I lerb a bargain

Today, while Wou-wou and Puddin' Pie were at school, I hit the Goodwill. I haven't been thrifting in forever but after reading so many great blogs written by such talented AND thrifty chicks, I was inspired to go hunting and see what was out there. However I was on a time schedule, since they both got out at noon, but that was probably a good thing for my wallet.

I went with all intents and purposes to look at the housewares stuff. I wanted to see if could find some cloches or cakestands or anything ca-ute to spray paint-laugh. Instead, I spent my time in shoes and clothes. Aye carrumba, I had a field day!

First off, I'm a fatty/curvy/voluptuous/thick kind of girl. Size 18/20 is about where I live. I'm okay with it. I've been that size for almost 20 years. I don't gain, I don't lose. I just sort of hang out there. In the past, my bargain shopping always left me wishing I was a medium or size 8 as that seemed to be the standard size of the thrift store clothes. Not today my friends, not today. Instead I found a long denim skirt, a denim mini and a tiger stripe sweater. Too awesome and all three pieces for ten dollars! Suh-weet. Then I hit the shoes. Yeah. I have no problem wearing pre-owned shoes. That's why God made Lysol. I scored some awesome brown boots, brown Esprit loafers, and faux-croc brown pumps-fifteen dollars. By this time the cloches and home stuff were not even in my conscious thoughts.

While Puddin' Pie is pretty set for cool weather duds, Wou-Wou had a big growth spurt over the summer and is in need of some fall cuteness. Oh my did I find her some goodies- a denim mini with pink cheetah appliques AND rhinestones (that is clothing nirvana for her), a denim jumper, a precious pink sweater dress (with original store tags), a Laura Ashley-esque floral jumper, a polo shirt style dress and a purple mini. All of that for fifteen dollars! Before I knew it, the time had come to hit the check out and pick up the chirruns. I am feeling quite pleased and thrifty. I was also pleasantly surprised at how c.l.e.a.n. and organized the Goodwill was. I can't wait to go back and hit the housewares section!

What kind of luck had you t-s'ing (thrift shopping) lately?

I'm on a blogging roll

Wow, it only took me over a month to write a new blog post. Talk about keeping things fresh and interesting. Although I do have a few good excuses I can throw out...like work, vacation to Myrtle Beach (fun and relaxing), school starting back, house stuff...however I guess the bottom line is that consistency is so not my strong suite. Ironically, that is the word/personal improvement goal that I picked for 2009-consistency. And I'm not talking about my texture either but my desire and wish to be organized, steady, the same today and next month. While I have improved my consistency in some areas (e.g. the bed is getting made pretty much every morning), in other areas I still continue to struggle (e.g. getting up at the same time every morning has just not happened).

This is the first time I've picked a "word" for the year and not made the dreaded New Year's Resolutions. I've found that this word is serving as a kind of mask or a costume for all of the resolutions that I would have diligently made January 1 and then diligently broken by January 5. But the idea of having one word versus a gazillion resolutions is to assauage the guilt that always accompanies the rapid dissolution of solemnly made resolutions. It has worked splendidly in that regard. Instead of being filled with self-loathing and composing whiny journal entries about why I just couldn't do it, I can remind myself, as many times a day as needed, to be consistent. An upside is that by having an actual word (and having it posted, in writing, in LOTS of conspicuous places), it has at least made me much more conscious of the things I need to be consistent about in my life.

I have to say that I'm glad to be a work in progress, even if the progress is in a way off-beat bunny hop style (you know-right foot, right foot, left foot, left, hop forward, hop backwards, then hop forward again, trip, fall backwards, struggle back up and try to get one more forward hop in before the right foot part starts again). Did any of y'all out there pick a word for 2009? How's it working for ya?

I know we have a few more months left but I'm already pondering on my 2010 word. I'm tentatively looking at "sleep". I could find great success with that one. Laugh!

Ooooo it's a hot one

Okay, it's a sickness I know, but I L.O.V.E. hot weather. I also love typing out words with periods in between each letter. To my eye, it really makes the word I'm trying to emphasize just P.O.P. See what I mean? I also, in my stupidly nerdy way, think it looks cool and at almost 42, I am all about being cool. Anyhoo, as usual, I digress. Back to the topic at hand.

