213

It's my first Wednesday Weigh In.... and scale said 213 lbs.  I'll confess that I looked behind me to see if Sir M was stepping on the scale too.  No such luck.

This is the highest I've ever weighed.  I refuse to let that scale go any higher.

Current Weight: 213

Goal Weight: 150

Pounds to go: 63

So what am I doing about it?  Well, I have an app on my phone called myfitnesspal that lets me track my food, which is great.  It counts my calories and exercise and such.  I'm also doing Pilate's two days a week (and I'm so sore I could barely get out of bed this morning) and I hope to add body blast/zumba once or twice a week too.  But I need to buy a new pair of sneakers before I do that.

I'd love to have some buddies that will do WWI's with me each week.  Feel free to leave comments. :)  And I would have had a funny picture of something else that weighs 213 pounds, but my computer is not behaving well this morning.

Have a great day everyone!

If Ever There Was A Great Ice Breaker....

My husband says to me this evening:
I drove a Jeep through our local mall today.  Backwards.

Sure, if that doesn't get a conversation started I don't know what would....

And now for the lamest transition ever..... I went to my first Pilates class at my gym today.  Pilates.  Or Pie & Lattes?  I would totally vote for pie and lattes, but clearly Pilates does the body *better*.  And I really like Pilates.  I'm sure I'd like it a lot more if I could actually do some of the moves, but that'll come with practice.  But you know the coolest part about doing Pilates?  It hurts you while you're doing it (a little) but the pain is forgotten as soon as you stop.  (I hear that birth is a lot like that, but since I have no babies I can't comment.)  The other thing that I like about Pilates is that you *know* you're getting a GREAT workout but you aren't all sweaty and smelly when you're done.

And your body will hate you in the morning.  In fact, my abs kind of hate me now and I've only been back from the gym for 2 hours....

And what self respecting person just carries their yoga mat into Pilates class?  Not me.  This is the new yoga bag I made.  Yup.  I. Made. It.  Be jealous.  It's got pockets. 

 

This One's For You

Just a quick thank you to my dear friend.... you know who you are.  You, who always builds me up when I'd rather be tearing myself down.  You, who always compliments me even when I look like hell.  You, who always reminds me of how BLESSED I really am even when I refuse to see it myself.

You, who inspire me to do better and be better.

You're the best.  Just sayin'.

(and I know you're thinking this might be about Sir M, but it's not.  Oh he does all these things too, but isn't that kind of his job?)

Anniversary Date Night

Yesterday Sir M and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary by going out to a very fancy restaurant a few towns away from where we live.  It was amazing!  And I spent a lot of the day saying things like "6 years ago at this time, I was...." and filling in the blank.  Which was kind of fun, actually.  Sir M was at work for the entire day, but we had the evening to ourselves.

Of course, I couldn't spend the entire day mooning about thinking about our anniversary.  I had to do laundry, grocery shopping, etc.  But it was still a great day.

This is the entrance to the restaurant.  We were so excited to go here.  This place is known locally as being very upscale, the food being gourmet and the service being excellent.  It was all of that and more.  Trust.  And the setting was beautiful - period house, with barn and carriage house, beautiful grounds, indoor/outdoor seating.  Harp player. 

Table setting.  Never seen stainless steel plates before, but thankfully they brought our food out on china.  To the left of where we were sitting was the harp player.  It was like having our own private concert while we at the best meal I have ever had.

Sir M!  With a beer! :)

Let's start from the top down on this, shall we?  That's an edible orchid, followed by duck livers, followed by a mushroom mash (weird but tasty), pastry dough, fillet wrapped in bacon.  There was spinach stuffed into the fillet.  Presentation gets 10 points here! So this was basically a beef wellington with duck livers.  And it was AMAZING.  Best. Meal. Ever.

Roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus?  Yes Please.

Sir M's choice: edible orchid, fried bananas, sea bass and spinach.  This also came with grilled asparagus and roasted Bulgar.  And it was also amazing.  Maybe the best seafood dish I've ever tasted.

Alright, I jipped you out of a full picture of this.  It was vanilla cream brulee with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream.  I was so excited to eat this that I was almost half way through before I realized that I forgot to take a picture.  Sue me.

Why I can't Seem To Be My Biggest Fan.... Today

Let's be honest with each other, shall we?  We have all had those days where every time you look in the mirror you see something you hate.  Something you loathe.  Something that you might actually consider trading your soul to the devil to get fixed.

