Things I've Done and Stuff...

Obviously the next logical thing to do after listing 22 things I have NOT done is to list 22 more things that I HAVE done.

Logically.  As the lovely Mr. Spock would say.

I have....

1. Always lived near a body of water.

2. Been pregnant 3 times, but only have 2 children.

3. Had 3 eye surgeries.

4. Traveled pretty much the entire length of I-5 through Washington, Oregon and California.

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5. Gone up to the top of the Space Needle more than once.

6. Taken my own religious path, choosing to be Baptized and Confirmed as an Anglo-Catholic in my early 20s.

7. Cried every single time I watch Steel Magnolias, Beaches, Titanic, Armageddon, PS I Love You and The Return of the King (there are probably others; I'm a huge sap).

8. Chose to read Gone with the Wind in high school for extra credit, and loved it.

9. Given birth to one baby without pain relief and one with.

10. Quite literally lived at the UCSF hospital for a week after Mark had his transplant.

11. Snuck into a second movie after only buying tickets to one.

12. Walked on the Golden Gate Bridge.

13. Had the most delicious meal while watching the most beautiful sunset.

14. Taken several college courses.

15. Learned how to scrapbook, knit and crochet even though my eyesight sucks.

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16. Got my very first period while camping in Yosemite.

17. Been taken to the hospital in an ambulance holding my 7 month old baby after totaling our car (only soft tissue damage to my arm; yay for Volvos!).

18. Learned through my mistakes.

19. Been suspended from school for drinking alcohol on a band trip.

20. Eaten conch, shark and escargot.  Conch was really good.

21. Made it down a black diamond ski run alive as only a beginner.

22. Fought hard and loved hard.

Also linked up with Vinobaby's Voice!

TGIF: Fox in the City Edition

Welcome to....

<a href="http://jah-justjennifer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt=""src="http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb331/JenAnnHall/Becky_TGIF-1-1-1-1-1.png" /></a>

Go HERE to read all about how this came to be.  Basically, it's about ending your week on a positive note!

To participate
1. Write a post about something good that happened this week (or if you don't blog, tell me by leaving a comment). It can be anything. Just keep it positive!
2. Grab the #TGIF button and include it somewhere in your post.
3. Come back here and link up.  Linky is open all weekend (even if I publish a new post).
4. Visit other linkers, leave comments and consider giving them a follow.
5. Share posts on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, etc, if you are so inclined!
And
6. TGIF is now open to guest posting (as you can see this week)!  If you want, instead of just linking your post to mine, you can be THE poster here.  Just let me know by Thursday of the week that you want to do it, and I will happily step aside and let you take the floor!  Be warned, if no one volunteers, I might put you on the spot and you will feel obligated to do it because you love me (just like Jenn here)!

* * * * *

I am very excited to have Jenn from Fox in the City here as my first TGIF guest.  She has been linking up with me since the beginning, and even though she spells her name wrong (there's even a squiggly red line underneath it), I consider her to be one of my best bloggy friends.  She is super supportive, always happy to pitch in a retweet, and a sincere commenter.  I love her blogging style because she is real and authentic.  So real in fact, that she just shared her weight with the world!  So without further adieu....

* * * * *

TGIF – The Playing Edition

So my dear Jen, with one “n”, asked if I would be interested in writing a guest post for the week’s edition of TGIF.  By now it should be rather obvious that I gave her an affirmative “hell yes” I can do that!

Lately I have been trying to spend more time quietly observing my kids when they don’t realize that I am doing just that.  What I have seen has totally blown me away.  I absolutely love watching them play.  It feels like, even though we have been through a rough time with my PPD, that my kids are doing just fine.

The little guy is rather obsessed with all things trucks.  He drives them up and down, around and around, making his version of a car engine sound.  The past couple of weeks though, he has really started to venture away from just trucks and into a more parental role with his stuffed animals.

He will carefully sit Goofy down beside him and share his food with him.  I admit that I did stop him as he was preparing to share his milk with him . . . you know milk isn’t good for dogs . . . especially those of the stuffed variety.

