Hey, I'm still around, too. I just haven't had a whole lot to say with regard to issues of size. I've been digging all that Tish talks about at Fatshadow. The woman knows how to tell it. I'm supposed to be writing an article about sizism for Hipmama online, but I haven't figured out the angle I'm going to take. They want it to be a more personal approach, as opposed to a primer on sizism. Any suggestions?

Alas, (as many have asked) I do not have pictures from the night mentioned below. I will have pictures the next time I wear it, though. Our camera's batteries were dead and we didn't realize it until Tony tried to take pictures of me.

Now, I have a set of brand new batteries and hopefully an ocassion (in a couple of weeks) to wear that outfit again.

Now, onto the latest update.

FAT!so? The website for the book (and zine) of the same name by Marilyn Wann. Love it, love it. I read this several months ago and have reread it several times. The site and the book are must reads for anyone who is fat or loves a fat person.

More soon, I'm a busy bee.

Hello All.

I know updates are coming slow right now. But, I am still around, writing various politicians, writing letters to the editor, writing letters to journalists who write fatphobic articles. It seems I spend more of my time writing letters than writing anything else.

Not that I mind. Fat activism has become a regular part of my life. One that I won't back away from, one that I enjoy. I like working to convince others that fat isn't evil.

I've also been monitoring the comments here. If you post something nasty, boom, you're banned from posting comments. I won't ban you from reading, because, Lord knows those who post those comments are the ones who need to read that fat isn't bad.

And now, a big step for me. Valentine's night Tony (my husband for those of you who don't read my other stuff) and I went out to my favorite bar, with some friends. I picked out an outfit that I had bought in my earlier mentioned shopping spree. A black jacquard skirt and jacket. The skirt is ankle length and slightly flowly, the jacket is long and flowing.

Okay, sounds like pretty standard fare, right? Well, I also bought a red halter top. It's a long halter, but, a very cleavage revealing halter. I wore it under the jacket. A year ago, I would never have worn something so revealing, as the comments would have stopped me.

To my surprise, I got more compliments on my outfit than I had in a long time. The difference? Confidence. I've finally come to realize that I can dress nicely and show a little (okay a lot) of cleavage. I looked pretty damn good, if I do say so myself, and I do :D

So, my challenge to you. Wear something revealing. A shorter skirt, a low cut top, something arm baring. I know some of you here, are already at this point. Others are where I was a year ago. Try it. The confidence boost is wonderful.

And hey, who doesn't like a nice bit of skin?

Have a fabulous weekend,

I've gotten email after email about this site. Some praise, some awful, a few asking questions. I try to answer all email as fast as possible. The hate mail does get tossed, so, if that's what you're doing, don't waste your time :D

One question that has come up many times: Why? Why do I care about this? Why don't I lose weight? Why, why, why?

Why I have this site?

I've been fat since puberty. As soon as the hormones took off, so did my weight. I was a small plussize for a few years, I dieted, yet, continued to gain weight. At one point I dieted to the point of severe malnutriution and ended up hospitalized for a week. I was still fat.

Yes, you read that right. I was consuming so little that it was making me severely ill, yet, I was still fat. I spent years listening to people tell me I had to lose weight. That fat was awful, evil, horrid.

That I had such a beautiful face, if I'd only lose weight. Because you know, my face was ugly as long as I was fat.

I never believed that. I'm beautiful as is. Every pound of mine is beautiful. If someone doesn't like the way I look, well the back button is up there, or you can turn your head.

In our society, fat people are thought to lack willpower. How is that? Fat people diet more than anyone I know and restricting your food intake to those small amounts takes extreme willpower.

Fat people ARE NOT; lazy, weak, ugly, a burden on society. No, we're just people. People who come in all shapes and sizes, colors, and hairstyles for that matter.

I want women (and men) to realize that being fat does not have to hold you back. Go on that trip, buy that short skirt, stand up for your rights.

I am a beautiful FAT woman. And FAT is not a dirty word, it's just a word. A word that it's time to take back. I'd like to be one of the people who help that along.

Any questions, comments, etc? Email me at suzyfatATmutteringfool.com or leave your comments here. I love to hear from y'all.

Ianardo.com is the website of a artist who specializes in artistry picturing Big Beautiful Women. I've spent several days perusing the gorgeous work of this man and wanted to share his site with you all.

Thanks, Ianardo for appreciating the beauty of all women.

Recently, I've had a clothing obsession. I've purchased quite a few new clothes, since it had been a long time.

I spent hours perusing various websites. Picking and choosing pants, dresses, shirts, skirts. I even went so far as buying a bathing suit. Yep, a bathing suit. I haven't owned one in several years, I had given up on ever wearing one again. So many people have given me a hard time over the years about my weight, that I quit exposing any more skin than absolutely necessary.

Well, I decided it was time to change that. I went to Love Your Peaches and wandered around. Janelle, the owner and designer is fabulous. Not only does the site feature big beautiful woman, but clothes that aren't your typical fat chick wear. No little girl designs, no muumuus, real beautiful clothes.

And they were having a sale. I found a suit a liked. It's a two piece. A top with a skirt and a plain bottom, one that doesn't bare all, but does look darling.

I ordered it in the fabrics I wanted (leopard print and black) and it came in just a few days later. I love it. It fits perfectly and makes me feel wonderful. Janelle was wonderful to email back and forth with and I will be purchasing more things from her site, soon.

I'm writing this, not just to praise Love Your Peaches, but, because of how good I felt buying clothes. The internet has made buying clothes as a fat women a lot nicer. We're no longer limited to one or two catalogs, who feature solely small women, there are a myriad of choices. And I don't have to purchase from sites that don't use fat women.