Category Archives: general-post

Blue jeans blues

I practically live in blue jeans. Year-around, they are my favorite item in my clothing collection.

However, they are also the one thing I hate trying to purchase. Why? Because I am 6′ tall, and my inseam is 36″. Do you know how difficult that is to find at a price that won’t make you choke?? When I find a pair I like, I will wear them until they literally fall apart.

Which is precisely what happened when I got into my truck Monday night to go to work at the hot dog stand. Yup. I ripped my jeans in the butt. Not just a little rip. A long, gaping rip. The kind you can feel the air hitting your exposed rear through.

I was just glad it happened before I left home and not after I got to work!! I went to change, cursing the fact that I was now going to be down to ONE pair of blue jeans and would need another pair.  I have one pair of khakis, one pair of jeans and one pair of black slacks. That is the extent of my pants collection. A little depressing, to say the least, and, yes, I wear them atleast twice between washings. I make it work, but I draw the line at only one pair of jeans.

So, tonight, I logged into my favorite site to order jeans: Victoria’s Secret. They carry jeans that are 36″ inseam, reasonably priced, and in styles I like. I literally have a VS Angel card to buy jeans. If the day ever comes that they take my card away, I will cry. A lot.

I carefully went through each pair of jeans and narrowed it down to one pair to replace the pair I split the night before. On sale, I didn’t feel TOO bad about the order. Dark blue wash. And I threw in a $4 v-neck t-shirt to my order. It’ll be in sometime around mid-month. I’m excited to have a new pair of jeans! I don’t order them often, because buying pants just overwhelms and frustrates me. But, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. And I had to order new jeans today. They are my favorite clothing item. They are the bane of my existence.

I love new school supplies

CrayonsSchool supplies are already out in the stores as students and parents begin gearing up for the next school year.

I am 11 years out of high school, and 7 years out of college, and I still LOVE new school supplies. Brand new spiral notebooks. Packs of pens. Crayon boxes. Folders with fun designs on the front. 200-sheet packs of lined notebook paper.

I repeat, I LOVE new school supplies.

Last night, I found myself poking around Target and their back to school section. I couldn’t resist grabbing crayons, markers, and spiral notebooks. (They were on sale!) I poked around the shelves full of folders, paper, dictionaries, and globes. I found myself musing over all the cute little desk organizers, trying to remind myself I didn’t need anything.

Memories of new school years came back to me. How I’d fill a three-ring binder with notebook paper, and I’d itch to write my name on a sheet of paper. Organizers for my assignments would have name, address, etc. filled out weeks before the first school bell rang. I liked school, but I liked new supplies 1000x more. It was like literally being handed a clean slate for the new year.

Today, its not “school supplies” but “office supplies.” Post it notes, printer ink, and staples just aren’t as much fun as three ring binders, erasers, and graph paper. So, I find ways to justify my visits to the back to school supply sales.

Coloring is a great way to relieve stress, but I also happen to really like making my own cards and wrapping paper. If I am shipping a gift to someone, because I can’t be there, it lets me make sure it is a lot more personal! So, I always keep boxes of crayons and markers on hand. (Stickers and glitter, too!)

Spiral notebooks are the best way to jot down ideas for blog posts or to keep to do lists. Unfortunately, with all my husband’s traveling, I am never short of ballpoint pens. He brings home plenty from hotels around the country!

I still carry my backpack from college as my carry-on on flights. I’ve read many articles on how you should present yourself professionally at all times; you never know who you might run into and when. A backpack just doesn’t look professional. But its SO handy and carries everything I need with ease, so I don’t care decide to go with usability over presentation. Plus, there’s the odd comfort level there with it. Its almost like a safety blanket that carries my laptop, magazines and some snacks.

I know its not necessarily rational, but I really do love school supply shopping. Maybe its some strange way of holding on to my youth. When we have kids, they’ll probably end up hating school supply shopping simply because I’ll end up embarrassing them. I’ll be that mom going, “Ooooh!” and grabbing glue, pencil bags, and note cards like it’s a shoe store with a sale on high heels. I’m weird that way.

I can’t wait!