For his birthday he got a Grover backpack.    He LOVES Grover, so much so that he makes certain to share his soother with the furry blue monster, gives him hugs and kisses, covers him up when he is napping and just generally makes certain that all is well with Grover.

It is adorable.

Little Miss is completely obsessed with princesses, fairies and all things related to them.  I love watching her make her dolls interact.  It is amazing the adventures she takes them on.  I admit that I rather loved how, when she didn’t have a prince doll for their adventures, she used the tree that came with her dollhouse to be the prince. What can I say, this little solution made me so proud.  I thought it was a rather brilliant way to solve the problem.  Ah don’t worry; she is now the proud owner of one dorky Ken doll.

So this week I am grateful for play.  I am thankful that I have been given the opportunity to watch their imaginations form and to learn more about each of my children’s hopes, dreams and desires, through their imaginations.

What about you?  Have you ever just watched your kidlets play?

Did you find it as amazing as me?  

~ Jenn

* * * * *

You can read more from Jenn at her place.

And you can follow her on Twitter.

But first, leave your comments!  Then go....  :-)

Grief

This may be short and sweet.  It may get long.  I really have no clue because my thoughts and feelings are very jumbled at the moment.

At the moment?  Try for the last 5 days since my uncle passed away.

I am not the one who is hurt most by this sudden loss.  He was not my father, partner, brother or son, connections that bind tighter than uncle and niece.  Still, I feel so much.

I feel extreme empathy for my family members.  For my dad, aunt and uncle who lost another brother.  For my grandmother who lost another son.  For my cousins who last their dad, and my uncle's partner who lost her love.  And simply for the tragedy of it happening so suddenly and sooner than anyone was prepared for.

And right now, as I type this, I feel anger.  His death has been confirmed as a heart attack.  I just stopped crying over this. Too many heart attacks around me.  They seem to be my nemesis.  My husband has had two, my father one and now this.  Oh and there have been others.  The way I remember it as a child, my great-grandfather had one while driving which caused his death.

*Deep breaths* Reeling myself in before I start going off and dropping F-bombs and shit.  Oops.  Oh well.  Fuck it.

Grief.  There are stages and phases, it wanes, it waxes.  There is no prescribed amount of time it should last and everyone reacts to it differently.  I know these things.  I also know I don't have any answers.  I find myself simply shaking my head a lot, in utter disbelief with only an nth of understanding about how these things happen.

This is very hard for me because I always want to know WHY?  But I can't know.  Not about the complexities of life and death.  It's not for me to know.  It's not about me.  It's about God and universal flow and Karma and all that jazz.  I am but a spec.  My uncle is but a spec.  And I get that.  I am actually somehow comforted by this because I know it's not up to me.  God's got it covered, whether any of us can comprehend it or not.

Well, my uncle wasn't a spec to us.  He was a good uncle.  He was someone I've known my entire life.  His girls are at least 9 years younger than me and I helped take care of them when they were babies.  He bore an uncanny resemblance to my father, so much so that it actually creeped me out a little when I was a kid.  Yet on the other hand, their resemblance made him all the more familiar and safe.

Uncle Mark made the trip down to California for my wedding, and since we've returned to Washington, he's been there for many things.  He helped us move, he attended a couple of my kids' birthday parties and he always gave my kids a little something for Christmas.  Last year when my Mark was recuperating from bypass surgery, uncle Mark helped my dad take care of our lawn.  He was the guy we knew with a large enough truck to haul a couch, which he did for us twice.

I have always admired my uncle for following his passion for music.  He was a good musician and singer, beloved locally by many.  And he managed to make a living at it.  I am ashamed to say that my only experience seeing him perform live was exactly one week before he died.  Interesting thing is, I felt pushed to go to the Hometown Hootenanny that night.  We had been invited to come several times before but I had blown it off for one reason or another.  I am so glad I listened to the little internal voice telling me to go.

