Six Word Style Quest

 

Not sure about my new haircut. 

Mama Needs a New Pair of Shoes

 

  Maybe it’s because I’ve never been much of a girly girl.  Or because I don’t think  buying a pair of shoes should be like paying off the national debt of a small country.  Or maybe just because I’m old and cantankerous.  Whatever the reason, I don’t like shoe shopping.

  There, I said it.  Alert the fashion police and I’ll go quietly.

Image courtesy of artur84 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Maybe the real problem is not so much that I don’t like shoe shopping as it is that I just don’t particularly like shoes.  So many of them are less than attractive and absolutely uncomfortable.  I’d live in sneakers, if it was up to me.

So it was with this frame of reference that I came upon a sponsored post on Facebook.  (You know those things, right?  They’re the advertisements you see while scrolling through your newsfeed.)  Anyway, it was a post for tieks, “luxurious ballet flats”.  As the name implies, they were simple, flexible flats, which is definitely my kind of footwear.  And, they came in a whole palette of colors, which is handy.  If shoes really are comfortable, I’d like to have several pair and maybe minimize the shopping ordeal next time around.  So score one for the marketing team:  I clicked the link. 

I should’ve known I was in trouble when the shopping area of the website was called a “boutiek”, but I kept browsing.  The shoes did look mighty comfortable, and the choice of color was astounding.  To be so promising this far along in the process, I was starting to get a little bit excited.  I’m currently in need of some navy shoes, so I decided to take a look, and this pair seemed perfect.  Right up until the $165 price tag. 

What?  Almost two hundred bucks?  For shoes?  I don’t spend that much on my sneakers, and as I said, I could live in them.   Ridiculous.  And, yes, I’m well aware that there are plenty of shoes with much higher price tags than that, but that’s just exponentially more ridiculous.  And besides, none of those really high-end options have shown up in my Facebook feed trying to pass themselves off as comfortable footwear for daily wear. 

I don’t know how this pricing trend got started, but I’m pretty sure that no matter how luxurious these particular flats are, they can’t be worth that kind of money.  Of course, the problem is that you can’t not have shoes, and I think the shoemakers are well aware of that, so they’ve begun a “whatever the market will bear” type of attitude.  Again, ridiculous. 

Instead of some sort of sticker shock reaction, I’d much rather this post be about successfully finding—and enjoying—a new pair of navy flats.  Maybe even a review of a new shoe, and how it compares to others in its category.  But the truth is, those tieks were the best ones I’ve run across as yet, so instead, all I can do is tell you that my search continues.  And in the meantime, the tieks ad is still showing up in my newsfeed, and my subconscious just keeps trying to come up with reasons a shoe is worth $165.  But I don’t think the marketing folks are going to win this one. 

Have I mentioned that I really don’t like shoe shopping?

 

 

Five Questions Before Bedtime

 

Today dawned a little brighter, at least from the health perspective.  (It was snowing when the day began, so no bright dawning there!)  I’ve managed to stay awake all day, and found that I actually do okay as long as I don’t move too much or too quickly, and don’t try to eat anything too ambitious.  Still, it’s an improvement, so I’ll take it.  Not that we ever do anything special to ring in the new year, but I still don’t want to be sick when it rolls around.

But, enough of that.  As promised, Mama M. has returned with questions this week, so let’s drop in and see what’s what.

 

1. If you had to give 1 million dollars to just one person (not your spouse), who would it be and why?

Well, like Mama M., I wonder if the spousal exclusion applies to other members of your household.  If it does not, I’d probably give it to my son, though I’m fairly certain that would cause some arguments with my husband.  He’s not a big believer in giving things to people who have not taken steps to fend for themselves, and Billy is not always the most responsible person in the world.  But he’s still my kid, and I can’t imagine not doing anything in my power to make sure he has the best life possible.  But, if members of the household are all exempt, then I imagine I’d give the money to my sister, Tanya.  She still has a younger son to raise, and probably put through school, so it would be a great benefit to her not to have to worry about where money was going to come from.  Plus, I know if I needed a loan, she’d float me a few dollars!

2. What bathroom stall do you typically go to FIRST?

Oddly, it sort of depends on how big the bathroom is.  In smaller bathrooms, usually the last one before the handicap stall.  In larger facilities, just somewhere along the middle.  Mostly, I just don’t typically go into the very first one, though I couldn’t tell you why.  Also, if it can be avoided, I don’t like to be in stalls that everyone will have to pass by, or that are directly across from the sink.  I guess we all have our idiosyncrasies. 

3. How do you prefer to shop: In-store or online?

They’ve both got their advantages.  Assuming cost is not part of the equation, it goes like this:  If I know exactly what I need (and I don’t need it right away), I’d prefer just to order it and have it delivered to my home.  But if I need to browse, or compare features or something, then I’d rather go to a store.  Also, it’s rare that I buy clothes online; you can just never be sure about fit and all.

