Exchange City

Kitty....WOOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!  I will be thinking of you as you head to NYC!!!  Positive vibes and tons of prayers coming your way girl!!!!  We are with you ALLLLLLLLLL THE WAY~!!

HUGS! Jazzy

I'll post photos of my tattoos later today.  I had the worst pain I have experienced since the MX last night, trying to remove the tape from my breasts!  I do not know what kind of tape that nurse used, but it FELT like an iron-on transfer!  I was practically hyperventilating, trying to pull that stuff off to get the gauze out last night. I had these horrid little welts on my skin which only finally disappeared this morning.  I think I will have a tape phobia from this point forward.  I might even need psychotherapy before wrapping presents next Christmas.

Denise:  I don't think you would be happy with 3.2 to 3.5 cm areolas.  These are pretty tiny.  I think that website is a misnomer, because with 960 cc implants, you need more areola.  Otherwise, they could just look like little bitty bullseyes on the mound.  I might want to have mine enlarged. 

More later....trying to catch up on PMs....

Deborah

Ouch Deborah!  Hope the tatts look great though!  Kittycat - YAAAYYYY!!!!!

I want to thank all you bra evaluators for your info...I just bought the Underscore zip-front sport bra from Penney's based on your recs.  I needed something to replace my Marena surgical bras which were leaving creases in my skin from the midline gathers once I started wearing them w/o surgical pads.  I figure ripples are a big enough worry to start, why imprint them from the outside?! LOL

BTW, lingerie is on sale at Penney's right now, about a third off most stuff.  Online too.

m-star - thanks for the TKD video - you rock!  Takes me back to college (looooongg ago) when I practiced a related form for about 3 yrs. I didn't like getting hit either and in grad school switched to yoga when I just happened upon a great class & teacher.  You commented yesterday about being happy the implant you held (the McGhan/Inamed/Allergan410) was not the firmest of the anatomicals.  I hate to burst your bubble but I'm pretty sure that this one, which I'll call the Allergan 410, is considered the firmest of the anatomical/cohesive gel, and that at least some of the ones by the company Mentor are considered less firm (see Deborah's/whippetmom's posts from the last couple days).  I believe the Allergan410 comes in only one firmness, while Mentor has several levels of firmness.  Perhaps Deborah can confirm or correct this as she's more knowledgeable about the range of implants than I.  Regardless, you should verify these differences with your PS, and voice your desires about softness/firmness and ask what your impant options are to get appropriate shape/size AND the softness you want, if that remains a concern for you. 

JUDY:  It took nearly an hour to come up with the right color yesterday.  The tattooing took twenty minutes but the color selection was laborious.  I thought for awhile there I was going to end up with mauve areolas and mauve has not been in for over a decade.  It is difficult to tell what color they will fade to eventually, but they are pretty traumatized and look very dark right now.  I have no idea what tape was used.  It was the kind they use in horror films I believe.

m-star....Congrats on the Gold Title !!!  Enjoyed the video....brings back memories.... 

3 of my kids and I all got our brown belts in Tae Kwon Do about 12 years ago.  We all have our stacks of boards we broke at each of our tests to advance to higher belts.  My favorite break is the elbow break.  I found that as long as I aim for about 12 inches past the board, it is pretty easy to go through.  I also prefer seeing my target which is more difficult for me on kicks like the back kick and roundhouse kick.  We didn't continue because Master Kim is very "old school" and doesn't understand why kids would skip Tae Kwon Do to go to a birthday party or to ride with their soccer team in a parade.  He always believed kids should just go to school and to Tae Kwon Do.

I never really liked getting hit either.  One time Master Kim kicked me harder than he meant to and trying to get my lungs to re-fill was kind of scary.  We called the patterns..."forms", but I'm sure it is the same.

I still have my plastic board too!  It is more difficult to break than a 1" pine board.  And of course it is reusable

I tell people that I can break their neck if they stand really still in a stance with their arm straight out in front.  I know several ways to lethally defind myself this way.  If they are moving around or fighting back, well that's another story and I'm not tall so my arm and leg reach is insufficient:):):)

I've thought about getting back into it but only if I can skip the sparring classes.  Plus, at 55 I'm pretty old.

Good luck with your competitions.  That's really cool.

For anyone who is an elementary school teacher out there....if you really want the respect and awe of all the little boys....get your black belt and put a picture of you sparring on your desk !!!

Facecrafter ~  That stinks that you have had issues with the 1st surgery!  I'm wishing you luck on the next and hoping that everything turns out perfect for you :0)

Aw Rebecca sorry to hear about your HGB... hope it comes back up!  Mine was 8 last week (hope it's higher when I go back on Thursday)... but man 8 feels pretty darn exhausting (and I had a constant, light headache).  Headache is gone now and I'm not quite so exhausted (today is 2 weeks since surgery) so I'm hoping these are signs of a rise in HGB (that's red blood count, yes?)  Anyway -- here's hoping yours comes up soon.,

Deborah.....OUCH! so sorry about the scary tape

Rebecca....geez.....hope your HGB levels...hope they come back up quickly...you've had enough to deal with lately.

Kay...loved your video  If you want to post a photo you have to put it onto photo server first like Flickr or Photo Bucket. Once you have uploaded your photos into your photo account your photo will have a url and you can copy the url and the come back here and go to the little tree in the bar above the message window.  When it opens you will see a place to paste the url...and voila your picture will appear in your message  Hope this helps

Welcome Lee love your photo with your dog /' . '\

I'm going to look at your photos Deborah....hope your feeling better by now =\

Strength and healing,

Laura2 

Okay, my friends.....I finally got this together....with excellent help from our dear Whippetmom.....

               BRAS 101:  THE GREAT POST-EXCHANGE DEBATE   is now a thread on the Breast Reconstruction Forum!   Stop by and check it out!

Val (aka the Bra Maven) and Whippetmom (aka the Breast Whisperer)

 And Val, just saw your post on the bras - Wow - great info! Thanks to you and Deborah for pulling all that together!  (Yep, I'm still wearing my bra...)

CS:  These are really pretty good for $12.00, but if you are not a PPP [pale, pale princess in cosmetic lingo], order the brown, because the lighter color is far too light for moi...

http://senselingerie.com/Gel-Silicone-Nipple-Enhancers-P246C53.aspx

JUDY:  I saw what you did for packer....you triangled out her nips placement!  AMAZING!  I could just kick myself for not having you do this for me!  WAHHHAAA!  Mine are centered. They could be used for target practice!

have you ever tried     picresize.com?   That's the site I used before I discovered that my mac actually did it for me....

Denise:  I would ask Judy about the size.  I just think that yours should be a couple of centimeters larger than mine.  My photos are up on the pic forum now.  DISCLAIMER:  Not for the queasy among us...

Okay......I edited my epistle on page 475 and started a new thread on the Breast Recon Forum.  Stop by and visit "Bras 101!"