Mostly for me, I am rocked by the fact that another of my father's siblings is gone.  This is a huge thing to try to get used to.  It's always been the FIVE Hibbert siblings, Scott, Mark, Renee, Randy and Clay, in that order.  And I've loved them all.  Now Mark and Clay are both gone and I kinda don't know what to do with that.  I don't know how to process that this is happening out of order.  Not only among the five of them, but also that they've gone before their mother.  It doesn't make sense, and it sucks to feel like you're counting down the people in your life.

And then there's the fact that I had to ask my dad to talk with me about his plans and wishes for when his time comes.  I want to know exactly what to do, no questions.  I need my mother and step-father to do the same.

This fucking sucks.


11/1/11: Linking to Lovelinks!

Loss

Unfortunately, this is not a Monday Listicle.  I fully intended to write a list today, but life had other ideas.  I'm just not feeling it this week, and I promised myself I would never force a blog post.  That wouldn't be authentic.

However, this post begs to be written.

The thing is, my family on my father's side suffered a great loss on Saturday.  My father's older brother died suddenly, my Uncle Mark.

photo credit
Mark Hibbert
1949-2011

He was just 62 and had no apparent condition or illness.  We suspect a heart attack, but we are awaiting official cause of death.

Uncle Mark was a musician and was with his band mates getting ready and packed up for a gig when he collapsed.  A friend and emergency services tried for an hour to revive him, but he was gone.

My family is reeling right now.  We've also lost my Grandfather and my Uncle Clay, in what I would consider not a very long amount of time, just a handful of years.  The 5 Hibbert siblings are now down to 3.  My poor Grandmother has had to say goodbye to 2 of her children.  I can't understand this.  My cousins and my uncle's long-time girlfriend are devastated.

My father called me right after my Aunt Renee, his sister, called him.  He said the words "Mark Hibbert has just died" (he had to use his brother's last name because of my Mark) but I could hardly repeat those words until I spoke with my dad again later and he let me know he had actually seen him.  It was real.

I have been lucky to have not experienced very much death in my life up until now.  Both my parents are still living and so are some grandparents.  My husband is still with me.  That in itself is huge.  I am grateful for every day I continue to have with my Mark, and no matter how many more we have, I will continue to be grateful.

But now?  Now I am starting to have experiences with death.  I imagine this must be the worst thing about getting older.  I now know the difference between an expected death, when someone is dying and you know it, and a sudden death.  Even when you know someone is dying, it doesn't make the day it happens any easier.  When someone dies suddenly, it's actually frightening.  I felt scared and vulnerable after getting that phone call.

Everyone in my family is stunned, floored, bewildered and just so sad.  It breaks my heart.

Sunday morning my Facebook feed was a virtual tribute to Uncle Mark.  From my Aunt Renee sharing everything she came across about my uncle, to my cousin Sara sharing the memories of the kindred spirit she found in our uncle as a musician.  Then this morning, my cousin Caitlin simply loving and missing her dad.

My prayer right now is that whomever reads this will send their prayers and warm thoughts our way, to help hold my family during this sad time.  Thank you.

"Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak

whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break."

~ William Shakespeare

Well, I Never!

I am 37.  And-a-half.

And I've never:

1. Smoked a cigarette.  Not even one single drag.  Nada.

2. Been to Mexico, even though I lived in California for 17 years.

3. Flown first class.  Such a bummer.

4.  Been to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Mr. Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty or our nation's Capital.

5. Had a driver's license.  I have driven, but only with a learner's permit ages ago.

6.  Had a part in a play.

7.  Gone up in a hot air balloon.

8. Lived alone.

9. Had a pet other than a dog or cat.

10. Watched even one episode of Survivor.

11. Been to Hawaii, Alaska or on a cruise.

12. Seen a dead body (a photo doesn't count).

13. Had a baby who used a pacifier.

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14. Been to an NFL game.

15. Met a celebrity (Mark has met several).

16. Played team sports.

17. Been on TV.

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18. Kept a plant alive.

19. Attended summer camp.

20. Broken a bone.

21. Been overseas.

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22. Knitted in the round.