4. What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

It’s been kind of cold since Christmas, and, as I mentioned, it was snowing this morning.  (Check out the link below to see a bit of this morning’s flakery in my yard.)  Of course, ever since our trip to Alaska last summer, Brian always likes to keep tabs on the weather in Fairbanks, and we’re nothing like them.  I think it just makes him feel better to know that while it might be a chillingly cold 25 here, it’s a miserable –13 there. 

5. Do you own a pair of Tom's and what do you think? Overrated, underrated or about right?

Well, I don’t have any, and have no desire to do so, but my feeling is that they’re overrated.  Really, I think that any slip-on shoe that’s casual enough to be mistaken for a pair of slippers but still costs $50 (and up) is the very definition of overrated, but that could just be my own brand of close-minded prejudice speaking.  Of course, this is coming from someone that would prefer to never have to dress in anything fancier than jeans and sneakers, so it’s possible my fashion opinions don’t count for much. 

And, that wraps things up for this week.  Just in the nick of time, too, as I switched medicine an hour or so ago, and I think the new kind is messing up my head.  I might’ve been bragging too soon about my ability to stay awake, though I suppose there’s no shame (or not much, anyway) in going to bed at 10:30!  Hope you all enjoy what’s left of your Friday evenings, and have a great weekend.

Air Supply, a Torn Dress, and Ice Cream

 

Hey, everyone, it’s Friday again!  I’ve had a lot of reading/homework to do the past few days—and a test this morning—so I’m glad for the weekend.  Not that it’ll be a complete break from the school work, but it’ll be a little slower.

Plus, our state fair started yesterday and tonight hubby and I went out to see one of the free concerts.  Air Supply!  He didn’t really want to go, but he didn’t want me to go alone, either, so he took me.  And, he even said it wasn’t as bad as he’d expected.    We’ll go out again next weekend to see the fair proper, since we didn’t have time to do much other than the show tonight, but I did get my two favorite pieces of fair food:  jumbo corn dog and a giant cinnamon roll.  And guess what?  When we go next week, I’ll get them again!

But now to get down to Friday business, it’s time for a few questions.  Linking up with Mama M. over at My Little Life.  Check her out if you get the chance.

1. How long did it take for you to find your wedding dress? (Wedding dress pics anyone?)

Gosh, I’ve been married a long time, so some of those planning details elude me.  I want to say maybe two or three months, though most of that was just magazine shopping.  Once I’d narrowed it down to a few styles, I think it only took trips to two different stores to find what I really wanted.  And, I actually ended up with exactly the dress from the magazine.  Interestingly, it had a poofy train, and, not being much of a poofy girl, I thought the dress would be just about perfect if it only the train was a bit simpler.  As it turns out, I also found a dress almost exactly the same, but with a very simple train, but I didn’t like it nearly as much.  I guess maybe I wanted to feel like a princess just once in my life.  The downside of the poofy train?  It got caught on the door as we were exiting after the ceremony and ripped a bit. I almost cried.

   See, big poofy train.  And some simple beadwork on the bodice. 

                      

                      

                        This is right before the ripping.

2. Someone in your general vicinity releases a NASTY smelling fart. Do you say anything or blow it off?

Generally speaking, I ignore it.  Unless it’s my husband, and then I’ll definitely be calling him out!

3. What is the scariest thing that happened to you or scared you recently?

I’m the nervous type, so a lot of things sort of scare me—being home alone at night, my son coming home really late without me knowing why, things like that.  And when I was commuting 50 miles to work every day, at least once a week there’d be some sort of close call on the highway to really get my blood pumping.  But probably the most scary thing recently was a rash of wildfires in the state last month, including one just a few miles down the road from us.  A change of wind direction is all it would have taken to wipe out everything we own. It was close enough that I had the hose out in an exercise in futility, and I’d had my son pack up his most important belongings before he headed off to work, just in case we had to evacuate in his absence.  Yeah, that was really scary, and my heart goes out to all who suffered losses.

4. Favorite brand and flavor of ice cream.

As I have likely mentioned before, I’m pretty tame when it comes to food choices; I don’t want anything too weird.  That includes my ice cream.  The kind I eat most often is Breyers Carb Smart Vanilla.  Not because it’s my favorite flavor, but because I most often eat ice cream with something else—pie, cookies, brownies—and vanilla goes best with other things.  My favorite flavor just to sit down and eat is plain old chocolate.  Breyers makes a low carb version of that, too, but our store never has it.  I’m also quite fond of chocolate chip (probably my favorite milkshake flavor), and I’d still stick with Breyers for that, but I can never find it, either.  Now that I think about it, maybe I should buy my ice cream somewhere else.