I'm having one of those days this evening.  I'm not quite at the point where I want to sell my soul to the devil, since I fear the consequences would be extreme.  But I'm quite sick of my own self today.  I didn't feel like this during the work day (although work was boring).  This feeling didn't come around until about 7:30 this evening.

So what's going on with me?  Why can't I be happy with myself?  Why must I always be my own worst enemy?  Should I list the things I'm not liking about myself in the hopes that I (or you) will come up with some solution for fixing them?  Ok, I'll try it....

*I'm tired of my hair.  I love the curls, but I had that there is no style to it.  I wear it down and it just gets in my way.  I wear it up and it makes my face look enormous.
*I hate hate HATE my red face.  Seriously.  If I even look at alcohol or spicy food I can feel my face get red.  Or if I'm embarrassed.  Or if I have told a lie.... you'll see some red ears there!
*I weigh more then I have ever weighed before.  I actually dread getting on the scale.
*I'm breaking out all over my body like I was 15 again.  WTF.  Pimples, really?
*I hate that I can't seem to be my own advocate.

So that's what I got today.  Admittedly, I could probably try and get a hair cut and see if that helps.  But I never know what kind of haircut will look nice.  Any suggestions?

I don't think there is anything to be done about my facial redness.  I've tried using correcting cream, but my skin is very sensitive.  And I hate wearing makeup.

This coming week I am starting a new gym routine.  I will be doing pilates two nights a week and either body blast or zumba one night a week.  And maybe weights if I can handle it.  And horseback riding when I can squeeze it in.  On top of all of that, I'm going to add Wednesday Weigh-Ins to my blog.  I've also managed to convince Sir M that he doesn't need to bring potato chips home from work everyday.  As much as I love them, they don't love my ass.

Pimples... well, maybe more exercise and less potato chips will help with that.

Self confidence?  Working on it.

And now I'm going to go clean something.  That usually makes me feel better. :)

5 Days Gone

I'm back from a forced blogger break.... mostly because for the past 5 days I haven't had much to write about.  That's not to say that there hasn't been anything happening in my life, just that I'm not sure I want to throw it all on you.

This weekend brought a lot of family stuff and some sudden travel.  So I missed two days of work because I had to be with my family, which was fine.  I even managed to have a good time with my siblings and parents.  It was almost like a family reunion.  Almost.

But things get weird at work when you have a Tuesday and a Wednesday off.  And I'm one of those people that has a minor melt-down when my schedule changes, so I tried really hard not to freak out on anyone at work today.  I'm not sure I was successful at it.

This week I also realized that I'm kind of lonely for girlfriends.  My two closets girlfriends are out of town (one is way out of state) so I don't get to see them much.  In fact, ALL of my friends live out of town.  But as I started thinking about who I hang out with, I realized that since I left Facebook several months ago I haven't heard from a lot of people that I thought I was friends with.  WTF?  Thanks Facebook, for killing friends and forcing people to rely on status updates to find out what is happening in each others' lives.

Lame.

So, at any rate, I'm back.  This Saturday I'm having a fancy dinner with Sir M for our anniversary, so I'll be sure to grab some pics of the food and hopefully find a few pics of our wedding to put up here.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Not So Lazy Saturday

Good morning my dearies!  Happy Saturday.  We had a big rain storm last night so whilst I look out of the window I see all of the leaves covered in raindrops and it looks positively perfect to me.  There is steam coming off of my 1st chai latte of the day.  There is music on in the background.  Sir M is at work.

Oh, didn't I mention that Sir M got a job?  Sure he did!  He started last week.  He really likes his co-workers but is getting tired of all of the computer training he has to do.  But he's happy and he talks about it, so those are both huge positives for us.  I'm happy if he is happy.

Since he's out of the house, I'm taking the day to do a million little chores.  I am also getting ready to make some mini ginger and lime cheesecake bites for a party I'm going to tonight.  I'm so excited for this party because H&N are the best hostesses ever.  Seriously, every single party they have is like the best party you have ever been too. :)

Since I'm off now to do chores and such, I wish you all a very happy and relaxing Saturday.  In whatever form happy and relaxing come to you.... :)

Dance Recital OOTD

Good evening my dearies!  Tonight was my dress rehearsal for my dance recital.  The recital is on Sunday and, to be perfectly honest, I haven't been involved in a dance recital for at least 15 years.  At least.