Inspired by The Pioneer Woman

Utter Gorgeousness

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My mom commented on this photo one of her Facebook friends shared.
My jaw dropped when I saw it.
Breathtaking!
I hope it's OK that I didn't take this picture myself.
I just thought it was so beautiful and wanted to share!

Naughty Words



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When you become a parent you start to censor yourself in front of your children.

Or at least you try.

Instead of saying fuck, I usually say frig or freakin' (not that I've ever been a big F-bomb droopper).  Instead of shit I say shoot or crap, and instead of damn I say dang or darn - mostly.  I try really hard not to say Goddammit or Jesus Christ.  Actually, pretty sure I never say, "Jesus Christ!"

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Many parents don't even like to say vagina or penis, and use the words bottom or bum instead of butt or ass.

I still say butt and ass.

Mark says it all.  He is not good at being G rated when kids are around.  When Camryn was little he told her they were "Daddy words".  The next time I said a curse word, my daughter proceeded to scold me with, "That's a Daddy word, Mommy!"  I clarified that they're "grown-up words".

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I've been thinking about this lately.  Why do we think certain words are inappropriate for children, not only for them to hear, but also for them to say?

The words themselves aren't "bad" per se.  They may have unsavory definitions.  But why else do we worry about these words making their way into our kids' vocabulary?

For me, swear words or "naughty" words just don't sound right coming out of a child's mouth.  Kids are too cute and innocent to say such things.  I even cringe when I hear a child actor swear in a movie.  I always wonder how their parents feel about letting their child do that.

Also, kids shouldn't feel so stressed, frustrated or angered that they need to blow off steam by blurting out explitives.

AND, kids don't actually understand the meanings behind these words.  We shouldn't speak of things we don't understand.

The words I won't let my kids say EVER:

Fuck
Shit
Dammit
Idiot
Bitch
Asshole
Ass
Bastard
Hell

The words I prefer they not say, and I tell them so:

Stupid
Crap
Frickin'
Jerk
Shut up

Mark doesn't like them to say "what the -" because he thinks the next word will be either fuck or hell.  But they either just stop at "what the", or say "what the heck", so it doesn't really bother me.

I also prefer that they not describe people by their appearance, such as fat, skinny, pretty, ugly, black, white...

We freely use the word "dork", however.  Because, well, we're a bunch of dorks!

These are pretty intricate verbal rules, aren't they?  It's no wonder many little kids mess up and say a bad word every now and then.  It's especially great when they say them at the absolute wrong time, like in front of Grandma or at church!

I think most parents tend to agree with these "word rules".  Do you?

What is your opinion on this?

Oh, the Guilt!

A certain little pink birdy got to choose the topic for Monday Listicles this week and she chose 10 guilty pleasures.

I hate guilt.  Guilt sucks.  Mom guilt.  Survivor's guilt.  Religious Guilt.  Childhood Omnipotent Guilt.

And why, may I ask, is it necessary to feel guilty about things that make us happy?

Pfft.  Whatever.

1.  So there are my favorite food items, such as coffee, caramel and wine, which I already named in another Listicle.  It just so happens that that post is one of my most popular simply because it includes burritos!

2.  Then there are my favorite TV shows, which I just recently told you all about.  I think my most favorite is Grey's Anatomy.

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3.  I suppose I should probably count Blogging as a guilty pleasure, because it's not something I have to do, it's something I want to do and love to do.  I also suppose social media in general is a guilty pleasure.  Again, what-ever.

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4.  Having a huge stash of yarn!

This is an old picture. I have more.

5.  Caramel Apple Spices and Mochas from Starbucks.  Peppermint mochas in December.

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6.  Coloring my hair probably falls under this heading.

7.  Cinnabon Caramel Pecanbon, which I hardly ever get.

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8.  Just because they're so expensive, pecans, walnuts and cashews.