5. Are you able to sleep well in hotels?

Oddly enough, yes.  Even though I’m a big ol’ scaredy cat, and always think strange noises must portend axe-wielding lunatics, being in a hotel—even alone—doesn’t bother me.  I do usually have to use more than one pillow to get a fluff and height that I’m comfortable with, and I’ve been known to run down to the local Wal-Mart for one of my own if I just couldn’t get the combination right (or carry my own), but other than that, no problem.  I think it’s because I absolutely love to travel, and a hotel almost always means I’m doing something new and exciting, so I’m just too thrilled about that to be worrying about much of anything else.   All that being said, though, there are a couple of things that must take place:  door locked and bolted/chained, curtains closed completely to block out any stray streetlights as well as ensure no one is able to see inside the room, and some small sliver of light shining to guide me to the bathroom.  Once those things are in place, I’m good to go.

 

And, that’s it for this week.  Once again, I invite you to join up in the blog hop below, or leave your answers in the comments. 

Happy weekend!

 

 

The Only Downside (June Photos, Day 24)

 

Please understand, this is not a complaint.  But, there is one downside of the weight that I’ve lost recently: clothes don’t fit anymore.  Not that I exactly mind clothes shopping (though it’s true that I’ve never been in love with the process, either).  But, while we’re currently operating as a one-income household, I’ve tried to be more frugal than I have been in the past.  Last weekend I had to buy some crop jeans and a pair of shorts.  And, now, I fear I may need to break down and buy a swim suit.

A few weeks ago, when I had my suit on for the first time this year, I knew it was too big, but I figured it would get me through the summer, because those things are really too danged expensive.  (I thought that even as part of a two-income household!)  But yesterday, I got in the pool for the first time and realized there’s a problem: when I actually try to swim, my suit won’t stay put properly and I’m in danger of over exposing myself, if you get my drift.

I tied the straps up today to keep it more secure, but it’s clearly not a perfect solution.  I’m not overly concerned about the style aspect—though it does look a little tacky—because I don’t imagine I’ll be wearing it anywhere but at my own pool.  But, it still isn’t entirely, um, safe, and there’s not really anything I can do about the extra space in the bottoms to keep them from ballooning up.  Thankfully, though, the bottom is skirted and doesn’t show anything when it misbehaves, just makes me look like some sort of parade float!

So, anyway, that’s what was on my mind today: a new swimming suit that actually fits properly.  I have some errands to run tomorrow, so I may have to add another stop and see if I can find something decent that won’t break the bank.  Otherwise, I think I’ll have to resort to Amazon.  I’ve been browsing around there a bit, and they’ve got decent prices on some of their stuff, but I am a bit worried about sizing on a mail-order bathing suit, especially since I’m still not anywhere close to the typical swimsuit model body, so it’ll be hard to know what look is flattering for me.  So, wish me luck that I find something here in town.

What’s on your mind today?  And, do you have any tips on swim suit styles?

Another Change

 

Well, it seems there are some technical glitches with the dynamic views here on Blogger.  First, it doesn’t play very well with Windows Live Writer, and I must confess that I’ve grown quite fond of working through Writer.

Secondly, while it may be fully user error, editing any post at any time from any platform seems to negate any formatting that was already in place.  I just can’t deal with having to reformat any time I want to go back in and realign a photo or correct a typo. 

So, it’s another new face.  I have to say, strictly on the aesthetics of it all, I’m not as fond of this scheme as my last, short-lived one.  Not that I hate it or anything, just not sure how I feel about it.  I guess it’ll grow on me.  Or it won’t.  Good to know change is always an option.

Time for a Change

I know just yesterday I was talking about how I like things to be nice and stable; it’s safe and secure that way.  And that’s still true.  But I think I’m tired of this blog layout.  It’s been this way for a long time, and now that I’m looking at it more often, I think it could use some freshening up. 
I’m going to have to do some browsing around and see what I like, because I think it’s time for a fresh coat of paint around here.

UPDATE:  Some changes have been made.  I think it's brightened things up considerably, but feel free to let me know what you think.

Me and My Avatar (Dec. 11, 2005)

So, my friend, LML, once commented on the way we come to mentally identify with our avatars. I laughed, because I could relate to the truth of that statement. I mean, I spent precious time choosing just the right look when I created mine. She’s a little bit idyllic—she needs to gain at least fifty pounds, and she’s currently standing in front of more snow than I’ve ever seen (and I mean cumulatively, by the way)—but even so, it’s still me.

I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to identify with her until today, though. And what prompted that realization? I got a haircut yesterday. And, you guessed it: today, when I saw my avatar, she got a change, as well. I think I’m glad I don’t intend to have any more children. I’d hate to be the one who had to start lobbying Yahoo for a pregnant avatar.