At any rate, I got to the High School right after work, around 5.  Then I had to sit around and watch all of the little kiddies (who are too stinking cute for their own good) before my class got up and did our dance.  At 8:15.  And we ran through it 4 times straight - in full costume with make-up and accessories.  That's nearly 20 minutes of dancing without any breaks.

Have you ever tried that?  And smiled the entire time?  And then listen to your dance teacher tell you not to look tired afterwards?  I told her not to worry, because on Sunday we'll only be doing the dance once so we should be just fine.

And maybe I won't yell out "shit!" when I make a mistake.

Or slip on the stage and fall on my ass.

Or forget to put rosin on my shoes.

At any rate, here is an OK pic of my costume.  It's not great, because I'm not wearing my trench coat or hat, or holding my little silver toy gun.  And my shirt is a bright, fire-engine red.  Not the pink color it looks like in the picture.

Interesting facts about this outfit:

1. These pants are actually about 6 inches too long for me.  And everyone else in the class.

2. This shirt needs an instruction manual to put on.  Not kidding.  It took me ten minutes to figure out how to wear this and still remain modest.

3. It took me 20 minutes to put on all of that make-up.  

4. I sort of feel like I should be walking the streets downtown in this get-up.

5. That's Revlon 007 Red lipstick.  Also known as hoochie-mama lipstick.

6. This costume is completed with a silver mesh fedora hat, a silver toy gun and a tan trench coat.  I feel a little like a cross-dressing Dick Tracey.

Hope everyone is having a good night.  Remind me to tell you about my California story sometime soon... I need opinions on it.

And what do you think of this outfit?  Honestly.

P.S. Because I kinda feel a little foxy in this.... :)

Caviar Taste On A Cream Cheese Budget

Ha - caviar and cream cheese don't really go together, do they?  Well, it's a good analogy for my clothes-shopping budget.  Or lack there of.....

I work in an office above a high-end little shopping plaza.  Some of the stores include Ann Taylor, Talbot's, White Black, and Chico's.  Talbot's is having a sale, so I decided to torture myself by going in there during lunch.  I don't know why I do this to myself.  Afterwards I had to physically restrain myself from running up to my desk, grabbing my credit card, and going hog-wild in the store.

Then I called up Sir M and whined about how I want to buy some new, pretty things but I'm too broke to do so.  (I also whined in a text message to my mom). In hind-sight that conversation might not have been the most appropriate one to have, considering that he just started his new job on Thursday.

Then I decided to play my favorite game: go online and fill up your shopping cart with all of the things you want.  Then delete them all.  So I did.  $1,000 later I just about fell off my chair.... seriously - $1,000 for all of the things I put in my shopping cart (17 items total).  And all the items were on sale/clearance.  But Talbot's was going to pay for free shipping.  Right... so I deleted my shopping cart.

But this did prove a few points:
1. I've matured enough to realized that if I want to spend $1,000 on clothes that's OK.  But it would have to be cash.  And since I'm not likely to come up with that much cash any time soon, I should just be happy with what I have.

2. Putting clothing purchases on a credit card is a bad idea.... $1,000 of clothes isn't worth the 15-25% interest I'll have to pay on it.  Ironically, the plastic did have to get used today at the gas station because their ATM machine was busted, but 15% of $40 doesn't hurt so bad.

3. There is another clothing store available to plus-size girls that isn't Lane Bryant or Old Navy.  Talbot's!  Why did I ignore you for so long?  I used to think all of your clothes were for middle-aged women, but it's not true!  You have lovely, classic pieces that a girl in her late twenties can wear to work.  Hooray!

4. I clearly have a burning desire for clothing from up-scale shops.  I think I'll have to pinch some pennies because my budget only allows for Salvation Army and the Goodwill now.

On a little side note about Talbot's.... my mom used to work in an office and she would buy ALL her clothes from Talbot's.  Seriously.  I thought maybe she secretly worked for them or something.  And you know what, she still has a lot of those pieces.  So the quality must be good! :)

Where do y'all like to shop for good quality items?  I'm all for picking up odd bits at H&M, Old Navy, Target or Walmart, but I find that the quality isn't so great.  So I'd love to hear from you.

Longing For What I Am Not

Today has been a bit discouraging, so far.  (I have some hopes that it will get better this afternoon!)  There really isn't anything in particular I can pin it to.  Work is fine.  Sir M is fine.  Doggies are fine. 

Maybe I'm just sad because I'm home from the Abbey when I really would love to stay there.  Forever.  Seriously.