9.  I love going out to eat!  Not only do you not have to do the cooking or cleaning, but it also tastes great.

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10.  Being a stay-at-home mom.  Yeah, I feel guilty about this sometimes.  And yes, it is a pleasure.  I have the utmost respect for working mothers, whether they have to work or just want to.  All mothers have a lot on their plates, but moms who also hold down paying jobs?  Lots more.  I feel blessed to be my kids' primary caregiver (yes, even when they're driving me nuts; it's very confusing) and to never miss a thing.  Being my kids' full-time mom is a gift I guess I owe to my bad eyes.  Ironic, hu?

My beautiful babies.

OK, so there's a list of guilty pleasures for you.  BUT, I think we should all try to feel a lot LESS guilt over the things that bring us pleasure.  Instead of guilt, feel humility and gratitude.  Give thanks, share and enjoy.    I challenge myself, and you, to do so!

"Americans know entertainment, but they don't know pleasure."

~ Luca Spaghetti, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

World's Greatest BFF/Bestie

Today I will enter a friendship contest on behalf of both my BFF and my Bestie.

Wait. What's that you say? Aren't BFFs and Besties the same thing?

Well, I suppose to the average girl they are, but not to me.  Allow me to explain.

I have a BFF (Best Friend Forever) AND a Bestie.  This is because I love these two women equally and cannot pick just one of them to call my "best friend".  One I have known longer than the other so I give her the title of BFF just for that reason.  I call the other my Bestie because she has become just as close to me as my BFF over the last 8 years.

"Yes'm, old friends is always best, 'less you can catch a new one that's fit to make an old one out of."

~ Sarah Orne Jewett

My BFF is another Jennifer.  In high school we would introduce ourselves as Jen...nifer, pointing from her to me as we said it.  Today I fondly and lovingly refer to her as J.Ho.  (That's a play on J.Lo, in case you didn't make that connection.)

She's wearing a Christmas shirt that says "Ho Ho Ho".
She added the J. I love it!

I met J.Ho in 7th grade waaaayyy back in 1986.  But we were just acquantances in the same PE class back then.  Our relationship really took off when we got to high school. Each year we had a few classes together and because we both had H last names and lockers were assigned alphabetically, we had lockers close by each other.  Between each class we'd pass notes, J.Ho's with the funniest little cartoons at the bottom.

When J.Ho got her driver's license and bought a sweet '56 Chevy truck, she wouild pick me up for school and we'd leave campus for lunch.  She'd let a bunch of other kids pile in the back of the truck and it was so fun!

We would rock out to the B52s' "Love Shack", INXS' "Suicide Blonde", Madonna's "Vogue" and Deee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart".  I would sing my lungs out to Deee-Lite in J.Ho's truck!  She probably wanted to laugh at me so bad, but she never did.

We went through several boyfriends.  She helped get me through a dumb mistake I made.  She got me drunk for the first time.  Then this really stupid thing happened.  We had a fight over my boyfriend that resulted in us not hanging out for almost all of our senior year.  Even after the stupid boyfriend dumped me, I had too much pride to apologize to her.  And by the time we did get back on track, we graduated and she bolted from Tahoe so fast, all I could do was wave goodbye.

But!  Because she's so totally awesome, she made it a point to keep in touch with me.  And thus began the beginning of the best long-distance relationship EVER.  Seriously, there are no two closer friends who don't live anywhere near each other, than me and my J.Ho.  We have been each other's Maids of Honor, she hosted my first baby shower, I planned and co-hosted her bridal shower and we are Godmothers to each other's kids.

J.Ho holding my baby AJ at his Baptism.

We email almost daily, use Facebook and text.  We are both really good about mailing the other photos.  J.Ho is an awesome gift-giver, never once ever missing either of my kids' birthdays or Christmas.  She is thoughtful, generous, supportive, talented and so funny!  She is like family.

"There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound."

~ Diana Cortes

My Bestie is Jessica.  We met in the Fall of 2003 through our local MOMS Club.  It was Recipe Club day with an apple theme.  Jess brought an apple cake.  She was pregnant with her 2nd child with the sweetest little 3 year old boy in tow.  We continued to see each other at day outings including one where we took our little kids bowling.  Her belly was so big, my husband helped her son with his bowling ball.  I couldn't believe Jess even showed up that day!

