aka Random Wednesday.
– Please go watch this video. It has given me immense pleasure this morning. I’ve watched it no less than ten times. Seriously. I just watched it again and it’s fantastic!
– Yesterday I waited for my new stove to be delivered. They were supposed to come between 1 and 5 PM. My building has strict rules – deliveries HAVE to happen before 5. At 4PM I called dispatch and said, um, remember how I told you the delivery had to be before 5, well, um, where’s my stuff? They said they’d be there. At 4:57 they called and said they’d be late. Can we try to deliver anyway? I said sure but the building will turn you away. At 5:32 I got a call from the delivery guys saying they were turned away. Can they come today? Anyone want odds that I’ll be cooking tonight? ETA: THEY’RE HERE!
– Actually, I can tell you I won’t be cooking tonight because G and I are taking my sister out to Brooklyn to finally move her stuff into her new place. She’s been staying here and for the last three nights we’ve gone “shopping.” I put the word shopping in quotation marks because even though we’ve spent hours in a handful of stores trying on hundreds of garments I think she bought like one pair of pants. Or maybe more than that but she’s returning everything but one pair of pants. My baby sister, bless her heart, can’t shop retail. She can only shop thrift stores and New Jersey, Valley of the Damned Mall, doesn’t have many thrift stores. Or at least none that I know of but I’m strictly a retail girl. I’ve learned a lot these last few days shopping with my sister. Mainly that I’m old and fat. It’s been really really disconcerting watching her try on clothes. She did point out that when I was 24 my body didn’t look like it does now (Thanks. Thanks a lot.) but I know my body doesn’t look like it did when I was 24. What bothers me is that for every size 4 she tried on it seemed like someone had a bycicle pump attached to my belly and was pumping pumping pumping me up. And this is the week AFTER my period, when I’m supposed to feel all deflated and everything. I’m not going to even get into the fashion. It’s like I’ve been living under a rock. I look at her clothes and think my god she’s got a strange sense of style – I mean she wore a cowl neck thingy to work today that I swear to god I had in seventh grade – and then I go to the stores AND THAT’S WHAT THEY’RE SELLING! I was shocked! And the brands! I haven’t even heard of half these brands. All I want is a nice pair of jeans that fits me and doesn’t cut in my crotch doesn’t show my ass crack and doesn’t flare out like a freaking parachute at the bottom. Is that too much to ask? Throw in a bit of stretch and you’ve got yourself a deal.
I have never really felt old. In my mind I’m a much more mature, oh, let’s say, 20. 20 was a good year. But these last few days I’ve felt like my sister’s mother, waiting for her outside the dressing room, all dumpy and gross in my baseball cap. So not fair. Before you tell me to stop wallowing and get off my fat ass, I have been. Last week I got on the scale and I had tipped my threshold weight. You know – the spot on the dial that you swear YOU WILL NEVER GO OVER? Yeah. I went over. But instead of waddling into to the kitchen to open the new bag of chips, I strapped on my sneakers and got out and ran. I’ve been running for a week, I guess. Today was supposed to be a run day but it’s pouring outside and I have to wait for the freaking oven guys anyway. Hopefully tomorrow. I hate the way I feel right now.
– Knittng has been nonexistant and I really, really miss it. I haven’t been bringing it with me while I’ve been out shopping with my sister which is just so stupid really. I mean, I could’ve been relaxing with my shit while she’s been trying on clothes and I just know it wouldn’t have been so awful for me. Don’t ask me why I haven’t brought it with me – I don’t know. Maybe I want to feel sorry for myself? My squares yarn came and it’s great and I found my size 5s I thought I lost and I should just sit on the couch all day today and knit but I started cleaning yesterday and it felt kind of good to see the floor again so I’ll probably keep going with that. And I have some work to do too. Bleh.
– Have I mentioned I hate Summer? It doesn’t matter if it’s rainy and cold outside, if the calendar says Summer my brain goes into hyperdrive. I’m already sick of myself and it’s only June 7th. Maybe you should reconsider sticking around. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
– There is some GOOD news around here! First up, WE HAVE AN OMBRE WINNER! The MDK girls picked
A Very Brady Ombre (or “Groovy Ombre”) by PBnJ: Avocado Green, Burnt Orange, Harvest Gold, and “Paneling Brown.” Apprently, 1971 was Harvest Gold year for both of them! Congratulations PBnJ!
Also, we’re at $4846 in the Heifer Registry! YAY! And some new fantastic prizes came in yesterday: Paula and Kate at Woolarina are pitching in some yarn and stuff. (Go tell Paula CONGRATULATIONS on her wedding this weekend! YAY PAULA!) Allison from the Simply Sock Yarn Company has some fabulous Toasty Toes to send us. Lori Lawson, fiber artist extraordinaire, from the Capistrano Fiber Arts Studio in San Juan Capistrano, CA, is putting together a generous package of hand painted fiber and yarn for us. And last but not least, Cecil Miskin from Buffalo Gold has donated a huge gift of buffalo goodies: fiber and yarn and fiber for felting! I can’t wait to feel the buffalo! (Oh and be sure to check out the contest Buffalo Gold is sponsoring over at Wild Fibers Magazine – you can win $1000 shopping spree at Buffalo Gold!) THANK YOU ALL!
shopping with a skinny-chic-female would about do anyone in. definately hard on the aging ego’s. (grins)
Good for you and the running !
