So, I was talking to Brad recently, saying I needed shoes for an event, and he wanted to know what it was with women and shoes. And also said that I did not "need" new shoes, I "wanted" new shoes. Which, okay, he had a point.

Fast forward to yesterday, when I said I was going shopping at lunch, because I needed a belt. And due to the aforementioned conversation, I put in parentheses "in this case "need" actually means "need". I then said "I actually need a bunch of new clothes. Shoes and purses, not so much, but clothes, yeah".

So what did I come out of Target with? A belt, yes. And a sweater, that turns out to be cute on the hanger but not so much on me so it's going back. And some stuff for a swap, and a DVD. And a purse. I did not need a new purse. I don't have a brown purse, but I wasn't hurting for one. But it was brown, and cute, which is what made me even pick it up.

I did the "swing test" which is one of the things I do with every purse that makes it past the "that's not totally fug" stage of shopping. With the exception of my Sak, all the purses I've carried in the last several years have been handbags, and I want a shoulder bag. But most shoulder bags I've seen out right now are, in my opinion, heinous, or the straps are for skinny little arms which I do not have and therefore will not just swing onto my shoulder.

So I picked this one up and swung it onto my shoulder. And not only did it swing up with the greatest of ease, it actually stayed put. That never happens. Because I have sloping shoulders, bags never stay up- I'm constantly adjusting them or sliding them back up after they've fallen. So I decided to leave it on my shoulder as I continued shopping, and it stayed on my shoulder the whole time. (except for when I was trying on belts, but there was a lot of swinging my arms around involved in that process...)

And that is the story of why I bought a new purse that I didn't need, but totally wanted. And it only cost a third of what the shoes for the event cost me, that I didn't even wear to the event, and that are waiting to be picked up by the mailman to be returned.

We don't have casual Friday where I work. We have "Casual My Boss Is Out" days. Today was one of them, and I wore my new jeans and "road tested" them. They're super comfortable. I avoided stretch denim *for years*, but some of what is out there now is nice. Looks and feels like real denim, just lighter weight with a little bit of give. When I worked in retail stretch denim was this hideous substance that was cut like a stretch pant and not like a jean, and, well, I can't even describe it because of the whole "my eyes, MY EYES!" factor that kept me from ever really looking at it.

When I was shopping for new jeans last night, I was having trouble finding my size, so I asked one of the salesladies to look in the back for me. She did, but didn't find anything. Then she asked if I had looked at the elastic waist jeans.

Beat. Beat.

Blink.

No, I didn't. Those? Are not jeans. Those are evil with topstitching. Jeans have a zipper and a button and pockets. Being the size I am doesn't allow for much fashion snobbery, but I will wear a powder blue tuxedo before I will wear jeans-wannabes.

Not the greatest picture of them, but my old jeans are falling apart and held up with string, so it was time. I really need a belt now. These were way more than I'd generally pay for jeans- $65 a pair- but they were the only ones the store had in my size. (They were really low on jeans) I got two pair because they were buy one get one half off, and since I needed them anyway, it made me feel like I was spending less.

What is it about women and that logic? We all seem to do it.

But I feel good in them. Other people in the store said they looked amazing. I know that the wide straight leg works well for me in slacks for work, so why not in jeans as well? I just need some tall shoes...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENA!

I've had "New Jersey Girl" by Nerf Herder stuck in my head for days. All the "LaLaLaLa"s at the end are preventing any other coherent thoughts, so, there you go. But you should totally download the song. It's good.

I thought tonight's game was in Phoenix. I called Nicky to see if I could go watch the game at her house, because my tivo was busy, and before I could get my question out, she asked if I wanted her tickets because she had rehearsal. Actually, she and Charlotte both had rehearsal, so Nicky's husband sat in Charlotte's single and Nicky gave me the pair. Sadly Keegan has the flu and Jena couldn't get away from the kids for the evening so I ended up not using the second ticket, but at least I got to go. (And Dee came over from her seat on the other side of the arena and sat with me for the 3rd period)

And we shut them out? And scored 5 goals? This is what I'm talking about. Maybe the Sharks are finally fighting their way back to being the wonder team everyone was predicting, but that we haven't seen yet this season.

(I fudged the date a tiny bit because I did this at the tail end of my day, which happened to be about 1am)

Dear Neighbors:

Halloween was a week and half ago. Thanksgiving isn't for another week and a half. It is not yet time for Christmas lights. TURN THEM OFF.

Thanks,

Your Crankypants Neighbor.

I think I've got kids on the brain lately. A bunch of my 365 pictures recently have been friends' babies, and I've had two discussions about diapers in the last two days. And one last weekend. But I saw a quote yesterday that I read and was just like, wow. So true. I can't remember who said it though.

"It used to be that we expected nothing of our kids but obedience. Now, we expect everything of our children but obedience."

Holy shit. How true is that? Scary.

I've been working "I Hate Hamlet" for the last 4 weekends. It's my last night working it, and I'll actually get to see it tomorrow. The cast keeps asking when, and, being the last weekend, kinda has to be tomorrow.