A few months later I had a little extra spending money and wanted to go shopping.  I can't drive, so I sent out an email to the new friends I had met, asking if anyone would like to take go with me.  Jessica raised her hand and we had a great day at the mall.

After that we started talking on the phone a lot, finding oodles of things we had in common.  Even the stuff we didn't have in common was cool.  I mean, we spent HOURS on the phone, chatting the day away while we did housework and took care of our kids.  We could talk - yell at kids - talk - start a load of laundry - talk - get snacks - talk.  It was really quite a productive relationship.

Along with another really good friend of ours, Carin, me and Jess both have millennium babies and this has been something that has bonded us.  Jessica's, Carin's and my oldest kids went to preschool together.  We have tried each of the last 8 years to get at least 1 photo of the 3 of the kids together, almost without fail.  The 3 of them are good friends too.

Left to right: Jessica's son, my daughter, Carin's son
July 2010

Left to right: Jessica, me, Carin
July 2010

Jessica has been there for me in some huge ways, most recently last year when my husband Mark had his heart bypass surgery.  She went above and beyond for me and my family and if she hadn't before that, she cemented a place in my heart forever.

Jess sewed this "badass" cover for Mark's heart pillow.

I can't count how many GNOs Jess and I have had together, how many movies, Mexican dinners, kids' birthday parties or conversations.  She is a truly consistent friend.  She is kind, giving, talented, funny and she helps me be a better mom.  And just like J.Ho, Jess is like family to me.

Love is like the wild-rose briar;
Friendship is like the holly-tree.
The holly is dark when the rose briar blooms,
But which will bloom most constantly?
~ Emily Brontë

Jessica is the one who encouraged me to start a blog.  She has one too.  And then I encouraged J.Ho to start a foodie blog.  I believe in paying it forward!

When something is going on in my life, I need both of them to know.  When I was spending my days in the hospital with Mark last year, J.Ho cried on the phone with me and Jessica held my hand.  Literally, at the same time.  I am so blessed to have these two wonderful women in my life, to be able to call them my friends.

I've had other best friends in my life....Tressa, Shelley, Heather, Lisa, Brandie...and I've loved them all.  But I think the older I get the more I refine the definition of what a best friend is to me.

"People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime."

~ Author Unknown

I could really go on and on, but this is already so long!  Suffice it to say that my BFF and my Bestie are amazing and I love them.

TGIF: Making Progress Edition

Welcome to....

<a href="http://jah-justjennifer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt=""src="http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb331/JenAnnHall/Becky_TGIF-1-1-1-1-1.png" /></a>

 Go HERE to read all about how this came to be.  Basically, it's about ending your week on a positive note!

To participate

1. Write a post about something good that happened this week (or if you don't blog, tell me by leaving a comment). It can be anything!
2. Grab the #TGIF button and include it somewhere in your post.
3. Come back here and link up.  Linky is open all weekend (even if I publish a new post).
4. Visit some of the other linkers, leave comments and consider giving them a follow.
5. Share posts on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, etc, if you are so inclined!

**Ch-ch-ch-changes!**  I have decided to open TGIF up to guest posting.  If you want, instead of just linking your post to mine, you can be THE poster here.  Just let me know by sometime Wednesday of the week that you want to do it, and I will happily step aside and let you take the floor!  Be warned, if no one volunteers, I might put you on the spot and you will feel obligated to do it because you love me!

* * * * *

I have titled this week's post "Making Progress" because after 2 years of knitting, I have finally also picked up a crochet hook.  Thanks to @MyBelovedAdoria for the lesson.  I wouldn't say I'm a natural, but I know how, am practicing and I'm proud of myself!

Not only that, but things are (so far) going better with Camryn and her math work.

