite words in the English language: hyperbole (n.), the use of exaggeration for emphasis or effect.

Instead of giving a sentence, I'm going to give a couple examples of hyperbole.

A dog "as big as a house"
(Clifford doesn't count.)

Image from: www.photo-dictionary.com

Hey!  Play fair.

"Sky-high high heels"
(Such shoes would be highly impractical.)

"Eternally" optimistic 
(If you know someone who is truly always optimistic, I want to meet that person!)

"Total silence" met the announcement 
(People are always making some amount of noise.  Breathing, for example.)


The next post will be up this weekend.  It was supposed to be a post on an October theme, but remember me saying that fall and winter get crazy?  Yeah... that has already started!  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Thesaurus Thursday: "Effrontery."

Hi again!  Today's word is "effrontery," a noun meaning bold impertinence or insolence.

She had the effrontery to challenge her grade by saying, "I didn't study for the test, so it was not a fair assessment of my intelligence."

Sheer effrontery.