Seriously. Lots of TMI here. Had a chat with Brad today, and thought I'd share.

me: oh, so Chris Cactus' post today may have inpired a post for me today
Brad: urinal cake?
me: heh. no. peeing in the shower
Brad: oh ok
me: i've always been in the ewwwww category personally, but only anatomy-wise
Brad: ?
me: to peeing in the shower would pretty much entail peeing on myself, which, Ew. No. (TMI?)
Brad: I think he was assuming it was mostly guys. I figured it was that way for girls.
me: i was surprised though how many girls were all "dude, we can pee standing up!"
me: so anyway, I've always been in the Ewww camp. but then people brought up that it wastes less water and TP, and now I find myself trying to get out of the Ewww mindset because I've claimed to want to be more eco-aware
Brad: :) peeing in the shower will change the world, Judy. ;)
me: :P every little bit helps
me: when I was growing up, we'd save our shower/bath water and flush the toilet with buckets from the tub
Brad: wow.
me: well, we were on water rationing for a while out here
Brad: that'd be a good idea... to route your shower water to your toilets.
me: yeah
Brad: like, automatically.
me: that'd be cool
me: i was also reading recently about flushable diapers
me: which has nothing to do with peeing in the shower, but more with the whole eco-friendly thing
Brad: yeah. I can't imagine such a thing would hold much pee.
me: well, supposedly they're on par with cloth for that. it's like, a flushable liner for a reusable pant
Brad: ok
me: anyway. I've got years before I have to worry about that
Brad: I'd like to be more "green" around the house. I'm going to see if I can find a good list of things we can do to cut down on waste, water, and energy consumption.
me: yeah, me too

Longtime followers of my blog may know that I struggle with compulsive overeating. I had the following conversation with Rock Star Mommy back in August, and I thought I'd post it here in case it might help anyone was Googling. Also, I normally hate the term "COE" because it feels like a cop out. If you're going to admit you have a problem, own it. I tend to use it in IM though because it's a heck of a lot faster to type.

me: can I ask you a personal question?
RSM: yeah, shoot :)
me: as someone who has recovered from anorexia, does it offend you when people refer to compulsive overeating as an "eating disorder"?
RSM: No, not at all. It's 100% an eating disorder
RSM: I was in hospitals a few times for it, eating disorder units, and there were always compulsive overeaters with us
RSM: Men, too
RSM: The stereotypes of eating disorders are just flat out wrong
me: wow. I had no idea
RSM: And I always felt bad for the overeaters rather than the others, actually, because they felt SO judged, ya know?
me: I mean, there are easily as many men in OA with me as women, I just meant the hospital part
me: yeah, I do know...
RSM: and this one time in group therapy, I was complaining about how everyone calls me "crazy" for my disorder
me: and this one woman says, "Yeah, well, at least they don't call you crazy AND fat"
me: I just always felt weird referring to it as an eating disorder because it doesn't seem as drastic or serious as the others, but really, in the long term it is, but when you learn about them in school, they don't mention COE
RSM: Oh, I think it's just as drastic and serious - it's just in an entirely different direction
RSM: it's just a way of handling your issues and life, etc, through food.
RSM: it's just that some people choose to do it through starving, some do it through over eating
RSM: I really see it as being identical underneath
me: that's a good perspective, thank you.
me: It's a question I've been wanting to ask of someone for a while, but, well, you can't just go up to anyone and ask that, you know?

Tired once again, but this time for different reasons. Went to the adult skate at Sharks Ice, which which seems to have become a weekly routine. It was just Dee and I tonight, as Chad had a meeting and Charlotte had a game. Nicky finally got her skates over the weekend but still needs to get her knee braces. I think I logged more ice time than ever- there were still a few breaks to rest my aching feet, but not as many.

There's a man I've seen there every Tuesday who pushes a baby in a stroller or carries him in a Bjorn- his wife is a figure skater and he goes to watch/support her- who came up and told me that he's seen me every week and that he can tell I'm improving. I almost didn't go because I've been cranky, and now my back and knees are sore, but I'm glad I went.

We worked on transitions and hockey stops, and while I can kinda sorta hockey stop, ie, I've stopped crashing into the wall, and I can turn around, it's not really a transition because I lose my momentum and end up just going the direction I turned in. Charlotte and Dee's coach from their hockey class, WaWa, is apparently for saying "If you aren't falling, you aren't trying hard enough". Thing is, I'm actually terrified of falling down, even though I wear pads. I probably came the closest to falling I ever have last night, both trying to do c-cuts, and when I was coming around a corner, but I think that was blade slippage and not me trying to do anything fancy. I need to get my skates sharpened.

So, I feel like I'm posting every day because NaNloPoMo is making me, but that they're short because I have to post when I don't feel like saying anything. Tonight is no exception. It has been a long day, with more up and down emotions than usual, and coming off of a weekend of saying goodbye to my friends, tonight I find myself bone-weary. I think the second I see my bed (good thing I brought my laptop downstairs before dinner) I will be asleep. So, goodnight. Sleep well.

It's been an exhausting day. I was out with Heather, Brian and the kids for the weekend, because they're moving cross country on Friday. I didn't realize quite how much I'd miss them until I was driving away this morning. It's like, they lived several hours away, and I didn't see them all that often, but I knew that I could if I really wanted to. Having to fly to see them makes it hit home that I can't just go visit at the drop of a hat anymore. I'm happy that they have this opportunity, but I miss them already.

I'll write a real entry today, but I'll be away from internet access until tomorrow afternoon, so I'll post a real entry then.

It's 5pm on a Friday. I'm young and single. All I want to do right now is go home and go to bed.

So, last year I signed up for NaBloPoMo because I hoped it would help me get into the habit of posting more often. It worked, to a point, except that for all of 2007 I've been doing a 365 on flickr and that's sort of killed my posting here. So, let's try again, shall we?