Also, Mark found out this week that the schedular at his job had way too many restrictions on his available hours, which is why he's not been getting as many hours as he could.  Due to dialysis schedule changes over the past couple of years, Depot wasn't keeping up with when Mark could and couldn't work.  So he got that all cleared up

Speaking of Mark, here is what made him happy this week:

I have no idea if this is cool with Starbucks.
The shooting range Mark goes to has this on stickers, t-shirts and sweatshirts.

And then there's this cool new thing I'm doing.

My very first post went up yesterday.  You can go see it HERE!  Yay!

Here's a little something funny for you:

saw this on facebook

So how was your week? What GOOD things occurred?

Link up and make me smile!

Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. ~Epictetus

I need to talk about something really serious.

Truly.  If you thought my post yesterday was a heavy one, you aint seen nothin' yet.

Are you gonna talk about illness and death some more? Cuz that's so fun!

Sorry, no.  But it's still really important.

Politics?  Religion?  Charity? Marriage or parenting?

No, none of those topics.

What else could possibly be so serious?

It's my style.  Or lack thereof.

Well, it's lacking according to the style gurus of the world.

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To me?

See, I'm a stay-at-home mom, have been for the last 8 1/2 years.  My uniform is pull-on pants and t-shirts.

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And?

Wait for it....

When I can get away with it, I stay in pajamas.

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Oh.eM.Gee! (Think snotty teen tone.)

Here's the thing: why wear anything else?  I don't have to impress anyone.  I don't have to even leave my house except to grab my kiddo from the bus stop most days.  I certainly don't care what the other moms in my neighborhood think about my clothes.

I practice good hygeine, even on the days I stay in PJs.  My hair isn't a mess and I don't smell bad.  I shower, brush my teeth and use deoderant.

I simply believe in being practical and comfortable.

It isn't comfortable to do laundry, homework or blog in jeans or slacks.  Nor is it practical.

Um. No.

I feel like I'm putting some serious effort into my outfit when I wear jeans.  No joke.  Speaking of jeans, I own a pair of Pajama Jeans.  That's right.  That's how committed to comfort I am.

Mark and I went to a wedding last Saturday and I wore a dress for probably the first time since my friend's 30th birthday party nearly 4 years ago.  Beforehand, I had to find things to accessorize the dress.

Asking people online who don't spend much time with you IRL to help you dress yourself is an exercise in futility.  And kinda makes you want to....

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People were suggesting things like chunky bangle bracelets, heels and big hoop earrings.  They used words like "flashy" and phrases like "glam it up".

What?  Seriously? You don't know me at all, do you?

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I wore a really comfortable dress, but add pantihose + tummy slimmer = UNcomfortable.  And, I felt naked from the waist down.  I had really good posture, though.

This is me, dressed up.
We're talking some make-up too!

Mark cleans up nice!

Back to my point.

Fashion is not my thing.  As much as I tried back in high school with my leggings in every color, long v-neck sweaters and Keds, it never has been my thing.

I like a simple hairstyle that doesn't require product.  I like subtle, understated jewelry.  I don't like to wear make-up often because it just makes my skin angry.  And I rarely paint my fingernails because it seems to make them weaker than they already are.

Pants that have zippers and buttons or, heaven forbid, belts, make me feel like I can't breathe.  The one caveat there is low-rise.  Not butt crack showing ultra low-rise.  Just below the waist.

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Not good

Snugness around my waist gives me anxiety.  I mean, I loved my pregnant belly and wearing maternity clothes cuz there was nothing restricting about any of that.

I love the softest, most easy t-shirt I can find.  Whether short, 3/4 or long sleeves, scoop, V or crew neck, it just has to be comfy.  Oh, and underwire?  Not in a million years!

I mean, I'm not wearing moo-moos or cheap sweats.  I won't even wear unisex t-shirts because I KNOW they are completely unflattering on me.  I do have some standards.

I do my best to find comfortable clothes that are cute. I really do. But if they're not that cute. I kinda don't care. This is my life right now and I'm not gonna apologize for it.

I am a coffee whore.  I am a wine whore.  I am a car whore.

I am a comfort whore.

Yep, I said it!


Updated 10/25/11 - Linking with Lovelinks for the first time!