My wise, gorgeous fifty-something friend once said, “Don’t expect a mature tree to look like a sapling.” The older I get, the more I love her wisdom. Good for you running, but love yourself now–not how you used to be. You ARE beautiful. Thanks for the awesome work with Heifer International. A great charity!
As mom always said, “This too, shall pass”. When your stove is in and sis is moved in, maybe you’ll come back around to feeling good again. You do many great things and believe me, I would change at least 12 things about myself (anyone else?), but just remember your health is MOST important. Your photography, knitting, spinning & writing is out of this world! Remember, every time you feel a little down about yourself, someone looks your way & thinks..I wish I could —like her..
I know that dumpy mother feeling. I have it every time I take Hannah shopping and she fits into a size 0. I didn’t even know they made size 0s.
Being healthy is more important than being thin! At least you got out to run . . . (and really, unless you’ve gained 30 lbs since you took that picture of your finished shawl last month, you are not fat).
Oh, and I entirely agree about summer heat. Hate it. Hate the heat. Hate the humidity. Hate the mugginess. Chappy gets fewer walks in the summer than he does in the winter when it’s cold!
I’m glad you’re running — and it’ll pay off, I’m sure. You can’t compare yourself to your sis, though, or anyone else — it’s all about YOU, baby. Shit, get old like ME, then start crabbin’, okay? I think I’ve finally set my bar and my expectations realistically, and that helps. I ain’t never gonna look 24 or 32 again — when I thought I was fat and gross, by the way, but actually looked DAMN good. DAMN GOOD! No use fighting that.
sugar, that one line says it all – throw in some stretch and you’ve got yourself a deal! I think I shall use it as my motto on my personal crest. I have been looking at old high school pictures and seeing how gorgeous I was and remember how fat I felt.
years from now I’ll look at pictures from 2006 and laugh when I remember feeling old!
you will too!
I’m the oldest of 6 sisters. When I go shopping with the two youngest everyone assumes I’m the mother. See it coule be worse. I’ve given up lattes this week and hit the gym a little harder as my weight had started to creep up a bit.
You have so many fabulous prizes! Grrl, you’re doing a grand thing here.
Longtime lurker jumping out of the woodwork to tell you there are awesome thrift stores in nj… Not sure exactly where you are but there are a bunch in northern are… If you are interested I can email you them.
that video is HILARIOUS! i love it when people have extra time on their hands to create stuff that amuses the masses.
Oh My! I’m so excited! I won! Thank you so much, Cara, and thank Ann and Kay so much too!
Great job on your fundraising efforts for Heifer International!
What is it with the 1-5 arrival time. I’m expecting the exterminator today and I’m sure they’ll arrive at 5:55pm and waste my whole day. As for feeling old shopping with a sister, I think it may just be a big sis thing. I’m 26 and my sister is 16 (teenager!) and I HATE shopping with her. I feel frumpy, out of style, and murderous while waiting for her to buy something that looks just like everything else she owns.
I know that feeling of passing the threshold weight only too well. Sigh!
I wonder what it is about this time of year. I’ve been feeling old and out of shape lately and I hate that. So, I’m going to do what you’re doing. Get outside and run. I figure it can’t hurt. My problem is that I don’t want to run. I want to sit inside and knit. Or sew. Or spin. Whatever. Anything but running.
Hey Cara, are you familiar with the Jeff Galloway run/walk method? Google him, he has programs on his site. In any case, his programs are GREAT for losing some extra pounds. Because you run and walk, you get more exercise than just running a mile or two. And it’s sooooooooooooo easy. I just love the method. I bribe myself to run with scheduled walk breaks. I know I get way more exercise time in, even though I still may only be running a handful of miles. Just a thought…
Oh, holy cow, thanks for sharing that video link! Saving it to watch again and again. My sister and I thought it’d be a hoot to do a “Mystery Science” of the Commandments, too. I love that!
Amen sister.
I hate shopping. Sends me into a major spiral.
And I don’t even have a hot younger sister to contrast myself to.
Shopping bites, but that video . . . too funny, gotta pass it on. When I was younger and skinnier, my life was nowhere near as cool as it is now (except maybe for the shopping *snicker*). If given the choice, NOW in a heartbeat.
As far as the jeans go, remember that crack kills.
Oh, oh, Principal Firebush! That is brilliant.
But I do know Man – din – ka
I do know Man – din – ka
I do know Man – din – ka
I do
Thank you so much for that link and for the creators of the trailer for the Sinead O’Connor bit. You picked up an otherwise total doldrums of a day.
And I know what you mean. The day I realized I opened Lands’ (stupid apostrophe) End mailings more enthusiastically than Bluefly mailings was dark, so very, very dark.
I hear you lady- I went WAYYYY over that weight last year. I lost about 2/3 of the extra over the fall and winter, but totally flaked out and gained 6 lbs. back. Seeing as I don’t want to go all the way back to 50 lbs too much, I started running last week too. It really helps!
I am soooooo feeling your pain! I didn’t think 42 would be like this! I gain weight and CAN’T get it off! I’ve started walking again and so far all that has produced is soreness all over the lower half and now I can breath when I wear my fat jeans! And I hate shopping with my daughters! 17 years old, size 6, 5’8″ and I’m waiting outside the dressing room 5’2″ and I’ll just say dumpy and out of date. Somehow I thought I’d look like Demi Moore at this age (I never looked like her before but what the heck, right?).
Good luck with the running, girl!
I passed my threshold weight 10 lbs ago. I now weigh as much as when I was pregnant with my youngest, and no baby to blame it on. This is the worst part of aging.
Sinead O’Connor!!!!!!!! Priceless.