I'm going to share my little list of things are are disappointing me today.  And I'm going to see if I can come up with any solutions to them.  Reader suggestions appreciated....

1. I never feel stylish.  I have some nice pieces of clothing, but I have some serious envy when I look at all of my fashion blogs.  Solution: ? Work harder at having more self confidence?  Buy a parrot and teach it out to talk so it can compliment me everyday?

2. I checked out several stores online today (during work, because yes, I'm that bored) and I have been saddened by their lack of plus-size clothing.  Solution: Create my own line of fabulous plus-size clothing and make sure to make them all coordinate in some way.  Or in reality, I'll work on dropping the 50 pounds I've told myself I need to loose and then go shopping.  But I like the 1st solution better - guess I'll have to brush up on my sewing skills.

Oh wait... that's pretty much my list.  Hmmm... guess I'm just feeling a little down today about my fashion and my body. Or maybe I'm just jealous because everyone is starting their own 30x30 Challenges and I'm not. :(  Oh, I know I could start one but I'm feeling a little to lazy to do so.  Besides, I just finished mine last week!

So I guess I should add that I am working on gaining more self confidence to my little list I made yesterday about becoming a better me.  And maybe I'll write a letter to Anthropology, ModCloth and Francesca's and tell them to sell more plus-size clothes.  Do you think that'll get me anywhere?

Into The Wilderness Of The Unknown

Happy Sunday everyone.  I just got in the door (alright, I got home an hour ago but I had to unpack and say hi to Sir M) from my trip to the Abbey. 

It was a great time though it didn't start off well for me.  I think I had expected it to be similar to my last trip in November, which was very quiet.  This time St. Gregory's guest house was packed!  And what a rowdy bunch of girls it was too.  But I did managed to spend some quality time by myself, with my thoughts and my book.  I also had a delightful time weeding and spreading wood chips in the garden, which is not my most favorite chore at home....

And my one-to-one chat (called a parlor) with M.D.J. was fabulous.  While she didn't say what I wanted to hear, I needed to hear what she said. Makes sense?  She helps me to focus on one thing and work towards that goal.

So I am working on becoming the person I am called to be.  I want to live in love, kindness and strength.  I want to make a difference.  I want to treat people with respect.  I want to stand up for myself and for what I believe.  And I, right now, refuse to continue to be used as a doormat for emotional abuse from a certain person in my life. 

I don't know where this blog is going now, but I hope it will grow and become more then it has been.  More then just OOTDs and complaints about my life.  More appreciation for what I have and what I do.  Visiting the Abbey helps me to refocus.  To remember what is important.  And most of all, to remember that I am not ever as alone as I think I am. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. 

The End of the 30x30 Challenge

The weather here in lower New England is brutal.... 91 degrees today, and it looks like it'll be closer to 100 tomorrow.  Because of the weather, and some travel plans for this weekend, I've decided to cut my 30x30 Challenge short.  I'll end it today with Day 28.

Skirt: ? thrifted/Cardigan: Lane Bryant/Jade Necklace: Gift

I really like this outfit.  I feel like this picture made me look very skinny too!  Since it was so hot, this linen skit was an obvious choice.  Because of the air conditioning situation at work, the cardigan was necessary.  Otherwise I would have turned into a Popsicle.

Tomorrow would have been Day 29.... but the weatherman is calling for 100 degrees and I really don't have anything suitable for that kind of weather in my 30x30 collection.  So I grabbed a light dress and sandals to wear tomorrow.  Also, I'm going away for the weekend after work tomorrow and I will be away from my blog until Monday.

Where am I going, you ask?  I'm heading down to an Abbey to hang out with some incredible nuns.  You might remember that I did this back in November.  It was a great time.  A lot has been happening in my life these past few weeks and this trip will allow me to spend some time processing everything.

And since I'm at an Abbey and I'll be doing some gardening, soul searching and praying, fashion doesn't particularly matter.  And I won't have access to my blog nor even a full length mirror to take pictures from.  So I'll be back on Monday, but the 30x30 is now over. :(  

Of course, now I have to come up with topics for my blog.... any suggestions?

Tis A Puzzlement (Day 27)

About a year ago my family moved my grandmother from a semi-assisted living complex to a more nursing-home like complex.  The new place has a wing specially designed for patients with Alzheimer's and dementia.  Grandma has a type of dementia that almost identically mimics Alzheimer's, but it's caused because her heart can't get enough oxygen to her brain.

