The Naked Finger

Here’s a side effect of losing 60 pounds: my wedding rings no longer fit. 

They are so loose, in fact, that if I gesture ‘loudly’ with my left hand, they fly off and bounce across the room!

I don’t want to re-size them, yet, because after this elimination diet is over with for Mr. Happy, my weight might change again.  Honestly, I freaking LOVE the way I look these days and I will do everything in my power to not return to my previous girth, but who knows what will happen to my body as I add foods back in?  

My engagement ring is a family ring from the Geek’s family, and while I don’t have a problem with re-sizing it once, frequent re-sizings could mess with the stability of the metal.  Very bad.

So I want to wait until my weight has stabilized, probably 6 or so months after I’ve finished this diet.

In the meantime, though, I’ve been PARANOID that I’m going to lose my rings.

I went to several jewelry stores, and they gave me some song and dance about how the metal re-sizing attachments are expensive and “blah blah blah Go to Claire’s – they have temporary adjustment bands you can put on your ring.”

So, I did.  Bought a whole package of them.  They suck.  I went through three of them in just over a week – they kept falling off or breaking!

Eventually I got out a small crochet hook and some thread and crocheted back and forth across the band repeatedly until it was a nice, thick chunk of fiber.  And it worked pretty well at keeping both rings from flying off my hand.

But I was still paranoid.  All I needed to do was catch that thread on something sharp and it would start unraveling.  Next thing I would know, I’d look down at a naked finger.

Finally, I asked the Geek if he would be bothered if I went to a pawn shop and tried to find some cheap ring to wear to replace my set.  I just can’t go ring-less.  It feels weird!  He said it was a good idea, actually, and two weeks ago I had the chance to stop by a pawn shop. (Yes, I know I’ve mentioned money is tight.  I was hoping to find a plain band of some kind, which I’ve seen for under $50 at pawn shops before.  I planned to take it out of our grocery budget for the month!)

I just love pawn shops, by the way.  I have some gorgeous jewelry I bought as a single gal from pawn shops for a pittance compared to what it would have cost at a jewelry store.  Those days are over!  (for now – bwahahaha)

Anyway, they had some beautiful rings, and when I told the man what I wanted to do he insisted I would save a ton of money if I just called his friend, a retired jeweler who still does work out of his home.  His friend, he said, would be happy to put on one of the metal re-sizing bands for me for a good price.

And that was basically all he was willing to do.  I could have pushed the issue, but I didn’t.  (I saw the price tag on one of the smaller rings in his cabinet, and it was well outside my meager budget.)  So, I left.  And with two kids in tow?  I didn’t feel like visiting another pawn shop, hoping for a good deal.

I also didn’t feel like calling his friend.  Why would I want to go to a complete strangers house and leave my wedding ring set with him?  Besides, it was just one more thing.  I wanted a quick and easy fix; I thought a pawn shop would suffice.

As I drove off, I had a “eureka!” moment: who says I need a “real” ring, anyway?  It’s just temporary, right?  Eventually my weight will even out and I can get my ACTUAL rings re-sized permanently (and before that I’ll be back at work and might have enough money to go buy myself a “real” ring at a reasonable price).

Until either of those things happen, though, why not get some big, honkin’ costume jewelry ring at Dillards?

So, off we went to the mall.

Our mall has two Dillards: one for men, one for women.  Don’t ask me why.  It’s irritating.  Because I always go to the wrong one.

Sure enough, I went into the men’s Dillards.  It was cold outside, so we went through the mall to get to the women’s Dillards.

On the way, we passed The Jewelry Corner.  (That’s what I call it.)  The intersection where three jewelry stores face each other.  As I walked past one, I noticed a display on top of the cabinets: $50 boxed sets – and there were rings!

I immediately ground to a halt (yes, I’m quite crow-like with things that go shiny!) and saw a lovely ruby ring with a matching ruby necklace.  The nice man showed it to me, and oh, was I ever tempted.  It needed to be re-sized, but still…

He sized my finger for me.  I’ve gone from a 7.5 to a 6 in ring size.  Then he suggested I try something in a white sapphire, since I’m looking to temporarily replace a wedding ring set.  And he showed me a gorgeous ring with 3 princess cut white sapphires…and it was only $99!

Thoughts of how to cut the gas budget and grocery budget even more flitted through my head.  This ring was GORGEOUS.

But before my crow-like self could get carried away, I did what any self-respecting, independent woman would do:  I told him I needed to ask my husband!  (I find that to be a very effective way to get out of doing something, now that I can’t blame parents any more!)

I didn’t actually need to talk to the Geek about it; I needed to buy myself time to think it over.  And I did.  As the kids and I walked on to Dillards, I decided if Dillards didn’t have anything suitable, I’d go back and buy the sapphire ring (and figure out how to shuffle money later).  But if they did…

And guess what?  They did!  

Not too bad for $12, right?

Can I get credit for self-restraint, here?

And I’m so happy I won’t lose my REAL rings now!

Anyone else on an elimination diet have this problem?  What did you do?