It was NOT an itty-bitty-teeny-weeny yellow, polka-dot bikini

I underwent a cruel and unusual form of self-inflicted punishment last night.

I went bathing suit shopping.

Hubby and I are going on our fabulous Galapagos Island vacation soon and, therefore, I need a new suit. So, off I went last night - self-esteem still in order - to find some sort of suit that would cover my flabby bits and hopefully accentuate my perky bits.

First stop: Old Navy. I heard from a friend that they don't make suits only meant for size zero girls. So I thought I'd check them out. Things were going okay as I perused the suits on the racks... I didn't even begin doubting myself when I heard some woman near me exclaim "Don't they have any extra-small sizes??"

Anyway, so I headed into the change room with my several suits, daring to try the barely-there-bikini. The result...

...complete disaster! Even their smock/cover-up looked horrid on me. However, I consoled myself with the belief that it was all bad lighting in the change room.

On to the next stop. Sport Check. You know... where athletic women shop. Women with muscles who aren't all teeny-tiny. They MUST have a suit that looks good on me.

I picked out several "tankinis" from the rack (no longer willing to bare my entire stomach) and headed to the change room. This time - it was as if the bottoms were all made for non-existent booties. Not a cool look for my caboose.

I decided on one more stop before I gave up and ran home to curl into the fetal position and cry.

Bikini Village. This time - I found the longest tankini top and paired it with some board shorts. Nothing showing. All my bits covered. Perfect. Sure - it looks like I'm swimming in a tank top and a pair of shorts. But that's just the way it's gotta be.

And, thankfully, it saved me from wanting to jump off a building. Hurrah!! Success!!

So that was my evening. And despite the momentary damaged self-esteem, I feel pretty good knowing I've got a suit that'll look pretty good on me. I may never be the type of young woman who can wear itty-bitty bikinis and look good... but that's just fine by me.