At any rate, we spent a lot of time going through all of her things in order to get ready for the move.  Since she is sharing a room in the new place, she couldn't take many of her things with her.  Sadly, we ended up donating a lot of her furniture to the Salvation Army.  The family members took things home that had special meanings: I brought home two paintings and a big box of vintage scarves.

Pants: Lane Bryant/Shirt: New York & Co/Cardigan: T.J. Maxx/Scarf: vintage (from Grandma)

My Grandmother used to paint a lot, so the paintings I have are even extra special.  They probably wouldn't win any awards, but I'll always remember seeing every square inch of wallpaper in her apartment covered with her paintings.

As for the scarves, you can see the green one in this picture. I  have a plastic bin in my closet full of these vintage scarves.  Some are designed more like old-fashioned neckties.  Some are big and could be used as winter-type scarves.  This green one was sheer and polka-dotted.  I like how it added a nice bit of color to this particularly bland outfit  Since there are only 3 days left of my 30x30 Challenge, it's getting a little more difficult to find new combinations of my items.  So today was  a little boring.  Sue me.

As for the puzzling issues today, how does one style a scarf?  Sometimes I'll tie one around my neck, but then I feel like a 1980's era flight stewardess.  And somehow just wrapping it around my neck looks a little sloppy for the office.

What do you think?

Day 26

I am in the last week of my 30x30 Challenge.  Part of me is sad, but the bigger part of me is a more then a little excited about being able to wear some of the other clothes that have been neglected these past weeks.  So here is Day26: another office bathroom shot, but you know how crazy my Monday's are.... But I did like my outfit today, this cardigan always makes me smile.  And I love all the colors happening here.  My hair isn't very exciting, but that's because today is Picture Day at my dance studio.

Details: Cardigan: Lane Bryant/Shirt: The Loft (thrifted)/Camisole: Lane Bryant/Pants: JCPenny/Necklace: Gift

So I packed my bag last night for dance class.  I have to include my dance clothes for practice, my recital shirt (as my pants are still MIA and the recital is in TWO WEEKS), my make-up and corresponding bits that go along with hair/make-up work, and a sewing kit.  My recital shirt is fire-engine red and it looks like it needs an instruction manual to be put on.  It's one of those 'convertable' shirts where you can wear it several different ways by changing the 'halter straps'.  I get a headache just thinking about how to put it on.

Have I told you the story about my recital pants?  Oh, it's amusing.  Well, not really.  I bought my pants several months ago.  They came in, my dance teacher had me try them on, and then I gave them back to her.  She put them in a baggie and wrote my name on them.  I wasn't allowed to take them home because my recital shirt hadn't come in yet.  But clearly I must not be a responsible enough adult to be able to keep track of my recital pants and not loose them before the recital happened.  So at any rate, she took the pants back.  Several weeks later the shirts came in.  And my pants went MIA.  I asked my dance teacher two weeks ago if she managed to find them yet, and her response was that she wasn't worried about it, they'd turn up, and she needed to spend her time getting the costumes out to the little kids.  So I told her that if I didn't have pants today I clearly wouldn't be dancing or having my picture taken.

There are several things wrong with this situation.  First, I feel forced into having my picture taken tonight.  Since I really didn't want to to do the recital in the first place, walking down to the local fire house all tarted up is just insulting.  Secondly, there are NO PANTS for me to wear right now.  And my teacher doesn't seem to think that there is a problem with that.  Guess I'll just have to wait a few more hours until I get to dance class to see if I have pants.

Hope you are sufficiently clothed for your Monday evening festivities! :)

Quick Update

Good Sunday Morning!  Just wanted to update you all on my Relay for Life event.  I got home about 3 hours ago....  :)

The event went well.  Not overly well attended, but it was the 2nd relay of this year so that was to be expected.  I believe the ACS raised around $63,000!  We walked around a local college baseball field, roughly 1/3 of a mile per lap.  I estimated that I walked at least 2 miles per hour, with a total of at least 12 miles.  I basically walked for 6 hours or so.

My calves are killing me.

It was a chilly night for sleeping and my sleeping bag was a tidge tight so I couldn't move around much.  But overall it was a great experience.  The luminaria ceremony was lovely, and there were lots of teammates walking so there was always someone to chat with.

I'm glad I participated in this event.  I'm tired and sore and I'm sure I'll sleep like the dead tonight.  I also probably burned about a million calories, which should cancel out all the cookies and brownies I ate in the last 12 hours.  And I donated my time and my money to a cause I feel strongly about - working hard to make sure that no one has to hear the words "you have cancer".