Today is hot. It's 99 degrees Farenheit and 100% humidity. The little Weather Channel icon thingy is flashing a dangerous yellow on my tool bar. It is warning us all, that guess what? It's hot outside. The heat index is like 200 degrees. Do I worry? Am I stocking up on Gatorade and pulling the shades down low? Ohhhh no, not moi. Instead I say to Mother Nature "Bring it on baby!" You would think that as one with extra internal insulation (a.k.a. fat, adipose tissue, lots of ju-dunka-dunk in my ba-donka-donk) I wouldn't be a fan of weather like this. But I am, I am, I am. Weather like this invigorates me. Makes me do things like wash my windows (which I just finished, all 12 of them-yeah, the shack is actually big enough to have 12, although I count the big picture window as three, even though they're right next to each other). And now that the windows are sparkling clean in the afternoon inferno warmth, I am tackling the kitchen cabinets. With the windows open. Ah, summer time bliss in the Tidewater area of Virginia. Luckily the screens are keeping the mosquitos out. Although our skeeters here usually just walk in through the front door. They're big like that. And like most unwanted guests, they don't call ahead of time and they don't bring a casserole. Bastitches.

Of course my cleaning frenzy has really motivated the family. Wou-wou is doing her little part by taking an extra long nap and Sexy Beast has taken Puddin' Pie and his friend to the movies. Although I am totally psyched broken up about not getting to see "G.I. Joe" and the fabulous toy marketing goodness that it has to offer, I have the fabulousness that is known as "No one in my way while I clean like an idiot". Oh nirvana in a nutshell. I am taking a short break to honor all this by committing it to the written word. That way, when it's a miserably cold February day, I can reread this and be transported to the sunshiney happiness that is today.

I'm off to finish the cabinets and then I am heading outside, sweet tea in hand, to lounge in the swing and tempt the skeeters with the summer love offering of my red blood cells. Oh yeah baby, summertime and the living is E.A.S.Y.

My first post (a.k.a. I am so not ready for this)

Okay, here I go. I've had this blog set up for a year and have never. ever. written a post. What can I say? That's how I roll. I'd much rather stalk, I mean read, what other people have written. I worry that what I have to say won't be funny enough, or interesting, or grammatically correct. I'm OCD like that. I've also got that terrible gene that makes me secretly want people to like me. It's bad enough dealing with it in the real world, but open myself up to that kind of stress on the internets? Oh lawd its enough to give me the vapors. But since I figure that I don't have anything else better to do on this hot as Hades Monday (like laundry, annual dusting, dog bathing, semi annual vacuuming), I might as well jump in feet first.

I don't plan on blogging about anything in particular. I don't have any amazing skills. I mean, I cook well, but not well enough to add to the great stuff already out there (Hello to my heroine, PW, for that). I don't have much money but that hasn't triggered any hidden thrifty talents of being able to turn Goodwill store cast-offs into awesomeness (Hello to Thrifty Decor Chick). Heck, I could make a blog out of just what I can't do, but that would only send me spiraling into a deep dark hole that a measly ten mg per day of Lexapro could never get my carcass out of. Instead, I plan on being like "Seinfeld" and blogging about nothing. Laugh. Seriously, I just plan on writing about my little corner of the world and what goes on in it.

If nothing else, it will be a great stress reliever for me, and maybe, just maybe, someone out there in internets will get a smile, or a laugh or a "Thank God I am not the only one who's husband/kids/mama/boss/fill-in-the-blank did that." Since I am embarrassingly transparent and don't mind showing my flaws, there should be a lot of those kinds of moments. I come from a line of women whose internal filters were broken, if not absent, so I tend to speak what's on my mind-good, bad or indifferent. I also pretty much write like I talk. Hence all of the grammatical flaws. Feel free to try and correct me. I'll thank you kindly then keep right on grammar flawing away. The one area which I will try to be good in though is spelling. I have a real problem with seeing misspelled words in print. It makes me crazy. I mean, hello...even I know how to use spell-check (but I will brag and say that I don't HAVE to use it because I was the sixth grade spelling bee champ at Armstrong Fundamental Elementary School thankyouverymuch.)

So, sit back. Grab a glass of sweet ice tea (the world's most perfect liquid) and read along with me. I hope y'all like me. I hope someone (anyone...please?) will leave a comment. I will try not to embarrass anyone but myself. Sound like a plan? Alrighty then. Fist bump and blog on baby!