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Sir M and I are going to a local farmer's market.  Because clearly I need to walk a few more miles today...

I Love The Smell of Delicious

Good evening!  Today would be my Day 25 of my 30x30 Challenge.  So I have pictures of today and yesterday (day 24) to share with you.  Also, this is a very very busy weekend coming up.  One that also requires me to take a hiatus from the 30x30 Challenge.

Tomorrow I will spend almost all of the daylight hours at a memorial service and reception for my mother's uncle.  Uncle Nelson (also known as The Unk) was an awesome man.  He died, at age 94, this past winter and my family decided to wait until Spring to bury him and hold the memorial service.  Needless to say, I will have to dress differently for the memorial service then I have for the 30x30 Challenge.  So I will not be counting tomorrow's outfit in my 30x30.

Saturday's evening hours will find me at our local state University for a Relay for Life.  I am co-captain for my team and I agreed to host the evening hours, overnight, and early morning walkers.  Clearly my sweatpants and RFL t-shirt will not be featured on the 30x30.

On Sunday I'm going to be a ZOMBIE.  If I actually change out of my pj's and see anyone other then Sir M, I will change into something suitable.  So you may see a 30x30 OOTD for Sunday (we'll call that Day 26 if it happens).

Are you wondering about the title of this post yet?  Because of the two events I'm participating in on Saturday, I've been baking up a storm!  I made Lemon-Ginger Whoopie Pies and Ginger Cookies.  The frosting for the whoopie pies was a little thinner then I had anticipated, so they are a little more gooey then I wanted.  But they taste A-Maz-Ing.  And the Ginger Cookies are fabulous too.  And my house smells terrific.  ANNNNND...... baking makes me happy.

Day 24:                                            Day 25:

Skirt:Kohl's/Shirt: New York & Co

Cardigan: Gap                                 Jeans: Gap/Shirt: Kohl's/Cardigan: J.Jill

Necklace: ?/Shoes: ?

I'll confess and say that I hated my OOTD for Day 24.  I felt like I looked like that scary librarian that needs another martini to get through the day.  While I love all of the elements of this outfit, I didn't like how it came together.  And this skirt has presented a lot of styling problems.  How do you style a full length black and grey plaid skirt without looking like your grandmother?

As for today's OOTD (Day 25), I really liked it.  I think the cardigan looks lovely with the cream shirt.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  I'll see if I can get some pictures of the relay up this weekend.  What are your plans?

P.S. Seeing these two pictures side by side makes me realize that I should always wear my hair down....

Hold All Calls Folks, We Have A Winner

And today's award for Worst Parent In America goes to.... (drum roll please).... the guy driving his black Honda Civic like a bat out of hell on Route 66 this morning with his CHILD in the back seat. 

Periodically I think about having children.  And then I remember that I don't think I'd make a good enough mommy.  But, I *know* I'd be a better parent then the guy I saw this morning.  So here's the story...

I was the 1st person at a traffic light at a major intersection. 

This is a major road - the majority people who travel this do so EVERY DAY.

There were several cars stopped behind me at the red light, when this yodel comes along

and decides that he doesn't want to wait in line like everyone else.

He pulls up in the TURNING ONLY lane.

Then he guns past me to go straight.

And then he gets stuck behind a GARBAGE TRUCK and a SCHOOL BUS.

How's that working out for you, dude?

So I decided to give this guy the "Worst Parent In America" award today because I feel that this was a great example of how not to be a parent.  (Certainly not the worst I've ever seen, but it was the worst I saw TODAY.)  If you want to drive like a crazy person, fine.  Risk bodily harm to your own self.  But to do so with your child in the backseat?  That's terrible.

As I have said before, I don't have any children.  But I've spent lots and lots of time with children.  And I have pretty strong opinions about how to raise children.  I always thought that being a parent would mean that you would have to take responsibility for yourself and your child.  It doesn't mean that you stop being you, but it could mean that you become a better you.  But then again, I've seen more bad parents then good parents it seems.  And when it used to be your job to teach middle school kids, you see lots and lots of bad parenting. 

At any rate, here is my OOTD for Day 24.  Only 6 days left... whatever will I do with myself when this is over?



Details: Cardigan: Gap/Shirt: Target (thrifted)/Pants: Lane Bryant/Necklace: The Big E
Sorry for bathroom stalls.... :(